Gameday: Raptors @ Hawks, January 23

Toronto looks to get their second win in a row against the Atlanta Hawks on the road.

The Toronto Raptors are making the trip down to Atlanta to face off against Trae Young and the Hawks as they look to secure their second victory in a row. In their previous matchup this season  the Hawks dismantled Toronto in a 136-107 shellacking on the back of 34 points from Young. Young’s offensive ability will always be a headache, but by no means can Toronto allow him to have a similar performance to last game. It is not only Young that Toronto has to be concerned with, as Atlanta has many wings who are more than capable scorers such as Jalen Johnson and Deandre Hunter.

Raptors Outlook: 11-32 | 14th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 110.2 (23rd) | Def rating: 117.1 (27th) | Net rating: -6.8 (26th)

Raptors Previous Results

Vs Orlando W 109- 93

@ Milwaukee L 130-112

vs Boston W 110-97

vs Golden State W 104-101

@ Detroit L 123-114

Toronto will no doubt need a strong defensive performance tonight to successfully contain Young’s playmaking along with the many player finishers that are in Atlanta. Young is leading the NBA in assists this season at 11.6 per game and he can dice you up in many ways but the high pick n’ roll is his bread and butter. Similarly to his game against the Orlando Magic, and many other games, Scottie Barnes needs to be very impactful on the back end on defense. With Young getting downhill and looking to find his guys in the dunkers spot or for lobs, it is imperative that he be there to break those actions up and secure rebounds. 

Toronto has been getting great contributions from the bench in this recent stretch namely Jamal Shead and Chris Boucher, but ultimately it has to be the starting lineup who carries most of the load and gets the victory.

Hawks Outlook: 22-21 | 7th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 111.3 (19th) | Def rating: 113.4 (18th) | Net rating: -2.1 (20th)

Hawks Previous Results

vs Detroit L 114- 104

@ New York L 119-110

@ Boston W 119-115

@ Chicago W 110-94

Vs Phoenix W 122-117

Atlanta does have some impressive wins throughout their recent stretch but they also have some tough losses as well, the common theme is that they do have the talent to make games competitive with the NBA’s best on most nights. Young is the engine of this offense, they go as he goes, and as we see in their previous results, if you can contain Young to a poor shooting night, your odds of winning the game improve tremendously. If you do not contain Young, then your odds of losing increase tremendously, so it will be up to the ball pressure of Davion Mitchell, and the backline help from Jakob Poeltl and Barnes or whoever the MIG is to contain Young tonight.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET

Television: TSN

Radio: TSN Radio 1050

Starting Lineups (Projected)

Atlanta Hawks

PG: Trae Young

SG: Dyson Daniels

SF: Deandre Hunter

PF: Jalen Johnson

C: Onyeka Okongwu

Toronto Raptors

PG: Davion Mitchell

SG: Gradey Dick

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Scottie Barnes

C: Jakob Poeltl

Injury Report

Hawks

Zacharie Risacher (Abductor) – Out

Larry Nance Jr. (Hand) – Out

Kobe Bufkin (Shoulder) – Out

Raptors

Ochai Agbaji (Hand) – Questionable

Immanuel Quickley (Hip) – Out

Lines

TeamSpreadMoneyTotal
Atlanta Hawks-5 (-110)-198O 234.5 (-105)
Toronto Raptors+5 (-110)+164U 234.5 (-115)

*Odds as of Jan. 23, 12:00 am ET*

All Toronto Raptors odds are provided by NBA Betting Site Betway!

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