Though it may not seem like it, the matchup on Sunday between the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks is a critical one for both teams this season. Both teams are trying to stop their seasons slipping away, and need a win to boost momentum.
The Hawks and Raps are both riding four-game losing streaks, so there’s no time like the present to start turning things around. There is a lot of ground to cover in this preview, so let’s get into everything that you could need to know ahead of Raptors vs. Hawks.
Bet on Raptors vs. Hawks
TOR +6.5
ATL -6.5
Raptors vs. Hawks odds
| Raptors Moneyline Odds | +205 |
| Hawks Moneyline Odds | -250 |
| Over/Under | 243.0 points (over -110, under -110) |
| Spread | Hawks -6.5 (-110) |
| Time/Date | January 28, 6:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN4 Stream: NBA League Pass (How to watch the NBA in Canada?) |
All odds courtesy of 
About the Raptors (16-29 SU, 21-24 ATS, 23-22 o/u)
Times are looking tougher for the Raptors than they have been in recent years. Trades have seen Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby sent packing, and the Raptors have lost four in a row and six of their last seven. All eyes are on the future, even though there is still half a season remaining.
Technically speaking, the Raptors aren’t dead yet. They are seven games back of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, though there is the potential to make the play-in group as well. But time is slipping away and the margin for error is approaching zero.
On the whole, that’s probably okay for the Raptors. They got back several picks and pieces from those two trades, an eye looking to next season and beyond. They are six games ahead of the 13th-place Hornets, so unless something changes drastically, it looks like the Raptors will be somewhere between 10th and 12th in the East. That will land them a decent lottery pick, which will only add to the stockpile for the future.
If we’re looking at the bright side, Scottie Barnes has been a revelation this season. RJ Barrett, brought over in the Anunoby trade, has been one of the offensive leaders. Immanuel Quickley seems like he could be a solid foundational piece for at least the near future. Things aren’t as bad as they could be and the team is set up for a nice rebuild starting with this offseason.
About the Hawks (18-27 SU, 11-34 ATS, 25-20 o/u)
The Hawks, meanwhile, are in a frustrating situation, as they sit relatively far off of where they expected to be this season. Coming into the year, they were expected to be somewhere around .500, possibly competing for one of the final spots in the Eastern Conference.
The coaching change from Nate McMillan to Quin Snyder didn’t have the impact that the Hawks had hoped for. They were arguably the most average team in the league a year ago and their chances of drastically improving were already slim. That hasn’t happened.
A major problem is the defence. Their defensive rating (48.3) is the fourth worst in the NBA. They are also one of the worst rebounding teams on their end of the court, ranked 25th with 31.7 per game. They are 29th out of 30 teams in opponent’s points against (123.3) and there is no hope in sight on that front.
The only thing that the Hawks have going for them is the offence. They are fifth in the NBA at 120.1 points per game, led by Trae Young (27 PPG), Dejounte Murray (21.4), and five other players who are averaging at least 11 points per game.
The Hawks are dismal defensively and aren’t winning games by simply trying to outgun the opposition. At least they’ve been fun to watch, as evidenced by their 25-20 over/under record this year.
RJ Barrett to score over 24.5 points
-105
Injury Concerns
- Jontay Porter got poked in the eye and did not return against the Clippers on Friday. Jakob Poeltl is out due to an ankle injury as well. Quickley was ruled out of the Clippers game with a thigh bruise but should be back sooner rather than later.
- On the Hawks’ side of the equation, things are about the same. De’Andre Hunter missed Friday’s game against Dallas, as did guard Vit Krejci. Bruno Fernando is dealing with a back issue and is considered day-to-day at this stage.
Betting Trends
- Despite a relatively decent 21-24 record against the spread, the Raptors have been dismal in that regard of late. They have failed to cover in six of seven games, all six of which were losses. This comes following a stretch where they covered in seven out of nine games.
- The Hawks have been positively abysmal against the spread this season (11-34). They are in the middle of a stretch where they have failed to cover in five of six and nine of 12 games. The only time the Hawks have covered in more than one game in a row came back on October 29th and 30th – the third and fourth games of the year.
- The Raptors continue to be streaky when it comes to the over/under. Going back to December 22, the Raptors had hit the over in 10 of 12. Since then, it has been six straight unders. This streak even comes in the face of battling top offences like the Celtics and Clippers, among others.
Player Prop Trends
- Trae Young is the star of the Hawks’ team offensively, but he has struggled of late. His points prop is set at 25.5 (O -115, U -115), which seems marginally low for a guy averaging 27 points per game this year. That said, he’s gone over that prop just five times in his last 10 games. His 30-point effort against Dallas broke a streak in which he had failed to cover in four of five games.
- Since becoming a focal point of the offence, RJ Barrett’s over/under on points has been set at 24.5 (O -105, U -115). Impressively, he’s gone over the mark in six of 10 games, falling just short of making it seven games by scoring 22 points against the Clippers. He’s had 24 points or more five times since joining on January 5th.
- Scottie Barnes’s points + assists prop is set at 30.5 (O -115, U -115), but Barnes has been struggling to deliver that level of production of late. He’s hit over 30.5 points + assists in only one of his last eight games, but the Raptors will be hoping that he finds his feet soon.
Wagers to Consider
- Though the Raptors have not been very good when it comes to the over lately, we think this should be the exception to the rule. The Hawks are one of the worst defences in the NBA and Barrett/Barnes can get hot for stretches. This should be an offensive game, and we like over on the game total of 237 points (-110).
- Speaking of offence, we talked a bit about how Barrett has been since joining the Raptors. At 24.5 points (-105), Barrett feels like a lock here. He’ll get a ton of looks and should have a good deal of success against the porous Atlanta defence.
- The Hawks are at home and gifted offensively, so we think this game will be close. Neither team is even remotely hot right now, but both have the tools in their arsenal to win it. That would make an outright pick difficult if the odds weren’t so skewed. At -250 favourites, the Hawks are terrible value here. Take the Raptors +205 outright and hope they can turn things around against an ice-cold Hawks team.
