Toronto at Atlanta, Hawks -3, total 182

One of the most annoying things of the race for the President in the United States for me was the constant talk of Joe the Plumber. Considering the Raps are in Atlanta tonight, I will be happy if Joe the Plumber is the only Joe that bothers me. Sadly enough, I already have visions of Joe Johnson torching the Raps with jumper after jumper after jumper. If watching the Pistons game the other night is any indication, things could be bad in Atlanta this evening.

Normally a Friday night game on the road is enough to give me doubt but considering the Hawks are undefeated and have already knocked off Orlando and New Orleans, the Raps will be in tough.

Here is what you need to know about tonight’s game

Game bullets

  • The Hawks look to improve on their best start in 11 years.
  • The Hornets came in as the NBA’s top scoring team at 106.7 points per game, but faced a Hawks team that is holding opponents to one of the league’s lowest scoring averages with 84.0 points.
  • Joe Johnson is second in the NBA in scoring this season with 28.0 points per game. He averaged 25.3 points in three games against the Raptors last season.
  • Jermaine O’Neal is averaging 17.4 points in 29 career games versus the Hawks.
  • The Raptors play five of their next seven on the road, where they’ve won twice this season. Atlanta lost two of three to Toronto last season, with their only win coming in overtime at home.

For the bettor in you

The Raptors are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 Friday games.

The favorite is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

The over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Atlanta.

The Raptors are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The over is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings.

The Raptors are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Atlanta.

More stuff

If the Raptors can’t get any help from the wing or the bench, the Hawks are going to key in on Bosh and Calderon and force someone else to beat them.

Atlanta is full of athletes and that usually is what Toronto struggles with. Josh Smith needs to be blocked out on every shot or he is going to live on the offensive boards.

If the Hawks don’t mess things up in classic Atlanta fashion, this team has all the makings of being a big surprise in the East this year.

Prediction

Atlanta wins going away 105-90. Yes boooo but I actually fear the Hawks and am not sold the Raps are much better than last season. Prove me wrong guys, prove me wrong.

Other links

Raptors Republic - A Matt Devlin interview.

Doug Smith’s blog - JO is beating himself up, the Hawks are beating everyone.

Raptorblog - Links from around the NBA.

Raptors HQ - 3 in the Key, today’s game day preview.

Peachtree Hoops - They are appreciating their man Josh Smith.

As always you can find all of the Raptors blogs and sites here.

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