Hawks at Raptors Game Preview

What to expect as the Hawks visit Canada for a matchup with the defending champs.

The Hawks will visit Toronto on Tuesday for the first time this season. Despite the vast disparity between the two teams in talent and experience, Atlanta has played the defending champions close in each of the two meetings against them this year, and will look for their first win against Toronto on the season. The last game between the two sides swung wildly back and forth, as the Hawks erased a 21-point lead the Raptors had built up over the third quarter before falling just short late in the fourth. Norman Powell exploded for 27 points off the bench in that contest as none of Toronto’s starters played particularly well, and Trae Young led the Hawks with 42 points and 15 assists – including 18 points in the fourth quarter to help pull Atlanta back within striking distance.

Competing with the champs on Tuesday could be a more challenging endeavor, however. Atlanta will be without Alex Len, DeAndre’ Bembry, and Jabari Parker, and Bruno Fernando is listed as questionable after straining his left calf on Sunday. Meanwhile, most of Toronto’s rotation is (finally) healthy and firing on all cylinders. The Raptors weathered stayed afloat while its three best players battled prolonged injury-related absences, and have now won seven games in a row since Marc Gasol returned from a strained left hamstring.

Game Time: Tuesday, January 28, 2020, 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, Canada

TV: FOX Sports Southeast, Toronto SportsNet

Streaming: NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Southeast

Spread: TOR -12.5

They’re up to a league-average offense despite missing three central offensive cogs, and own the second-best defense in the NBA thanks to smart scheming and athletic, instinctive personnel. Toronto is extremely active and perhaps the league’s most creative defensive team – willing to try most any coverage or formation to throw opponents out of rhythm.

“This team is an effort defensive team,” Lloyd Pierce said after Atlanta’s last meeting with the Raptors. “They don’t care where they help from, they don’t care how they help. They are going to help. And so we have to punish the help by moving them and continuing to move them, and putting them in rotation.”

That won’t be easy with Lowry, Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet roaming the perimeter while Gasol lurks at the basket. Despite his limited athleticism, Gasol is one of the league’s best deterrents at the rim due to his intelligence and positioning. Ibaka isn’t the same force he was earlier in his career, but still protects the rim at a passable rate for a backup center. Toronto will likely stick VanVleet on Young, though the Hawks’ point guard will surely see many different looks throughout the game. The 6-foot-7 Anunoby (who has a 7-foot-3 wingspan and quick feet) will occasionally defend smaller players on the perimeter.

Gasol’s lack of explosiveness could unlock Atlanta’s vertical game around the rim and allow Young to have success moving downhill, though drive-and-kick windows and passing lanes along the perimeter could be limited. Only the Bulls force a higher percentage of turnovers than the energetic and long-limbed Raptors, and the Hawks must be careful and perceptive about which passes are worth attempting and which ones are better left alone.

Offensively, no team read the game and moves the ball quite like Toronto. They make the extra pass instinctively, swinging the ball to shooters and spotting cutters without second thought; Gasol and Lowry in particular always seem to have an idea of where the ball should be and how to get it there on time. The Raptors create the third-highest shot quality in the league, according to Cleaning the Glass’ tracking data, and fourth-highest share of shots at the rim. They have struggled to convert those close-range looks without their three best offensive players, though a top-six 3-point percentage has kept their offense afloat.

Toronto’s recent surge shouldn’t come as a surprise. Despite losing reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and starting shooting guard Danny Green over the summer, this remains a smart, talented, and well-rounded team with one of the five best coaches in the NBA at the helm. What that says about the team’s playoff ceiling remains to be seen, but the Raptors have the sixth-best net rating in the NBA (just behind Leonard’s Clippers) and are on pace for one fewer win this season than they were at this time last year. Siakam has blossomed into an All-Star in his own right, and every piece of the roster fits exactly as it should. Enjoy these Raptors. They may lack the top-end talent of a championship team, but with or without a superstar, this team captivates – and then it wins.