Knicks Rest Entire Starting Five in Toronto – Raptors Should Feast

The Knicks are mailing this one in from Manhattan. Brunson, Towns, and Anunoby are officially out, while Hart and Bridges logged just 22 minutes Monday and are day-to-day at best. Translation: New York's bringing a skeleton crew of deep bench guys and training camp bodies to Scotiabank Arena. Meanwhile, Toronto's rolling out the full arsenal—Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, the works. This isn't a basketball game; it's a scrimmage with one team trying and the other tanking frequent flyer miles.

Preseason spreads get dicey, but when the talent disparity is this obscene, the math becomes simple. The Knicks' third-stringers will run some sets, brick some threes, and count the minutes until they can hit the hotel. The Raptors' starters will play their 20-25 minutes, build chemistry, and pile up an insurmountable lead before the benches empty. We've seen this script a dozen times every October—the team that shows up wins, and wins big.

DarkHorse likes Raptors -10.5 at moderate confidence, and frankly, that feels light. Toronto should be up 20 by halftime if they're even halfway locked in. Lay the points and don't overthink it.