The Toronto Raptors (52-25) and their fifth-ranked offense travel to Atlanta (46-32) to take on the Hawks and their second-ranked defense. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Apr. 7 and will air on FxS and TSN.
The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Suns 103-90 on Tuesday. With 13 points and 17 rebounds, Paul Millsap recorded his 29th double-double this season. The Raptors, meanwhile, are coming off a 96-90 win against the Hornets on Tuesday. DeMar DeRozan shot 7-for-19 and led in scoring with 26 points.
Over the last five games, Jeff Teague and Millsap have played at a high level for the Hawks. During that stretch, Teague has averaged 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.6 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Millsap has put up 16.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.4 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers.
It will be a showdown of two heavyweights, as the prolific offense of the Raptors (fifth in the league with an offensive efficiency of 108.0) takes the court against the elite defense of the Hawks (second in the NBA with a defensive efficiency of 99.4).
The Raptors have won all three contests against the Hawks this season, including a 105-97 win the last time these two teams met. DeRozan was the game’s top overall scorer with 26 points.
The Hawks enter the game with records of 46-32 Straight Up (SU) and 39-37-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 46-32 SU and 39-37-2 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Hawks, who have the best opponent field-goal percentage in the league at .431. 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 18.7 points off turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, the Raptors head into the game with records of 40-35-1 ATS and 51-25 SU. Toronto has records of 51-25 SU and 40-35-1 ATS against the East. Toronto’s defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking third in the NBA with only 98.4 points allowed per road game.
With the Raptors’ last win against Atlanta, their SU record against the Hawks moves to 8-2 over the last 10 meetings. With an 8-2 record, the Raptors also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tor
Notes
On average, Toronto scores 102.7 points per game (ranked 14th), while Atlanta allows 99.0 points per game (ranked sixth).
Toronto averages 101.0 points per away game (ranked 15th). However, Atlanta has allowed an average of just 97.7 points per home game (ranked third).
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Raptors are 41-4 on the season. When the Hawks score fewer than 100, they are a poor 8-23.
The Toronto Raptors have a losing 11-21 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Atlanta Hawks are 38-9 when they hit the century mark.
The Hawks have a defensive rating of 99.4, second-best in the NBA. The Raptors also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 108.0 (ranked fifth).
The Toronto Raptors average a field goal percentage of 45.0% this season. The Atlanta Hawks have a poor record of 9-17 when opponents have a FG% of 45.0% or greater.
The Atlanta Hawks average 28.0 three point attempts per game and are 28-26 when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Toronto Raptors average 23.0 attempts and have a winning record (20-11) when attempting 25 or more.
Atlanta has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.78 this season (ranked sixth), while Toronto ranks lower at 21st with an A/TO of 1.52.
The Hawks rank 24th in rebounds per game with 42.0, while the Raptors rank 17th with 43.3 per game.
The Toronto Raptors rank 19th in offensive rebounding, while the Atlanta Hawks rank 14th in defensive rebounding.
On average, the Hawks force a turnover rate of 15.6%, ranked fourth in the NBA. When the Raptors turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has an outstanding 14-3 record.
