NBA Betting Preview (Feb. 23): Raptors vs. Hawks Odds

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The Toronto Raptors have an excellent opportunity to gain some ground in the race for an Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament spot on Friday night when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.

Toronto, which sits 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, trails the 10th-place Hawks by 4 1/2 games with 26 regular season contests remaining. But it won’t be easy for the Raptors, who play on the second night of a back-to-back after a 121-93 blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

Atlanta stumbled into the All-Star break with lopsided losses to the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls. This will be the team’s first contest since Feb. 14.

Let’s dive into bet365‘s odds for this contest:

Raptors vs. Hawks odds

Raptors Moneyline Odds	+225
Hawks Moneyline Odds	-275
Over/Under	245.5 points (over -110, under -110)
Spread	Hawks -7 (-110)
Time/Date	Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV	Broadcast: SN1 Stream: NBA League Pass (How to watch the NBA in Canada?)

All odds courtesy of

About the Raptors (20-36 SU, 27-29 ATS, 29-27 o/u)

The Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with Thursday’s impressive win over the Nets. The team shot 49% from the field and 45% from three-point range while outscoring the Nets 46-7 in fast break points. Immanuel Quickley and Gary Trent Jr. recorded five three-balls apiece, with the latter leading all scorers with 25 points.

This will be the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the two teams. The Raptors claimed a 135-128 victory as 2.5-point favourites in the first meeting on Dec. 13 at Scotiabank Arena. The teams met again two nights later at the same venue, with the Hawks cruising to a lopsided 125-104 victory as 1.5-point underdogs. In the most recent meeting on Jan. 28, the Hawks edged the Raptors by a score of 126-125 but didn’t cover as 6.5-point favourites.

About the Hawks (24-31 SU, 17-38 ATS, 31-24 o/u)

In their most recent win over Toronto, four Hawks finished with double-doubles: Trae Young (30 points, 12 assists), Saddiq Bey (26 points, 13 rebounds), Clint Capela (19 points, 14 rebounds), and Jalen Johnson (17 points, 12 rebounds). Atlanta has had at least four players record a double-double in the same game five times this season, with two of those five games coming against the Raptors.

Young made his third career All-Star appearance this year and also finished as the runner-up to Damian Lillard in the three-point contest. He’s absolutely torched the Raptors this season, averaging 34.3 points and 13.3 assists over the three previous meetings. However, Young has failed to score more than 20 points in each of his last three games.

Injury concerns

Onyeka Okongwu (toe) and Mouhamed Gueye (back) are out for the Hawks.

RJ Barrett is questionable for Toronto due to knee injury management.

Betting trends

• The under is 4-1 in Toronto’s last five games.
• Toronto is 5-2 ATS in the past seven meetings with Atlanta.
• Atlanta, which is just 17-38 ATS this season, is 6-3 ATS in its last nine games.
• The over is 10-2 in Toronto’s last 12 road games.

Player prop trends

• Trent Jr. has recorded two or more assists in four of his last five games. He’s -140 to record over 1.5 dimes.
• Scottie Barnes has been hitting the glass recently, snatching nine or more rebounds in five straight games. He’s +115 to haul in over 8.5 rebounds. Barnes has also recorded at least one steal in five straight games and is -240 to get at least one theft.
• Jakob Poeltl is coming off a three-block performance Thursday against the Nets and has at least two blocks in six of his last nine games. He’s averaging two blocks per game in two contests against Atlanta this season and is -125 to record over 1.5 blocks.

Wagers to consider

• Young over 23.5 points: -140. The Hawks point guard appeared out of gas heading into the All-Star break, but he should be rejuvenated after having a few days off. He’s posted mammoth numbers against the Raptors this year and should bounce back in this spot. He might even be worth a look to score 30 or more points at +240.
• Raptors team total over 119.5 points: -115. Atlanta is one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, with a defensive rating of 122.1 (29th in the NBA) while allowing 123.9 points per game (30th). Yes, the Raptors could have tired legs playing on consecutive nights, but this number still seems low given the Hawks’ matador defence.