Hawks vs. Raptors Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
The Toronto Raptors might be at full strength following COVID protocols, as they come out of the All-Star break on Thursday to host the Atlanta Hawks in Tampa, Fla. The NBA odds will depend on if the Raptors have some/all of their three key players back.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
There have been two NBA head coaches fired this season: Minnesota canned Ryan Saunders and replaced him full-time with Raptors assistant Chris Finch; and Atlanta fired Lloyd Pierce and replaced him on an interim (but possibly full-time) basis in-house with assistant and long-time former NBA head coach Nate McMillan.
The Timberwolves were never expected to be good, but the Hawks absolutely had playoff expectations after adding a few top free agents this off-season, to a core group of Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish and Clint Capela.
However, Atlanta comes out of the break with a disappointing 16-18 record – although the team looked much better in the two games since McMillan took over. Sometimes, a mid-season coaching change can spur a team. Atlanta absolutely has the talent to reach the playoffs but they need to get Hunter healthy and back into the lineup, as he has been the team’s second-best player this season, behind Young. Hunter has been out since late January and isn’t particularly close to returning. Also out injured, is another former lottery pick in Reddish.
Thursday is Atlanta’s first visit to Tampa this season (presumably ever), and the Hawks will return there on April 13. Toronto is 9-1 SU in the past 10 meetings overall and 6-4 ATS.
Atlanta Hawks
Every player is surely glad to have had the All-Star break, but it perhaps came at a bad time for the Hawks. Atlanta was rolling in their two games with McMillan as coach, picking up wins in Miami and Orlando – the team’s first-back-to-back victories since Jan. 20 & 22. Trae Young was a major Eastern Conference All-Star snub, as he’s averaging 26.4 points and 9.4 assists per game – although he’s still horrible on defence. In Atlanta’s 132-121 home victory over Toronto on Feb. 6, Young had 28 points (14-for-14 from the free throw line) and 13 assists. Clint Capela had 23 points and 16 rebounds. The Hawks shot a whopping 56.8 per cent from the field and were 29-for-33 from the free throw line.
Toronto Raptors
The Dinos limped into the All-Star break with back-to-back losses to the Pistons and Celtics. The losses were not huge surprises (at least the Boston loss), as Toronto was without starters Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and coach Nick Nurse and much of his staff due to COVID protocols. Thus, the break probably came at the perfect time for Toronto – which currently holds the No. 8 playoff spot in the East via tiebreaker over Chicago. In that first Hawks game, Chris Boucher had 29 points and 10 rebounds, VanVleet had 25 points and Norman Powell 20, but Kyle Lowry was just 4-for-16 for nine points.
Whether Siakam, VanVleet, Anunoby and Nurse all return Thursday depends on whether they tested positive or not for the virus and if they keep testing negative through Thursday morning. For our purposes, we will assume they are all back (if none of them are, you should back Atlanta). In the meantime, the Raptors signed forward Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract.
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