Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors preview: Down the Stretch

Well, the All-Star Break has come and passed and now the Atlanta Hawks are looking down the stretch as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.

They’ve dominated the league the entire year, and are looking to use their 6.5 game advantage to spur them into the playoffs as the top seed. That starts tonight with a matchup against the No. 2 Toronto Raptors–one of the few teams in the NBA who, like the Hawks, didn’t do much at the trade deadline.

The Raptors are currently sitting with a franchise-best record of 36-17 and are using Kyle Lowry to make them one of the best teams in the league.

Lowry comes into this one with a team-best 20.4 PER while leading the team in scoring (18.6 points per game) assists (7.2 per game) and steals (1.6 per game).

Toronto is one of the few teams who can claim success against the Hawks this season, as they currently lead the series with two wins to just one loss to Mike Budenholzer’s squad.

This is the last time these two teams will face each other this year–barring a series in the playoffs–so if the Hawks actually think they are the best team in the East (and they should) look for them to try and prove that in Philip’s Arena tonight.