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
Team | Spread | Money | Total |
Atlanta Hawks | -5 (-110) | -198 | O 234.5 (-105) |
Toronto Raptors | +5 (-110) | +164 | U 234.5 (-115) |
*Odds as of Jan. 23, 12:00 am ET*
All Toronto Raptors odds are provided by NBA Betting Site Betway!