The Toronto Raptors head to Philips Arena to take on the Atlanta Hawks. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 2 and will air on FxS and TSN.
The Hawks were victorious over the Thunder 106-100 on Monday. Paul Millsap fueled the Hawks, recording 26 points and 11 rebounds to notch his 10th double-double this season. The Raptors, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-102 loss at the hands of the Suns on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan had a good shooting night, leading the game with 29 points.
The frequency with which the Raptors shoot free throws could play a key factor in this game. They rank fourth in the league in free throw attempt rate (33.3), but Atlanta is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking second by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 22.1).
The Hawks are a three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 200 points. The Hawks look to build on their records of 12-8 Straight Up (SU) and 9-10-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 7-4 SU and 5-5-1 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. The Hawks are an impressive three-point shooting team with 9.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Atlanta’s offense. They are second in the league in assists with an average of 25.5 per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Hawks are fifth in the league in steals with 9.3 per game. Something to watch out for is if Atlanta can force its opponents into turnovers and convert them into baskets. They’ve done an excellent job of that all year with an average of 20.6 points off turnovers per game to lead the league.
Across the court, Toronto has a SU record of 11-7 and an ATS record of 11-6-1. Toronto has records of 6-3 SU and 5-4 ATS against the East. Toronto is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the league, hitting .796 of their shots from the line.
The conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Raptors were winners, moving their SU record against the Hawks to 6-4 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. The Raptors also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl, ATS Winner – Atl, O/U – Under
Notes
Atlanta is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 6 games.
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Atlanta is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games when playing Toronto.
Atlanta is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toronto.
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto.
Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Toronto.
On average, Toronto puts up 100.2 points per game (ranked 17th), while Atlanta gives up 100.2 points per game (ranked 15th).
Atlanta ranks 19th in points allowed per home game (99.2 PPG), while Toronto ranks 18th in points per away game with 98.1.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Toronto Raptors are an outstanding 9-3. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks have an underachieving record of 3-7.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Raptors are just 2-4 this season. Atlanta is an exceptional 9-1 when registering triple digits.
The Hawks have a defensive rating of 101.8 (ranked 16th), while the Raptors rank seventh for their offensive rating of 104.0.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with a FG% of 45.7%. When their opponents have a similar or higher FG%, the Toronto Raptors are 2-3.
The Atlanta Hawks average 26.0 three point attempts per game, and the Toronto Raptors attempt 21.0 per game. When going for at least 25 three pointers in a game this season, Atlanta is an even 6-6, while Toronto has a record of 4-2.
The fourth-ranked team, Atlanta has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.76 this season. Toronto ranks lower at 26th with an A/TO of 1.26.
Atlanta ranks 27th in rebounds per game with 41.6, while Toronto ranks 12th with 44.8 per game.
The Toronto Raptors rank 11th in offensive rebounding, while the Atlanta Hawks rank 24th in defensive rebounding.
On average, the Hawks force a turnover rate of 16.1%, ranked seventh in the NBA. When the Raptors turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 4-2 record.
