Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/14/2023

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Where to watch: TSN, BSSE-ATL

DraftKings: Raptors -5; TOR -200, ATL +170; O/U 233

FanDuel: Raptors -5; TOR -200, ATL +168; O/U 232.5

BetMGM: Raptors -5.5; TOR -225, ATL +180 O/U 232.5

Caesars: Raptors -5.5; TOR -225, ATL +185; O/U 233

Hawks: 20-22

Raptors: 19-23

Hawks: won 113-111 at Pacers

Raptors: won 124-114 vs. Hornets

How bad is it getting for the Atlanta Hawks? Not only are they freefalling with no end in sight, but they ended up struggling against the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Now heading into a back-to-back against the Toronto Raptors, with travel to another country involved, I don’t trust the Hawks to figure out how exactly to handle this if they couldn’t dominate a Pacers team without Tyrese Haliburton.

But that’s the way things have gone for the Hawks as of late. They’ve lost six of their last eight entering Friday’s game in Indiana and have looked about as abysmal as one could look. For a team that had Eastern Conference aspirations, the fact that they’re below .500 right now is not a good look.

“We did a better job of applying pressure in the second half," Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said after the Hawks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. “This is a team that’s going to try to attack the paint, attack the rim and if they can’t get to the rim, they’re going to shoot 3s. In the second half we got more pressure, disrupted more and were able to get some stops."

Even though the Hawks wound up winning 113-111 against the shorthanded Pacers, there’s still not much to trust from the Atlanta side. It took a game-winning tip from John Collins and a ho-hum shooting night from Trae Young to get it done. Young finished with 26 points on 6 of 16 shooting, but all of his makes came from 3-point range (6 of 10). Dejounte Murray had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists but shot 7 of 18 to get those 18 points.

The Raptors, meanwhile, are coming off consecutive home wins over the Charlotte Hornets, the latest being a 124-114 win in which Pascal Siakam finished with 35 points on 11 of 13 shooting and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line to outduel Hornets star LaMelo Ball. Scottie Barnes had 21 points in 34 minutes, and the Raptors found a way to win despite the Hornets outshooting them 53 to 51 percent and making three fewer 3-pointers than Charlotte. The difference? The Raptors made nine more free throws and forced 22 Charlotte turnovers.

“We’ve just got to keep going,” Barnes said. “Don’t settle for less. Stay hungry. That’s what the team mindset is right now, stay hungry.”

“If you turn the ball over 22 times and you’re minus-nine in the free throw game, end of story,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “It’s hard to win.”

The Raptors’ three-game winning streak has been coupled with them covering in three straight after failing to angle the spread in the previous five of six. Toronto, of course with this deal of Atlanta traveling, opens as 5.5-point favorites at most books.

Atlanta is hard to gauge right now and the fact that it took a buzzer-beater to escape Indiana tells me the Hawks are going to be too tired to handle this kind of game. Toronto at home should handle this easily. Raptors 115, Hawks 102

Raptors are 6-17 ATS at home off a win by 10 points or more the last 3 seasons.

Raptors are 4-17 ATS after committing 13-plus fewer turnovers than the opponent since 1996.

Hawks are 24-42 ATS on the road the last 2 seasons.

Hawks are 9-19 ATS when playing 6 games in 14 days the last 2 seasons.

PG: Trae Young

SG: Dejounte Murray

SF: De’Andre Hunter

PF: John Collins

C: Onyeka Okongwu

PG: Fred VanVleet

SG: Gary Trent Jr.

SF: O.G. Anunoby

PF: Scottie Barnes

C: Pascal Siakam

Hawks: Clint Capela (calf, out)

Raptors: None

Points: Trae Young – 27.5

Rebounds: John Collins – 8.1

Assists: Trae Young – 9.8

Points: Pascal Siakam – 26.1

Rebounds: Pascal Siakam – 8.3

Assists: Pascal Siakam – 6.4