Tip-off: Friday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -5.5, Total: 214

The two conference leaders will square off on Friday night when the East-leading Raptors visit the Warriors, who boast the best record in the NBA.

Toronto has risen to the top of the Eastern Conference with an 8-2 SU record (6-4 ATS) in its past 10 contests, and has gone 2-2 (SU and ATS) during a very difficult six-game road trip to run its away record to 10-5 (SU and ATS) on the season. Golden State is only 4-3 SU (3-4 ATS) in its past seven games, but hasn't lost at home since Nov. 11, as the club is 12-1 SU (9-4 ATS) at Oracle Arena this season. The teams split the season series last season with the host club prevailing in each meeting. The Warriors have beaten the Raptors nine straight times (SU and ATS) at home by an average margin of 14.0 PPG. Both teams have impressive betting trends, as Toronto is 20-4 ATS (83%) after a road loss in the past two seasons, while Golden State is 17-6 ATS (74%) after a win this season. The Raptors continue to miss SG DeMar DeRozan (groin) and could also be without SG Landry Fields (concussion), who is questionable for Friday. The Warriors have been without C Andrew Bogut (knee) for the past two weeks, while C Festus Ezeli (ankle) is listed as doubtful for Friday's game.

Which conference leader will prevail on Friday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (82-68-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, StatFox Gary is 56% ATS (14-11) since Nov. 29 to give him a 54% ATS (26-22) mark in NBA Best Bets this season, while StatFox Brian is 60% ATS (15-10) in Best Bets since Nov. 29 to improve to 53% ATS (25-22) in NBA Best Bets for the season. Since Dec. 18, StatFox Scott is 60% ATS (6-4) in Best Bets

Toronto has been an explosive offensive team this season with 108.1 PPG (2nd in NBA) on strong shooting clips of 46.2% FG (10th in league), 36.3% threes (12th in NBA) and 78.5% FT (4th in league). The club has been mediocre defensively though, allowing 100.2 PPG (17th in NBA) on 45.7% FG (19th in league) and 35.4% threes (16th in NBA). The success of the Raptors is fueled mostly by PG Kyle Lowry (20.7 PPG, 7.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG), who has an impressive 3.4 Ast/TO ratio this season. Lowry is currently on a scoring binge with 20+ points in five straight games where he's averaged 27.2 PPG on 52% FG and 44% threes, plus 7.0 APG, 5.4 RPG and 2.2 SPG. His matchup with Warriors star PG Stephen Curry will go a long way in determining the winner of Friday's matchup. Last season, Lowry averaged 16.5 PPG (39% threes), 8.5 APG, 3.5 RPG and 2.5 SPG in the two meetings with Golden State. SG Louis Williams (14.7 PPG, 1.1 SPG, 37% threes) has done a great job picking up the scoring slack for injured starting SG DeMar DeRozan (19.4 PPG), as Williams has tallied seven games of 20+ points. This includes a 31-point outburst in Denver on Sunday, but he is coming off a horrible shooting night in Portland on Tuesday when he made just 1-of-10 FG (0-for-5 threes). C Jonas Valanciunas (12.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.0 BPG) is in the midst of another productive season (career-low 1.1 TOPG), and has had a strong road trip so far with 15.8 PPG and 8.5 RPG in the four games. SF Terrence Ross (12.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 38% threes) has scored at least eight points in 12 straight contests, but has been in a shooting funk so far on the road trip at 34% FG (19-of-56) with all four games of shooting below 40% from the field.

Golden State is also an elite offense with an identical 108.1 PPG (3rd in league) to its Friday opponent, and even better shooting percentages of 48.2% FG (best in NBA), 37.2% threes (8th in league) and 78.1% FT (6th in NBA). But the reason the Warriors have the best record in the entire league is a defense holding opponents to 98.2 PPG (9th in NBA) on a league-low 42.0% FG and 32.0% threes (4th in NBA). PG Stephen Curry (22.8 PPG, 7.7 APG, 5.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG) has been outstanding all season, shooting a career-high 49% from the floor, despite a career-low 39% from behind the three-point arc. But his scoring has been down over the past five games (17.2 PPG), and he has committed 18 turnovers in the past four contests. Although Curry turned the ball over nine times in two meetings with Toronto last season, he was outstanding in other facets with 30.5 PPG (50% FG, 39% threes), 8.5 APG, 3.5 RPG and 3.0 SPG. SG Klay Thompson (21.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.2 SPG) has shot very well from long range, knocking down a career-best 42.3% of his three-point attempts. He has also been very consistent with 14+ points in 16 straight contests. With PF David Lee (9.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG in 16.8 MPG) now relegated to the bench after his long hamstring injury layoff, and Cs Andrew Bogut (7.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and Festus Ezeli (4.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG in 11.7 MPG) both currently hurt, the team's main frontcourt contributors have been SF Draymond Green (12.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG) and PF Marreese Speights (12.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG in 17.7 MPG). Green has double-doubles in two of his past three games, where he's really stepped up his defense with 4.0 SPG and 2.7 BPG. Speights is coming off a monster performance in the team's last game on Tuesday versus the 76ers, scoring 23 points (9-of-13 FG) with four rebounds, four assists and four blocks in just 24 minutes of action. His 255-pound frame will be difficult for Toronto to handle on Friday.