**Play our new weekly NBA in-app contest for a chance to win $400 in Amazon gift cards!**

Prizes:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd Place: $20 Amazon gift card

3rd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Due to a minor technical issue, we will be posting the top 5 winners by Tuesday, January 16.

Top 5 winners

1. Lewis Lucero (350 PTS)
2. Aloc da G (350 PTS)
3. Tom Litteral (329 PTS)
4. swagginsea***@yahoo.com (329 PTS)
5. xaymarnysinban***@yahoo.com (329 PTS)

Overview:

On Tuesday, January 9^th, the (22-17) Miami Heat will be on the road to take on the (27-10) Toronto Raptors.

The Crowd:  

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Raptors 105.7 – Heat 97.5 with an over/under of 203.2.

Statistics (2017-18 season):

Point differential: Raptors +8.1 (2^nd) > Heat -1.3 (21^st)

Points per game: Raptors 112.1 (3^rd) > Heat 100.9 (20^th)

Points allowed per game: Heat 102.2 (7^th) > Raptors 104.0 (10^th)

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Raptors 47.5% (6^th) > Heat 45.5% (16^th)

Three Point Percentage: Heat 36.7% (13^th) > Raptors 35.2% (25^th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Raptors 45.4% (10^th) > Heat 45.7% (12^th)

Turnovers committed per game: Raptors 13.1 (5^th) > Heat 14.3 (19^th)

Turnovers forced per game: Raptors 15.4 (3^rd) > Heat 13.6 (20^th)

Rebounds per game: Raptors 42.6 (17^th) > Heat 41.2 (24^th)

Assists per game: Raptors 22.9 (11^th) > Heat 21.3 (22^nd)

Summary:

The Raptors have the best home record in the NBA this season at (14-1).  Toronto is playing great basketball right now evidenced by their (8-2) record in their last ten games.  The Raptors average 112.1 points per game (3^rd) while allowing 104.0 (10^th).  DeMar Derozan is averaging a career high in points (25.0 PPG) and assists (4.9 APG).  Derozan is shooting 36.8% from the three-point line which is easily the best mark of his career.  Kyle Lowry continues to play at a high level (16.2 PPG and 6.9 APG) while Serge Ibaka (14.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG) remains a consistent performer.  The Raptors rank 12^th in bench scoring (38.8 PPG).  Surprisingly, the Raptors are the only team in the NBA that currently ranks as a top ten team both offensively and defensively.

Miami is (7-3) in their last ten games and (11-8) on the road this season.  The Heat lack a true number one scoring option but have eight players averaging double digit points.  Goran Dragic leads the team in scoring (16.7 PPG) but this team really hangs their hat on the defensive end.  Hassan Whiteside (14.0 PPG and 11.5 RPG) is a force on the interior but controversially has not been playing at the end of games.  Miami struggles to score points but they are one of the NBA’s better defensive teams.  The Heat average 100.9 points per game (20^th) and allow 102.2 PPG (7^th).

Bottom Line:

The Raptors have dominated this match-up going (8-2) in their last ten head to head games with Miami.  DeMar Derozan has been on a scoring tear lately and Toronto is riding a four-game winning streak.  The one advantage Miami has over Toronto is three-point shooting so they will have to be lights out from the perimeter to keep up with the high scoring Raptors.  Toronto has been nearly unbeatable at home this season so I expect them to win again Tuesday night.

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line.

All prizes will be sent by e-mail within two weeks after the conclusion of each contest.