Atlanta Hawks vs Toronto Raptors: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups for Monday's Matchup

Every NBA team has matchups that it struggles with in the regular season. Sometimes, those matchups are indicative of the team's flaws that ultimately rear their head in the postseason. Other times, those struggles are more indicative of circumstances, talent deficit, and the grind of the 82-game season rather than a real problem with the team.

By now, it seems that the Hawks' struggles with the Raptors may be more of the former. Atlanta has already played three games against Toronto and they've gotten soundly trounced in all three. The most embarrassing of these was the season opener, a 138-118 loss that suggested Atlanta's preseason hype was more of a mirage than reality. Each time, the Hawks' inconsistent offense and terrible defense have led to them losing to the Raptors by double-digit margins. Toronto's roster isn't tiers above Atlanta's, and they've been without their starting center for the last 10 games. There isn't a great reason why this team should be giving them so many struggles.

Therefore, it's imperative that the Hawks approach tonight's game with some urgency. It also counts towards their conference record, which is a middling 10-14 at the moment. This is a winnable game, but the Hawks will have to show some progress from their tough loss against this same team two days ago.

By the Numbers

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Raptors, Toronto Raptors, Jalen Johnson, Johnso — Jan 3, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) tries to defend during the second quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Atlanta's offense has been mostly solid over the past few games, but it wasn't good enough against a tough Raptors defense in the last game. They are 9th in points, 6th in FG%, 5th in 3P%, 22nd in FT%, 25th in rebounds (26th in OREB, 21st in DREB), 1st in assists, and 17th in turnovers per game. They're 18th in offensive rating this year.

The defense still has tons of room for improvement, and Toronto exploited them on that end of the floor. The Hawks' defense ranks 25th in points allowed, 22nd in FG% allowed, 12th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 6th in steals, and 16th in blocks. They're 17th in defensive rating this year.

Toronto's offense has been a problem this year, but they didn't have any problems against the Hawks. The Raptors are 23rd in points, 11th in FG%, 19th in 3P%, 21st in FT%, 22nd in rebounds (17th in OREB, 18th in DREB), 4th in assists, and 13th in turnovers per game. They're 19th in offensive rating this year.

The strength of their defense is where a decent portion of Toronto's success is coming from. They are 4th in points allowed, 8th in FG% allowed, 3rd in 3P% allowed, 14th in rebounds allowed, 11th in steals, and 19th in blocks. They're 4th in defensive rating this year.

Three Reasons The Hawks Can Win This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Daniels, Dyson Daniel — Jan 3, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) controls the ball as Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) tries to defend during the first quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

One of the most baffling trends of this season has been head coach Quin Snyder's continued ignorance of big man Mo Gueye's consistent productivity. Gueye had another great game in limited minutes against the Raptors, especially on defense. In 20 minutes, he produced 4 rebounds and two steals while the Hawks had a defensive rating of 109.1 with him on the court. That number fell to 134.4 when he was off the court. This is indicative of a broader trend that suggests Gueye is one of the Hawks' best defenders in the halfcourt. The Hawks hold teams to 7.9 fewer points per 100 plays in the halfcourt with Gueye on the court (91st percentile among bigs). While the 20 minutes represent a slight increase in his workload, he needs to get more playing time at critical moments so that he can actually make a significant difference on defense.

Jalen Johnson drew a tough matchup against Scottie Barnes, but he handled it well despite falling short of a triple-double. He had 30 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds on 10-21 shooting. The Raptors were able to get into his handle and force four turnovers, but this was largely a good game from Johnson. He was especially lethal from deep, going 4-9 from three-point range to give the Hawks a chance in this one. After starting the year ice-cold from deep, Johnson is quietly hitting 37.7% of his threes while taking 4.4 of them a game. That is excellent volume, and it'll be huge for the Hawks' ceiling if he can maintain it over a full season.

Vit Krejci had an excellent game off the bench for the Hawks - he went 4/4 from deep and also forced two steals against the Raptors in just 23 minutes of play. His impact as one of the NBA's best shooters has been noticeable in so many of Atlanta's game and a consistently hot Krejci could be another swing piece against the Raptors tonight.

Three Reasons The Hawks Might Lose This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Ingram, Brandon Ingram, Raptors, Toronto Raptor — Oct 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Despite not having a true center in their lineup, the Raptors were still relentless in attacking the paint. They finished with 60 points in the paint to Atlanta's 46, indicating that they were not scared of what Onyeka Okongwu's rim protection. They had little reason to be - the center finished with 4 points and a measly three rebounds in 30 minutes of action. It was just a really bad game from Okongwu and he has to be more physical tonight in the paint if the Hawks have any chance of winning.

Even though the Hawks and Raptors finished with the same amount of steals and roughly the same amount of turnovers, Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were not able to deal with Toronto's ability to force wasted possessions as a result of takeaways. The two best ball-handlers for the Hawks combined for ten turnovers and NAW in particular had three assists to six turnovers. Both of them need to clean it up tonight as there aren't enough capable ball-handlers on the roster for the Hawks to consistently survive those types of games.

Once again, the Hawks struggled to get Brandon Ingram off his rhythym. He scored 29 points on a blistering 11-15 from the field and it seemed like all 29 came on the same move. Ingram just dribbled into the paint, created seperation and hit the fade-away midrange jumper. He won't always hit those shots, but it was a little strange to see that the Hawks didn't consistently send two at him in order to get him out of rhythym. Both Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker jumped at several of his moves and they have to be more disciplined on that end tonight.

Injury Report

Trae Young is out while Luke Kennard is questionable.

Jakob Poetl is out for the Raptors.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, CAN

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Raptors

G - Immanuel Quickley

G- RJ Barrett

F- Brandon Ingram

F- Collin Murray-Boyles

C- Scottie Barnes