Red-Hot Hawks Look To Stay Perfect at Home against Raptors
The Toronto Raptors (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS, 2-2 O/U) are coming off their first loss of the regular season but have been one of the best surprises of the young season so far. Speaking of surprises, the Atlanta Hawks (3-0 SU, 3-0 ATS, 0-3 O/U) have been the most eye-opening team in the league after getting off to a perfect 3-0 start in the BetUS Sportsbook.
The Raptors will look to hand the Hawks their first loss of the season tonight when they visit Atlanta at Philips Arena.
After reaching the playoffs for the first time in nine years last season – and taking the league-champion Boston Celtics to a seventh game the Hawks have picked up right where they left off.
The Hawks, off to their best start since going 11-0 in 1997-98, are coming off an emphatic 87-79 road win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday and say they aren’t surprised by their fast start even if everyone else is.
“That just shows the maturity of the program,” said forward Josh Smith. “The players have another year under their belts. … I just think it’s the growth process of us playing another year and knowing how to win on the road.”
Electrifying shooting guard Joe Johnson scored a game-high 24 points against the Hornets while Smith had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, adding three blocked shots for good measure.
“It shows a lot about our character,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to stay focused. We can’t get caught up in the hype and we’ll be all right, as long as we keep playing with this amount of confidence and this intensity.”
The Raptors are coming off their first loss of the season after losing to the Detroit Pistons 100-93 on Wednesday. Chris Bosh scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jose Calderon added 24 points and eight assists. Unfortunately, Toronto’s other three starters combined for just 22 points.
“If we just play a little better, maybe we could have won the game,” head coach Sam Mitchell said. “We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”
Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Picks.
The Raptors are 38-18-2 ATS in their last 58 vs. NBA Southeast.
The Raptors are 11-24 ATS in their last 35 games overall.
The Hawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
The Hawks are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Under is 5-1 in Raptors last 6 vs. Eastern Conference.
The Over is 4-0 in Hawks last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
The Favorite is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
The Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Atlanta.
The Raptors are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
NBA Odds
Toronto Raptors +3 -110
Atlanta Hawks -3 -110
Over 182 -110
Under 182 -110
Analysis: I really like the direction both teams are heading in this season and fully believe each will be a playoff participant in the eastern conference this season. However, I think the Hawks are not going to lose this game at home tonight. If this point spread another point or two high, I’d take the Raptors, but I think Atlanta can cover as 3-point favorites.
Take the Hawks to win and cover the spread in this matchup by the slimmest of margins.
