Ja’Kobe Walter Out
Collin Murray-Boyles Out
None
The Hawks host the Raptors in their season opener. This should be a strong Eastern Conference battle. With Toronto trying to prove themselves, the Hawks are looking to stand out as true contenders this year. We’ll see how they look as we get our first real glimpse of both of these teams.
The Hawks have by far the most interesting roster this year in terms of competition. They added Kristaps Porzingis to the lineup, have Jalen Johnson back from injury, and added Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard through free agency. This team took a massive leap forward, with strong defenders and elite scorers. This looks like a dangerous roster that could find itself near the top of the standings by the end of the year. Of course, you can’t talk about Atlanta without mentioning Trae Young. He’s been the biggest question mark about this team. Once leading them to the Eastern Conference finals, no one quite knows what he is. Is he just a good stats guy, or is he truly one of the elite guards in the NBA? This is going to be the real prove-it year, surrounded by the best roster of his career. Overall, though, this roster is impressive. They’ve made great trades, excellent free-agent signings, and some solid draft picks. All in all, this is looking like a must-watch team this year, with so many layers of intrigue.
Switching over to Toronto. This team is interesting, but not for the same reasons as Atlanta. They’re full of decent young talent, but something about this roster feels discordant. They lack a clear personality or direction. It seems like a collection of talent without a purpose. Adding Brandon Ingram last season at the trade deadline brought a high-end veteran scoring talent to the front court. However, that adds another ball-dependent forward next to their young star, Scottie Barnes. Meanwhile, they’ve never seemed to figure out their backcourt. Running essentially two shooting guard guards in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, playmaking seems like a real issue for this team. It just feels like this group is full of ball-dependent scorers, without much cohesion. Defensively, this team is also confusing. They did pick up an excellent defender in Collin Murray-Boyles, who was 9th in the draft, but he’ll be out tonight. Looking at the rest of the roster, the only other defenders I like are Ochai Agbaji and Quickley at times. Poeltl is decent at defending the paint, but I doubt he’ll be able to cover for the lack of perimeter defense. This team is such a question mark. It’s talented, young, and could come together, but it lacks clear direction. It feels like this team is waiting for a trade to pull everything together. But as it stands, I’m not sure how much success this team will find.
In terms of the matchup, Atlanta has a clear advantage tonight. Their defense is going to be extremely disruptive with two excellent iso and point-of-attack defenders. With the ability to shut down independent scorers and Toronto’s limited playmaking, they’re going to struggle on the road tonight. As long as Atlanta maintains focus on defense and finds some easy points in transition, I don’t think they’ll have any trouble with Toronto tonight. That’s why I’m taking the Atlanta moneyline, the under on the 237.5-point total, and the Atlanta spread at -5.5.
Money line: TOR (+180) / ATL (-218)
Total Points: 237.5
Spread: +5.5 TOR (-110) / -5.5 ATL (-110)
Ingram is coming into this game as the wild card for the team. He didn’t play a single minute in Toronto after getting traded there, so we don’t have much info to go on. However, neither do the sportsbooks. Considering Ingram’s playstyle is fairly ball-dominant and he is a self-sufficient scorer, I don’t see his scoring dropping off. He’s coming in healthier and bigger than ever. He averaged 22 points in a short season with New Orleans last year, so getting 18.5 for his first game in Toronto feels like a steal. The over looks extremely tempting tonight.
Daniels was a revelation last year. He transformed into one of the best perimeter defenders we’ve seen in a while, nearly earning DPOY. Now entering his second season in Atlanta, he has more defensive talent surrounding him than ever. Combine that with Toronto lacking a true playmaker, and it should give Daniels plenty of chances to play passing lanes all night. Especially with how poor Toronto's three-point shooting has been recently, attacking inside will only create more opportunities for Daniels to grab steals. The over looks promising, even at 3 steals for the night.
Trae continues to be one of the best playmaking guards in the league. Considering the talent they added around him this year, I think it’s only getting better. With Jalen Johnson back, Kristaps Porzingis at center, and Zaccharie Risacher at the three, Trae should be able to find a shooter anywhere. With the Toronto defense looking a bit suspect too, I’d be surprised if Trae doesn’t hit the over in their home opener tonight.
Poeltl continues to be one of the most consistent centers in the league. While he isn’t a star, he’s the anchor for Toronto. He locks down the paint, grabs boards, sets screens, and does every little thing well. Toronto also lacks backup bigs, with second-year player Jonathan Mogbo as their primary backup. Poeltl should see plenty of time out there tonight.