Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors Video and Betting Preview: The Hawks will be in Tampa Bay for a battle with the Raptors on Tuesday night, in a game that will be an intriguing watch. Atlanta, despite being down four active rotational guys, found a way to beat the Hornets in the fourth quarter. Toronto fell victim to the Knicks after Pascal Siakam choked another game away with poor performance in the last few moments.
Atlanta didn’t have Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari, John Collins or Tony Snell available in their last game. Of course, Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter remained out, as well. And yet, they found a way to outlast the short-handed Hornets for an impressive win in the final moments. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Lou Williams made play after play for the team, each hitting a number of big shots as the game got close. The team improved to 15-5 under the watch of Nate McMillan.
Toronto lost to the Knicks on Sunday, in a game they should really have pulled out. A Malachi Flynn was deemed no basket three minutes after it dropped, when it appeared Flynn had a foot out of bounds. Gary Trent Jr. and Kyle Lowry made a number of big shots.
Down by two inside of 20 seconds left, the Raptors had the ball in Pascal Siakam’s hands. He double-dribbled on his way to the rim. And with that turnover, they gave the ball back to NY, who iced it with free throws. Tough.
Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors Betting Odds & Lines
Spread: The Raptors are favored to win, the spread set at TOR -2.5.
Moneyline: The Hawks moneyline is +112, while Toronto’s is -137.
Hawks Seeking Road Win
Atlanta has gone 15-5 since Nate McMillan took over for Lloyd Pierce. That’s truly incredible, and shows that with the right person in charge, wins could be had at a premium. They are still figuring out rotations, and dealing with new injuries every single game. So, to be as good as Atlanta has been, not an easy thing to accomplish.
The fact that can eke out wins without Trae and Collins shows that a team is really as good as the sum of its parts. You take the top two offensive talents away, and the wins don’t just stop piling in. Kevin Huerter has been pretty solid in a bench role for the team, while they have posted an impressive 7-1 record when Solomon Hill slides into the starting lineup.
Gallinari had been thriving off the bench, while Bogdanovic has looked like a star in the starting lineup.
Collins remains out for Atlanta, while Gallinari is doubtful. Trae Young is questionable, but he is expected to play.
Raptors Look to Keep Pace in Play-In
The NBA’s play-in tournament will begin on May 18th. That’s really not far away from here. It’s just over a month away, so most clubs will be playing a lot of basketball, in a short period of time. Toronto is in the midst of a stretch of nine games in 14 days, which led to a Siakam rest day on Saturday versus Cleveland.
Trent Jr. was able to break out of a slump by hanging 44 points on the Cavs in their weekend battle. He became the third player in the past 25 years to score that many points, while shooting better than 80% from the floor. He shot 17-19, hitting anything and everything he put up.
Chris Boucher had a 38-point, 19-rebound effort in their prior contest, showing how dominant he is capable of being. And the recent additions of Khem Birch and former Division-III player Freddy Gillespie have helped provide them with more size. Aron Baynes proved to be a liability in all areas, so they finally went in and got reinforcements.
Kyle Lowry played well in his return against the Knicks, and should be even better now that his legs are under him.
Unfortunately, Fred VanVleet will remain out with a hip injury. The good news, is that OG Anunoby is coming back after a rest day.
Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors Betting Picks
Toronto has been cold, while Atlanta has been hot. This pick might surprise a few folks.
SPREAD: TORONTO -2.5
MONEYLINE: TORONTO -137
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