• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Hawks-Raptors Preview

Mar 17, 2010 - 3:43 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (42-23) at Toronto (32-33), 7:00 p.m. EDT

A matchup with the league's worst team probably isn't the best indicator of how effective the Atlanta Hawks can be without Joe Johnson.

After easily winning their first game of the season without Johnson, the Hawks will likely be without their leading scorer again as they visit the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Johnson has played a significant role in Atlanta's success, averaging 21.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds. The Hawks (43-23) had to play without the All-Star guard for the first time this season Tuesday night, but they still cruised to a 108-84 win over New Jersey.

Johnson (Achilles' tendinitis) did not accompany the team on its two-game road trip, which concludes against Toronto (32-33).

Though the Raptors have lost five straight and nine of 10, this likely will be a decidedly tougher test for Atlanta, which hasn't had to overcome much adversity. Hawks players have missed a league-low 15 games due to injury this season.

Rookie Jeff Teague is expected to start for Johnson again, with Atlanta deciding to keep Jamal Crawford on the bench as its top reserve. The veteran guard had 25 points in 28 minutes against the Nets to lead the Hawks to their third straight win and ninth in 12 games.

"It's a luxury we have on this team," Atlanta center Al Horford said. "We really don't take him for granted. He can come in and change games for us."

Crawford is the league's leading scorer among players who have not started a game, averaging 17.6 points. He was one of nine Hawks to reach double figures in scoring against Toronto on Dec. 2, posting 16 points as Atlanta won 146-115.

It was Atlanta's highest-scoring game since a 149-123 win over Philadelphia on Jan. 30, 1993. The Hawks have won four straight against the Raptors, shooting 50.8 percent (31 for 61) from 3-point range over the last three.

Toronto doesn't appear to be in any shape to stop its defensive struggles in the series. The Raptors are allowing 113.8 points during their current skid.

A 109-98 loss to Portland on Sunday night left Toronto below .500 for the first time since Jan. 20, when it was 21-22. The Raptors are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago.

"There no science to it. It's not rocket science or brain surgery. You just have to win," Toronto forward Chris Bosh said. "If you make it complicated, it will be complicated. We just have to win games. That's all."

Bosh is coming off a strong performance, finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds in his fifth game after missing seven with a sprained ankle and a stomach virus. The Raptors won 18 of 25 games prior to Bosh's injury.

"I've had to have a few games to get back to my normal self," Bosh said. "It took a toll on us but that's the reality. We're just going to have to dig ourselves out of this hole and nobody can do it for us but ourselves."

Bosh needs four points to surpass 10,000 for his career. He's averaging 8.0 points in two matchups with the Hawks this season.