NBA · Preseason ·
Will the Raptors beat the Clippers?
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Raptors win chance
60%
Typical margin: Raptors by 4.5
Market 60%
Clippers 40%Raptors 60%
In short
- The market (Polymarket) has the Raptors at 60%, and it carries 85% of our number
- Our ratings favor the Raptors by 4.1 points, home court included
- Injuries tilt it toward the Raptors by 9.0 points
Why this number
PremiumEvery step from a coin flip to our number, in the order our model adds them.
- An even game50%Every game starts as a coin flip.
- Home court+151%Playing at home is worth about 3.9 points to the Raptors.
- See how far every step moved our number.
- Our numberRaptors 60%
Each step is that piece's share of the model, so the steps add up to the number we published.
The range
In 9 of 10 simulations, the result lands between Clippers by 23 and Raptors by 33.
What if he's out?
PremiumSwitch a player off and we rerun the game without him.
Raptors win chance
60%
Clippers 40%Raptors 60%
- Top scorerClippers
- Top scorerRaptors
In our model a star out costs his team 4.5 points, up to 9 for a whole roster, halved in preseason when starters sit.
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Our number over time
Down 12 from 72% to 60%
Oct 3Oct 8
Injury report
Clippers
- Max StrusOut
- Yanic Konan NiederhauserOut
- Brandon IngramOut
- Jordan MillerOut
- Kobe SandersDay-To-Day
- Bradley BealDay-To-Day
Raptors
- Trayce Jackson-DavisDay-To-Day
- Jamison BattleDay-To-Day
- Allen GravesDay-To-Day
- Kawhi LeonardDay-To-Day
- Nate BittleDay-To-Day
Our method
- We simulate the final margin 40,000 times from our team ratings (Elo, fitted walk-forward) and the ESPN injury report.
- The win chance is the share of those simulations each team wins.
- When the market has a price (Polymarket), it gets 85% of the say and our ratings the rest: over ten seasons the market was the most accurate single input, and that mix was as accurate as anything we tested.
- Preseason game: starters play about half the minutes, so we halve the expected margin and widen the range. It's graded like any other game and marked preseason.
- Model v1.2.0, updated Oct 9.