The surging and red-hot New York Knicks get set to take on the lowly and reeling Toronto Raptors Wednesday night inside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. They tip it off at 7:30pm as the Knicks look to make a strong push into the playoffs. Toronto is dealing with a horrible season and they are hoping to snap an 11-game slide with a win. 

Bookmaker has installed the Knicks as a heavy - 12.5 point favorite in this game. 

New York have caught fire of late, winners of seven of eight overall and they picked the best time to start playing their best basketball of the season. They have a ton of depth and they have tried their best to fight through injuries that have hit them at the worst time. 

But, with all that being said, they have found a way to win some tough games and that has really shown their true grit and character as the season has gone on. On offense, they have several very skilled players and shooters including point guard Jalen Brunson who has been brilliant this season. He leads New York in scoring with 27 a game and has done a great job of running the point and showing he can be that legit floor general. 

The Knicks have also played much better defense and they have shown they can close out games and get some big buckets from their role players. They would love to have power forward and crafty veteran Julius Randle out on the floor but he has been playing through nagging injuries this season. He is not yet fully healed from a shoulder injury and will miss this game. 

The Raptors (23-49) have been through a horrible season and they are just waiting for it to end. The franchise is a far cry away from where they were a couple of seasons ago, as they won an NBA title. They have dropped 11 straight games and 12 out of 13 overall. 

Their forward Jontay Porter is now under investigation by the NBA due to multiple instances of "betting irregularities" per a report from ESPN. This is the least thing the league and the Raptors need to be dealing with.

Look for this team to continue to fade late in the season and do not be shocked if some players have already mentally checked out. RJ Barrett is averaging around 20.8 a game and seems to be of the very few players the team can build around going forward. 

The Raptors are 0-5 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the number. They are also 18-17 in their roadgames against the spread too. The totals have gone over in none of their last five games. The Knicks are 4-1 in their last five games and they are also 4-1 in their last five games against the spread. New York is 19-14 in their road games against the spread this season. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games.