First Place In The East Is Only 5.5 Games Ahead Of Ninth Place

Shoutout to Fred VanVleet and Darius Garland, who were both named to their first All-Star game last night 👏 — let’s talk Hawks vs. Raptors 👇

Raptors vs. Hawks Preview

A pair of Eastern Conference Sleepers face-off tonight, when the Hawks travel to Canada to face the Raptors. Despite being the 8th and 10th seeds in the East, they’ve been two of the hottest teams in the league 🌶

• The Hawks have won eight of their last nine games, and just took down the Suns

• The Raptors are 12-6 since New Year’s Eve, and beat the Bulls in OT last night

Without a clear hierarchy at the top of the east — the first and ninth seeds are separated by just 5.5 games — a torrid run to close the season could vault almost anybody into the upper-echelon. Here’s how Vegas expects things to go tonight 👇

Raptors vs. Hawks Betting Preview

• Spread: Raptors -1.5

• Moneyline: Hawks +105 (bet $100, win $105), Raptors -125 (bet $125, win $100)

The Hawks swept the season series between the two teams last year, but the Raptors won their only game against each other so far this season on Monday, 106-100

The Hawks are HOT

After a shaky start to the year, following a surprise trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last postseason, the Hawks have caught fire seemingly out of nowhere. Winners of seven straight before the loss to the Raptors, it’s hard to say what kicked them into gear 🥾

However, two big roster moves coincided with the start of the streak (1/17):

1. Cam Reddish was traded to the Knicks on 1/13

2. De’Andre Hunter returned from injury on 1/14

With Reddish gone, the more defensive Hunter has seen more playing time. The Hawks have started to keep opposing teams from going off, just enough to give their offense some breathing room 😮‍💨

😑 On the season, the Hawks rank…

• 3rd in offense

• 27th in defense

😍 Over the last two weeks, they’re…

• 7th in offense

• 3rd in defense

Also, Onyeka Okongwu’s quiet emergence as a potential star after an injury-riddled and disappointing rookie season has given them new life. If the Hawks make it out of the play-in, they could be a nightmare first round matchup in the playoffs for one of the East’s top seeds 👀

Toronto Is Back

It’s hard to overstate just how weird last season was for the Raptors. While every other NBA team was able to return to their home court for all of their home games last season, the Raptors were stuck in Tampa for 41 games. Away from their families or in temporary living situations, the emotional toll wore on the team, bleeding into on-court production

• After winning the NBA title and then 53 of 72 games in 2019-20, the Raptors finished just 27-45 last year before signing and trading Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat

However, their poor record earned them the fourth pick in the Draft, with which they were able to select FSU’s Scottie Barnes, a 20-year-old who already looks like a future star. Here are Barnes’ ranks among a loaded rookie class 👇

• 2nd in RPG, APG, and Win Shares

• 3rd in PPG

• 5th in BPG and SPG

Around him, Pascal Siakam is playing the five and has rounded back into All-NBA shape after a down season, while Fred VanVleet was just named an All-Star for the first time in his career. Not to mention Gary Trent Jr. is setting records every night 👇

• He just set the franchise record for 30-point games in a row (five)

• He also became the fourth player in NBA history with 30+ points and 5+ threes in five straight games

With the ever crafty Nick Nurse at the helm of this collection of rangy and competitive athletes, I’d be afraid of them in any Eastern Conference Playoff matchup

Trivia question: With their Championship in 2019, the Raptors became the 20th franchise to win an NBA title. Which team has the longest active drought since their last Finals appearance? (answer below)

For My Parlay Gurus

Since the Hawks have been one of the worst teams in the NBA against the spread, I expect the rolling Raptors to cover, even as a home favorite. I’m also taking the Pacers at home against the Bulls on the second night of a road-road back-to-back

• Raptors -1.5 vs. Hawks: -110

• Pacers +2 vs. Bulls: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit make sure you email [email protected] for $100*. First come, first serve 😉

Trivia answer: The Atlanta Hawks won a chip in 1958, lost in the Finals in ‘60 and ‘61, and haven’t been back since for a drought of 61 years, the longest in the league