Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors (+1.5, 207)

The Toronto Raptors are winners of nine straight at home and are trying to make a move toward the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. The second-place Raptors will try to chop one game off the deficit when they host the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Toronto began a stretch of nine of 10 at home by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-105 on Wednesday and is aware of what’s in front of it on Friday. “It’s going to be a test for us,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters of the Cavaliers. “We know how good they are. We know they are the (defending) Eastern Conference champions. They have a (heck) of a team and a great coach. We just have to take it step by step and prepare very well and stay locked into the game.” Cleveland sits three games in front of Toronto in the East and is not leaving much room for the Raptors to sneak through by winning six of its last seven. The Cavaliers introduced another offensive weapon in Wednesday’s 114-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets when Channing Frye broke out for 15 points.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), Sportsnet One (Toronto)

LINE HISTORY: The Cavaliers opened 1-point road faves and have been bet to -1.5. The total has seen more movement. It opened at 208.5, was bet down to 207 and then back up to 208.

INJURY REPORT:

Cavaliers - SG I. Shumpert (questionable Friday, shoulder), PG M. Williams (out Friday, knee).

Raptors - SF D. Carroll (out indefinitely, knee).

COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Cavaliers (-9.1) - Raptors (-7.6) + home court = Raptors -1.5

WHAT BOOKS SAY: "Big matchup in the Eastern Conference between the Raptors and Cavaliers as the Raps look to move a game closer to the top spot in the East. These two teams have split the previous 2 meeting so far this season. The Raptors are riding a nine game home winning streak SU and a three game winning streak overall. The Cavs come into this matchup as a -2 point favorite with over 90 percent of the early action, with the 208 point total seeing over 90 percent of the action come in on the OVER." - Michael Stewart of CarbonGaming.

WHAT SHARPS SAY: "Homecourt figures to make the difference in this one. While the Cavaliers have the better overall record, the Raptors 20-6 home record is superior to Cleveland's 17-10 mark on the road. Not surprisingly, the home team has won both meetings; the Cavs won big at Cleveland while the Raptors escaped with a 4-point win here at Toronto. Including that result, the Raptors are 7-2 ATS (6-3 SU) the last nine times that they were listed as home underdogs of three or fewer points. Take a look at Toronto." - Covers Expert Ben Burns.

DANCE TEAM WAR:

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (41-15, 25-28-3 ATS, 27-29 O/U): Frye managed two points in nine minutes in his debut with the team on Monday – a 96-88 home loss to the Detroit Pistons – but caught fired and buried four 3-pointers in 18 minutes on Wednesday. “It’s tough coming in on the fly like that but (Frye) knows the traditional NBA sets, which we’ve been trying to run when he’s in the game,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. “Get to your spots and let Kyrie (Irving), LeBron (James) and (Matthew Dellavedova) hit you. He did a good job (Wednesday). He was able to get some open shots.” Frye is shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range on the season and will stretch the floor for the second unit.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (38-18, 31-25 ATS, 29-26-1 O/U): Toronto is led by its All-Star backcourt of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and it was DeRozan taking over against a scrappy Minnesota squad on Wednesday. The 26-year-old went for 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting and is averaging 24.6 points in the last 20 contests, during which the Raptors have gone 17-3. That 20-game surge came directly after the Raptors were crushed 122-100 at Cleveland on Jan. 4 despite a combined 42 points from Lowry and DeRozan.

TRENDS:

* Over is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
* Cavaliers are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Toronto.
* Under is 20-5-1 in the last 26 meetings in Toronto.
* Underdog is 12-3 ATS in the last 15 meetings.

COVERS CONSENSUS: The public is giving Cleveland the edge in this battle of top Eastern Conference teams, with 57 percent of wagers on the Cavaliers. As for the total, 66 percent of wagers are on the under.

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