The Toronto Raptors will have a bitter taste in their mouths when they get set to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, coming fresh off a concerning loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday that snapped Toronto’s four-game home winning streak.
Despite boasting the seventh-best defensive rating in the NBA, the Raptors allowed the Suns to put up 121 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent from three. Granted, the Suns are a difficult team to stop: Phoenix has the eighth-best offensive rating in the league and possesses a ton of options on the attacking end. However, given the outstanding defensive effort we have come to expect out of the Raptors, Sunday’s outing was more than a little alarming.
Now is not the time to slip on the defensive end. The Raptors are in the thick of a playoff race, holding just a half-game lead on the Chicago Bulls for third in the Eastern Conference and a three-and-a-half game lead on the Brooklyn Nets for tops in the Atlantic Division. At this juncture, any lapse will have serious consequences for playoff seeding.
Fortunately for the Raptors, the last time they faced Atlanta—back on Feb. 12—they dominated them in almost every facet of the game, taking the win 104-83. But Tuesday’s matchup isn’t a guaranteed cure for Toronto’s concerns as things should be a lot more competitive this time around.
After losing eight straight games, the Hawks have now won four straight and, at 30-35, hold a three-game lead on the New York Knicks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. The return of Paul Millsap has made a huge difference for a team that looked to be dropping out of the playoff race a few short weeks ago.
The Raptors should still have the advantage. They are the better team and the Hawks will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but it isn’t likely to be the blowout that we saw at the Air Canada Centre in February.
Here are a few more things to look for on Tuesday:
On a Tear
Kyle Lowry has been an absolute beast over the last five games, averaging team highs with 22 points and 9.8 assists, shooting 44 percent from three-point range and has carrying the Raptors for long stretches at a time. In short: Lowry has been indispensable.
On Sunday, the Raptors got a real scare when the point man took a knee to the head courtesy of Phoenix’s P.J Tucker and appeared to be quite shaken up. He stayed in the game, however he did not practice on Monday (the team attributed that to a bout of the flu) and his status remains somewhat in question. Lowry himself has been adamant that he will suit up on Tuesday night, but if he doesn’t go, or shows any ill effects after taking that blow to the head, the Raptors could find themselves in some hot water.
The Return of Millsap
Since returning to the Hawks lineup on Mar. 7, Millsap has averaged 20.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the arc. More importantly, the Hawks are 5-1 with Millsap back in the mix and have regained some of the poise they showed early in the season, when they were competing for the fourth seed in the East.
Defending the power forward position has been a challenge for the Raptors all year—on Sunday, Markieff Morris dropped 16 and 14 on Toronto—and things will be no different against Millsap.
Because of the big man’s speed and quickness, Amir Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough are likely to see the majority of the action against Millsap. Johnson had an underwhelming game against the Suns, grabbing just two rebounds and struggling defensively. Dwane Casey will really miss having Patrick Patterson as an option off the bench.