The Toronto Raptors are coming off a 96-90 win over Charlotte Hornets Tuesday night, but they have little time to celebrate their 52nd victory of the season. They’ll make a trip to Atlanta tonight for their fourth and last meeting with the Atlanta Hawks in the regular season. Read on for more about this matchup. You can also check out our preview for the Bulls vs. Heat game.
NBA News & Predictions
- 2017 NBA Draft Expert Picks and Predictions
- 2017 NBA Draft Sleepers
- 2017-18 NBA Championship Odds Update
Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta
When: Thursday, April 7, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Toronto Raptors (52-25)
DeRozan has been having his way against Atlanta’s defense this season, as he’s averaged 24.3 points on 51.9 FG% in the three previous matchups with the Hawks.
Of course, DeRozan won’t be functioning that well without backcourt partner Kyle Lowry running the show. Lowry has put up 22.3 points and 7.7 assists this season versus Atlanta. He had 31 points, five assists and five rebounds in a 96-86 win over Atlanta on December 2.
Aside from DeRozan and Lowry’s scoring, the Raptors are also hoping to dominate Atlanta on the glass. The Raptors have plucked down 47.3 rebounds per game in this regular season matchup, significantly more than Atlanta’s 41.9.
Create a betting account now and cash in on all the NBA regular season action.
Betting on the Atlanta Hawks (46-32)
While Atlanta has been winless against Toronto thus far this season, the Hawks will go into tonight’s ball game as the team with arguably the bigger motivation. The Hawks are in a tight race with Boston for the third place in the Eastern Conference standings and a win over Toronto would help them keep the spot.
As with most other games, the Hawks will be relying on their well-balanced offense that features five players averaging double figures in scoring. The tandem of Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague in particular has been Atlanta’s top offensive weapons this season, as they average 17.2 PPG and 15.3 PPG, respectively.
Atlanta’s bench is also deeper than that of the Raptors and it could be the key for the Hawks tonight. The Hawks’ second unit is putting up 35.0 PPG. Toronto, on the other hand, gets only 29.9 PPG from its relievers.
If Atlanta is to beat the Raptors, though, the Hawks need Al Horford to play better than he had in the aforementioned loss on March 30, when he scored just seven points. Horford is capable of scoring more than that of course. For one, he scored 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting in a 104-96 loss to Toronto on March 10.
Writer’s Prediction
Atlanta wins, 99-97.
