Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference will be battling it out this Wednesday when the Toronto Raptors (49-24, 2nd in the East) faceoff against the Atlanta Hawks (45-30, 3rd in the East) clash at the Air Canada Centre in arguably the biggest game of the day. Read on below for a breakdown of this blockbuster showdown and don’t forget to check out our free NBA betting picks at the end of this NBA odds preview.

How To Bet Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors NBA Spread

When: Wednesday, March 30, 7:30 PM ET Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario TV: NBATV/TSN Radio: 92.9 “The Game” FM Live Stream: NBA Stream NBA Line: Toronto (-2), OVER/UNDER: 200.0

Why Bet on Atlanta

The Hawks come into this game on an absolute red-hot form, having won four straight and nine of their last ten games. In addition, Atlanta has won its last four straight games on the road, including the hard-earned 102-100 win in Chicago on Monday night, and the Hawks boast of a stellar 8-2 SU/ATS mark in their last 10 road games. As a concern, though, Atlanta has dropped three straight games in the series against Toronto, and the Raptors have been one of the best home teams in the league. To have a winning chance, the Hawks will need all hands on deck, led by the in-form trio of Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and Dennis Schroder.

Why Bet on Toronto

Despite sitting pretty at five games ahead of the Hawks in the East and looking like a lock for the No. 2 seed in the conference, the Raptors comes into this game having lost three of their last four games, including the disappointing 119-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Even so, the Raptors can find motivation in the fact that they’ve owned the Hawks lately with three straight wins, holding Atlanta to 87.3 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting in those three contests. Moreover, the Raptors are decently 7-3 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 home games. Even more notably, the Raptors have two scoring maestros in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who could easily matchup to Atlanta’s scorers and cause all kinds of troubles to the Hawks’ defense.

Expert NBA Picks and Prediction

Given that Atlanta ranks sixth in the league in points allowed per game (at 98.9 points) and Toronto is fifth in the league in the same category (allowing 98.3 points per game), you can expect a cagey encounter between these two teams, most probably in a relatively low-scoring affair that will keep the total UNDER 200. Winning-wise, Atlanta is the in-form team while Lowry is banged up and questionable for the Raptors tonight, so I am inclined to go with the Hawks for a narrow win that will put an end to Toronto’s reign in this series.