PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* NBA Total MASSACRE >> 33-22-1 Last 56 NBA!
(NBA) Atlanta vs. Toronto,
Total: 213.50 | -110.00 Under
Result: Win
Total: 213.50 | -110.00 Under
Result: Win
The set-up: For the 12-13 Atlanta Hawks, the season has not gone as planned and Friday night they visit the Air Canada Centre to take on the 18-7 Toronto Raptors. Things can't go any worse for Atlanta than its last visit, as back on Dec. 23, the Hawks lost 128-84 in Toronto with the 44-point margin of victory being the largest in Raptors' history.
Atlanta: The Hawks lost center Al Horford to Boston via free agency and traded PG Jeff Teague. The biggest addition was center Dwight Howard and Atlanta promoted Dennis Schroder to be its staring PG. Howard (13.8 & 12.5) ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (62.3) and rebounding and Schroder (16.5 & 6.3 APG) just set a career high with 13 assists in Atlanta's last game, while averaging 21.6 points on 51.9 percent shooting in his past eight games. The Hawks continue to struggle after a 9-2 start to the season and while Schroder set a career high in assists the last time out, it came in a 131-120 home loss to Orlando, the highest point total against the Hawks since the Golden State Warriors scored 137 points on March 4, 2008.
Toronto: While the Hawks are fading, DeMar DeRozan (28.0 PPG) continues to put up big numbers and the Raptors continue to win. DeRozan posted his 13th, 30-point game of the season in Wednesday's 123-114 victory over Philadelphia, pushing Toronto 11 games above .500. The Raptors are third in the NBA in scoring at 111.9 per contest, while ranking second in both FG percentage (47.6%) and three-point percentage (39.9%). After a slow start, PG Lowry is hitting 44.2 percent of his shots from long range on the season, averaging 21.2 points and 7.3 assists per contest with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The pick: The Raptors come in with victories in 10 of their last 11 games, lifting them to a 4 1/2-game lead over the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Tuesday's loss to Orlando was Atlanta's 11th loss in its past 14 games and the Hawks have fallen outside of the Eastern Conference's top-eight. Expect the Raptors to control the flow of this game, as the Raptors are shooting an NBA-best 44.6 percent from three-point range in December, averaging 117.6 points per game this month. The Over is a 10* play.
Atlanta: The Hawks lost center Al Horford to Boston via free agency and traded PG Jeff Teague. The biggest addition was center Dwight Howard and Atlanta promoted Dennis Schroder to be its staring PG. Howard (13.8 & 12.5) ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (62.3) and rebounding and Schroder (16.5 & 6.3 APG) just set a career high with 13 assists in Atlanta's last game, while averaging 21.6 points on 51.9 percent shooting in his past eight games. The Hawks continue to struggle after a 9-2 start to the season and while Schroder set a career high in assists the last time out, it came in a 131-120 home loss to Orlando, the highest point total against the Hawks since the Golden State Warriors scored 137 points on March 4, 2008.
Toronto: While the Hawks are fading, DeMar DeRozan (28.0 PPG) continues to put up big numbers and the Raptors continue to win. DeRozan posted his 13th, 30-point game of the season in Wednesday's 123-114 victory over Philadelphia, pushing Toronto 11 games above .500. The Raptors are third in the NBA in scoring at 111.9 per contest, while ranking second in both FG percentage (47.6%) and three-point percentage (39.9%). After a slow start, PG Lowry is hitting 44.2 percent of his shots from long range on the season, averaging 21.2 points and 7.3 assists per contest with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The pick: The Raptors come in with victories in 10 of their last 11 games, lifting them to a 4 1/2-game lead over the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Tuesday's loss to Orlando was Atlanta's 11th loss in its past 14 games and the Hawks have fallen outside of the Eastern Conference's top-eight. Expect the Raptors to control the flow of this game, as the Raptors are shooting an NBA-best 44.6 percent from three-point range in December, averaging 117.6 points per game this month. The Over is a 10* play.
