Toronto (28-14) at Atlanta (10-33)
When: Monday, January 20th, 2020
Where: State Farm Arena,
Atlanta, Georgia
Time: 2:35 ET | TV: NBA TV
Opening Odds: Toronto -8/231
The top seed in the Eastern Conference will surely go to the Milwaukee Bucks this season, barring any major injuries or a total collapse, but earning a top four seed and some homecourt advantage is a priority. Five teams are battling for spots 2, 3, and 4 and one of those takes the court Monday afternoon in Atlanta as the Toronto Raptors visit the Hawks at State Farm Arena. The Raptors are getting healthy and it’s been showing on the court during the team’s current three-game winning streak. Guard Fred VanVleet missed five games with a hamstring injury but returned to the court and poured in 29 points in Saturday’s 122-112 victory at Minnesota. Toronto is averaging 130.7 points during the streak and sit one game behind Miami for second place in the East. The Hawks won two games in a row including a 121-120 comeback victory in San Antonio Friday night, but couldn’t keep the momentum going in falling 136-103 to Detroit the next night. Atlanta welcomed back Jeff Teague – the Hawks point guard from 2009-16 – in a trade with Minnesota on Thursday, and scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting with seven assists off the bench. Toronto earned a 119-116 win at Atlanta on Nov. 23, but the Hawks covered the seven-point spread.
Guard Norman Powell has scored at least 20 points in all four games he’s played since returning from a left shoulder injury, while center Marc Gasol (hamstring) scored four points in Saturday’s win in his third game back. Powell is averaging 22.8 points and is shooting 61.4 percent from the field since returning. Gasol scored 20 points including 6-of-7 from three-point land in Friday’s 140-111 rout of Washington. Forward Pascal Siakam is the team’s leading scorer at 23.8 while also grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Veteran guard Kyle Lowry is averaging 8.7 assists in his last six games despite just two assists on Saturday. Toronto will host Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Atlanta guard Trae Young produced a triple-double (30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in the loss to Toronto earlier this season and is fourth in the NBA in scoring (28.8 points) and assists (8.5). Young had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss on Saturday. Guard Kevin Huerter scored just two points on Saturday after draining the game-winning 3-pointer against San Antonio the night before. John Collins has four double-doubles in his past six games and is averaging 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds during that span. The Hawks, who are just 5-15 at home, will host the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday.
The Hawks are young and outmatched here, but they do play hard and compete against teams over .500. They are 14-11 ATS and 9-5 at home when they play winning teams and this is too many points to lay on the road. I’ll take the home dog.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for Monday. He is 47-38-3 (55%) on the season!
Pick: Hawks +8
Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.
Raptors are 22-6 ATS in their last 28 games playing on 1 days rest.
Raptors are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games.
Raptors are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Raptors are 18-8 ATS in their last 26 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Raptors are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
Hawks are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
Hawks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Monday games.
Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Hawks are 45-20 ATS in their last 65 games following a double-digit loss at home.
Over is 4-0 in Raptors last 4 road games.
Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 overall.
Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400.
Over is 11-3 in Raptors last 14 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.
Under is 7-2 in Raptors last 9 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Under is 10-4-1 in Raptors last 15 games as a road favorite.
Over is 11-5 in Raptors last 16 games following a ATS win.
Over is 5-0 in Hawks last 5 games as a home underdog.
Over is 5-0 in Hawks last 5 home games.
Over is 6-1 in Hawks last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 6-1 in Hawks last 7 games as an underdog.
Under is 4-1 in Hawks last 5 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
Over is 6-2 in Hawks last 8 overall.
Over is 6-2 in Hawks last 8 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 6-2 in Hawks last 8 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Over is 5-2 in Hawks last 7 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 5-2 in Hawks last 7 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 10-4 in Hawks last 14 Monday games.
Under is 7-3 in Hawks last 10 games following a ATS loss.
Over is 7-3 in Hawks last 10 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Raptors are 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
Raptors are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Atlanta.
