Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s contest between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors.

It’s that time of year in NBA. The term “dog days” technically only applies to baseball, but we’re just past the halfway point of the regular season and injuries are pilling up on the basketball court. There’s a real “dog days” vibe where every team is just longing for the All-Star break, is all I’m saying.

Specific to tonight, these are two teams that are far from immune to the injury discourse. In fact, on Tuesday morning, it was reported that the Warriors will be without Jimmy Butler (knee) for the remainder of the season. On the Raptors’ side, you can add promising rookie Collin Murray-Boyles (thumb) to an injured list that already includes starters RJ Barrett (ankle) and Jakob Poeltl (back).

Who’s actually available to play in this contest? Where is there some betting value? Let’s preview this mid-January tilt with the help of some of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

Raptors at Warriors prediction, preview

It might come as a little bit of a shock, but 36-year-old Jimmy Butler had been quite durable for Golden State in 2025-26 prior to tearing his ACL in Monday’s victory over the Heat. In fact, Butler had only missed six games, the most recent of which was Saturday’s lopsided win against the Hornets. With the former All-Star unavailable, rookie Will Richard drew the spot start, and put together a very nice performance, registering 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 30.7 minutes of action. Richard also started versus Miami, with Draymond Green sidelined due to an ankle issue. Per Steve Kerr, Green is expected to return on the second night of the Warriors’ back-to-back set.

Green, Richard and Steph Curry will all need to shoulder heavier loads with the Butler news, but if there’s one more name to keep an eye on, it might be De’Anthony Melton. Yeah. Remember De’Anthony Melton? The former second-round pick was once a lauded member of both the Grizzlies and the 76ers before injuries cost the guard almost all of the 2024-25 campaign — a year where Melton was actually salary-dumped to Brooklyn in the Dennis Schroder trade. Well, Melton re-signed with Golden State this offseason, and he’s slowly looked better and better since debuting in early December. Heck, in eight games in January, the veteran is averaging 15.1 points per contest while shooting exactly 50.0% from the field. Not too shabby at all. Melton also possesses a very notable 28.9% usage rate with Butler off the floor this season.

On the other side of this matchup, Toronto is simply trying to stay afloat with a crumbling rotation. While Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram have been exceptionally healthy in 2025-26, the Raptors are currently without four rotation pieces in Barrett, Poeltl, Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walter (hip). That lack of depth might explain why Toronto ranks 26th in the NBA in offensive rating over its last 15 games (111.7), a stretch where the team is also shooting a 29.0% from three-point range — easily the worst mark in the league.

Still, the Raptors are a respectable 8-7 in this span, so it’s not like the wheels have completely fallen off for a squad that is six games above .500 and is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22. The biggest reason for Toronto’s success is Barnes, who almost assuredly will be named to his second-career All-Star team on February 1. When these two squads last met in late December, Barnes went off for a monster triple-double, scoring 23 points, dishing out 10 assists, and tying a franchise record with 25 rebounds. A repeat performance would be a huge ask, yet Barnes should be able to take advantage of an undersized Golden State interior.

Raptors at Warriors pick, best bet

Best Bet: Scottie Barnes 10+ Rebounds (+132)

Barnes has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 17 of his 43 starts this season, but with Poeltl and Murray-Boyles in street clothes, the former Rookie of the Year will likely be asked to play more five than usual on Tuesday — especially with the Warriors lacking a traditional big man of their own.