posted April 2, 2008 at 14:05 in NBA Articles

Eastern conference action heats up Wednesday night when the (38-36) Toronto Raptors invade the Phillips Arena to take on the (34-40) Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors currently sit 21 games in back of the Atlantic Division leading Boston Celtics, but they come into tonight’s contest the proud owners of the #5 seed in the East. The roads been none to kind to the Raptors this season evidenced by their 16-21 SU and 17-19-1 ATS marks as a visitor. Atlanta trails the Southeast Division leading Orlando Magic by 12.5-games, and are clinging onto the #8 seed for dear life. The Hawks have picked up 24 of their wins on the season in their comfy confines, and they’ve treated their backers affably in this venue going 19-17-1 ATS.

The Raptors last took the floor on Monday night in Charlotte where they handed the Bobcats a 104-100 home defeat and barely covered the three-point spread. The combined 204-points surpassed the closing ‘total’ of 197.5 by a couple of buckets.

The victory snapped their six-game road losing streak, and the Raptors come into tonight’s contest winners in 3 of their L/4 overall.

As for Atlanta, they too picked up a road victory their last time out. They had no problem covering the three-point spread as they trounced the Memphis Grizzlies by a 116-99 final count. The combined 215 points exceeded the closing mark of 209 making over bettors ecstatic. The win was the Hawks fourth in a row, and they come into tonight’s match-up with the Raptors SU winners in 8 of their L/10 overall. They’ve gone 6-4 ATS during that stretch playing in higher scoring games as the over has cashed in four straight and in 8 of their L/10 overall.

These clubs have met twice this season, and the Raptors held the upper hand in both meetings. They won by a 100-88 final count back in mid December covering as three-point road chalks, and then held serve at home in January winning 89-78 as six-point home chalks. They’ve won and covered four straight from the Hawks, and the over cashed in three of those four match-ups.

The Hawks recent form has earned them the right to be considered the favorite in their own house against the Raptors for the first time since November of 2006. They currently sit as 2.5-point favorites with the ‘total’ set at 204.5. Both of these numbers can currently be wagered upon at BetUS.com right now. Those thinking about backing the home team take note: the Raptors are 5-1 ATS their L/6 meetings with the Hawks, and the road team has covered 14 of the L/20 overall meetings.

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