NBA 2023 Betting: Raptors Player To Average Highest Points Per Game
The Toronto Raptors had a much better 2021-22 season than they did with its predecessor. The Canadian NBA side finished fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record, lightyears from the 12th-place spot they unceremoniously placed last season, after a long run of missteps and lost opportunities.
And while we’ve been sitting tight off the back of a 4-2 beating by the Philadelphia 76ers that saw them sent home from the playoffs in the very first round, fans are hopeful that it lays the foundations for an even stronger campaign in 2022-23. Raptors betting odds of +2800 to win the NBA Championship are certainly improved compared to this time last year when they stood at +10000 for NBA Canada betting at Bodog.
Success will, of course, only come as a result of a team effort with a whole roster of quality talent coming together. Leading that team will be several star players that are responsible for more points than their colleagues.
With the next season edging ever closer and NBA betting Canada in full swing, let’s take a look at which Toronto Raptors player is most likely to average the most points per game in 2022-23.
Pascal Siakam (-200)
28-year-old Spicy P is a firm favourite among Raptors fans. After being part of the NBA Championship-winning squad in 2018-19, he’s been one of the team’s most important players.
The Cameroonian led the league last year for minutes spent on the court and was a mere 0.1 points from matching his personal best record of 22.9 points per game. His consistency was so strong last season that he actually scored the exact same PPG in the playoffs. In both instances, these made Spicy P the highest scorer on the team.
Assuming he avoids any serious injuries, you can be sure that Siakam will be a consistent starter for the Raptors next season, and he’ll make good use of his time on the court. These reasons alone are enough to give him some of the best Toronto Raptors odds for getting the highest average points per game next season.
Fred VanVleet (+160)
Despite going undrafted in 2016, Fred VanVleet joined the Raptors at the same time as Siakam, and found a similarly tight fit with the team that allowed him to flourish. He was a little slower out of the gate than Siakam, but nonetheless hit his stride on the court before too long, performing with reliable skill and earned confidence.
After clocking up a modest 2.9 points per game in 2016-17, VanVleet has upped his game with every subsequent season, reaching a new record of 20.3 in 2021-22. He started more games than ever, spent more time on the court than in any year prior, and set new personal bests in both rebounds and assists per game.
Following the departure of Kyle Lowry (whose own record of most three-pointers in a season was quickly surpassed by his successor), VanVleet has thrived as team leader, working fluidly with Siakam, Anunoby and the rest of the Raptors roster.
All the ingredients are there. We can only expect the continuation of great things from VanVleet as another season approaches, so he could well be the Raptors’ highest scorer on the other side.
Gary Trent Jr (+650)
At 23, Gary Trent Jr is younger than Spicy P and VanVleet, but the Minnesota native has already made a name for himself on the court after moving from the Portland Trail Blazers mid-season to join the Raptors. 2021-22 was Trent Jr’s first full season in Toronto, and he wasted no time racking up the achievements.
Playing in 70 games and starting all but one of them, the new team member set new personal bests in minutes per game, free throws made, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game, and points per game. In that last measure, and the one we’re immediately concerned with, Trent Jr averaged 18.3.
That’s a figure trailing his more experienced colleagues by merely a few points that could feasibly narrow next season as he refines his skills and focuses on becoming a precision player, which is reflected in his Toronto betting odds.
More broadly, though, there are questions still surrounding Trent’s . While impressive from an offensive perspective, his performance has a tendency to be somewhat patchy, with good days that are very, very good on occasion served up with bad days that are horrid.
Still, the fact that Gary Trent Jr can bring the goods is proof-positive that potential isn’t his limitation, but consistency. And that’s not a fixed variable.
OG Anunoby (+850)
OG Anunoby is next up on our list of contenders for most points per game next season. The 24-year-old Brit has been a part of the Raptors’ squad since 2017, and played his way to the Championship in 2019.
As a small forward, Anunoby has started every single game he’s played since the beginning of the 2019-20 season – a level of consistency that few players can hang their hat on. Moreover, each new season has brought Anunoby new personal bests. In 2021-22, that included 17.1 points per game, 36 minutes per game, and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Had the Brit not been sidelined for several weeks due to injuries, it may well have been the case that his stats continued their upward trajectory. Regardless, it’s heading in the right direction and that certainly bodes well for 2022-23, provided he can stay fit.
Scottie Barnes (+750)
Scottie Barnes is our eminently affable, 6’9” contender on the list of the highest points per game average in 2022-23, and he’s here through the prescience of Raptors’ talent scouts looking to play the long game.
Last season, the Floridian rounded out the top five with 15.3 points per game; 7.5 away from Spicy P, and 5.0 from VanVleet. Barnes started all 74 of the matches he played in, averaging 35.4 minutes in each one, and converting 49.2% of his field goal attempts.
At just 20 years of age and in his first season in the NBA, these numbers are an impressive beginning to any rookie player, and suggestive of the notion that we can reasonably expect to see much more of – and from – Barnes next year.
The Raptors showed remarkably good foresight in this recruitment. Barnes was, somewhat surprisingly to those not watching closely, the 4th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and seemed to take even Barnes himself by surprise when the announcement was made.
Even at 6’9”, Barnes can reach new heights, and it won’t be long until he’s up there challenging for most points per game; the question is, how long?
Who do you think is going to lead the 2023 Toronto pack in points per game? Raptors betting is up, and so is the opportunity to lock in these current odds. We’re about to see yet another fantastic season of hoops.