Toronto Raptors v Houston Rockets: Prediction, Tips and Odds

All the Toronto Raptors want in the final NBA game before Christmas is to break their current six-game losing streak, but that won't be easy as they entertain the highflying Houston Rockets on Sunday.

The Raptors have slumped to 7-21 with their current win drought and five of their recent losses have come at home.

That must be frustrating for head coach Darko Rajakovic, as his team had appeared to be on the up after a slow start and won five of their eight games in an improved run from mid-November to early December.

Injuries have contributed to their downfall, though, and the situation is little brighter on that front as they prepare for this tough test.

The Rockets have won three of their last four games, bouncing back from their NBA Cup semi-final defeat by the Oklahoma City Thunder to comfortably overcome the New Orleans Pelicans by 20 points on Thursday night.

While they are 11-3 at home, the Rockets only just have a winning record on the road at 7-6 and with two more away assignments to follow, head coach Ime Udoka will want to set the tone for the holiday week with a victory.

The teams split their two meetings last season, with the Rockets winning 135-106 in Texas and the Raptors prevailing 107-104 in Ontario.

The Rockets are favourites to extend the home team's losing run as they continue their pursuit of the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Southwest division.

Toronto Raptors v Houston Rockets prop bets - tips and predictions 

Jabari Smith Jr over 1.5 made threes - 5/6

Jabari Smith Jr has drained at least two three-point shots in all six of his seven games played this month and the power forward is fancied to extend that run in Toronto.

Smith Jr made three of his six long-distance attempts in his last outing against the Pelicans and also shot 50% from three-point land in his previous game, when making two of four tries against the Thunder.

Before that he hit three three-pointers against the Warriors and two against the Clippers, so he appears to be in the kind of form to add at least a couple more against the struggling Raptors.

RJ Barrett over 22.5 points - 5/6

The best news for the Toronto Raptors ahead of this game was the return to practice of RJ Barrett, who missed the team's 101-94 loss to the Nets due to illness.

Barrett had no limitations on his return and is not listed on the injury report for the game, so he looks set to fill his usual role on Sunday.

Barrett leads the Raptors with an average score of 23.5 points per game this season and he can come in just under that and still cover his individual points line against Houston.

The 24-year-old, who was born in Toronto, averages a team-high 34.3 minutes on the court per game, so his importance to the Raptors cannot be understated.

The versatile shooting guard has gone over 30 points in two of his last three outings, against the Knicks and the Bulls, although in between he had an off-day against the Heat, shooting only five of 18 two-point attempts for just 13 points overall.

His December performances have been an overall improvement on his November outings as he has raised his two-point percentage from 43.3 to 49.3 and his three-point percentage from 31.8 to 37.8.

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Toronto Raptors v Houston Rockets money line, spread, over/under

	Money Line	Spread	Over/Under
Raptors	27/10	+8.0 – 10/11	Over 223.5 – 10/11
Rockets	5/17	-8.0 – 10/11	Under 223.5 - 10/11

Toronto Raptors v Houston Rockets spread pick - Rockets -8 - 10/11

Despite the return of Barrett, the Raptors could still struggle to end their losing run against the Rockets and the road team should also be capable of covering the single-digit spread.

The Raptors' six losses in their current run have included defeats by 37, 10 and seven points twice, while the Rockets showed no mercy to the Pelicans in their last outing, leading by 14 at half-time and stretching that advantage to 20 at the final buzzer.

The Rockets are 17-10 against the spread this season and while they have fared better at home than on the road, they should still have the quality required to record a comfortable win against an injury-hit team.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.