Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors Prediction: Expect a low-scoring encounter

The Nets got off to a losing start in the current regular season, and in their home game against Toronto, Kevin Durant and company will try to make amends. Can Brooklyn win? Let's find out.

The Nets had a very unstable preseason. After suffering losses to Miami and Philadelphia, Steve Nash's team beat Milwaukee and Minnesota. Nothing has changed from the last playoffs: only two of Brooklyn's big men are carrying the team, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Ben Simmons has been nearly invisible so far, dishing out assists and playing defense. The Nets may be missing their injured shooters: Joe Harris and Seth Curry are still sidelined. The club can replace the last two of those on the roster, as Brooklyn has a packed bench with Patty Mills, Royce O'Neale and Cam Thomas all capable of shooting well from beyond the arc. Harris, by the way, should be back in action for tonight's game against Toronto, but T.J. Warren is still not ready.

Brooklyn lost the regular season opener to New Orleans 108-130. Irving failed to make a single three-pointer and scored only 15 points, although Kevin Durant, Nicolas Claxton and Patty Mills did their best to make up for the mistakes of their star teammate. One of the key factors was a lost battle on the home court: the opposition committed 21 offensive rebounds. Good defense under the basket did not help either: the Nets had 10 blocked shots, 4 of which were Durent's. In general, Kevin was the best player on the court. Kevin was the best player of Brooklyn, scoring 32 points on 11 of 21 from the field.

The Toronto Raptors didn't make any sudden changes this offseason, retaining their core roster and extending the contracts of role players. Toronto may try to trade up and get a superstar in the future, but for now we just hope the starting five shows their best basketball. Pascal Siakam, for example, looked very good in the second half of the last regular season, and he had a big part in helping the Canadian team move up in the standings. Scottie Barnes will have even more freedom of action, now he'll share the point guard role with Fred VanVleet. The big man is still missing, but Cam Burch and Chris Boucher should be back from injury any minute. Only Otto Porter, Jr. will not play for sure against Brooklyn.

Nick Nurse's team defeated Cleveland in the regular-season opener, 108-105. Toronto's starting five was limited to Scotty Barnes who shot 50% from the field, while the rest fell just short. But the Raptors defended well, throwing 15 steals. Toronto's 12 offensive rebounds also helped their team along with Gary Trent, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby all chipping in well from beyond the arc. Siakam was the highest scorer on the team with 23 points.

The Nets couldn't do anything with Jonas Valanciunas in the last game, but now the opponent won't have such a dimensional center. Overall, Brooklyn was pretty intense defensively against New Orleans, and it's important to keep that attitude going forward. It will be easier to contain Toronto, as the Raptors are not very efficient on offense. The visitors play a lot of isolation, so it is logical to expect some close basketball. Toronto's starting five is made up of quality defensive players, and Cleveland has seen that firsthand recently. Our prediction is as follows:

• TU (225.5) for 2.03;
• H2 (+2.5) for 1.90;
• W2 (incl. OT) for 2.20.

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