The Atlanta Hawks (47-32) take on the visiting Boston Celtics (47-32) at Philips Arena. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, Apr. 9 and will air on FxS.
The Hawks were victorious over the Raptors 95-87 on Thursday. Jeff Teague was the game’s high scorer with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 124-109 win over the Bucks on Friday. Tyler Zeller led the team in scoring with 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
Over the last five games, Teague has been playing at a high level for the Hawks. During that stretch, he has averaged 23.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.8 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the league’s elite defenses. The Hawks rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency (99.3), while the Celtics are fourth (101.3).
The Hawks have won two out of three against the Celtics this season, including a 109-101 victory in their last matchup. Despite the loss, Isaiah Thomas was the game’s leading scorer with 29 points.
The Hawks enter the game with records of 47-32 Straight Up (SU) and 40-37-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 47-32 SU and 40-37-2 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Hawks, who have the best opponent field-goal percentage in the league at .430. If its opponents turn the ball over, Atlanta has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 18.7 points off turnovers, making them the fourth-best team in the league for that category. Expect Atlanta to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Celtics, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the league with an average of 22.5 fouls per game.
On the other side, the Celtics head into the game with records of 40-37-2 ATS and 47-32 SU. In Eastern Conference games, Boston has gone 47-32 SU and 40-37-2 ATS. Teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Celtics, who are the fourth-best team in the league in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .334. They average 9.2 steals per game, good for second in the league. A large part of Boston’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.8 points per game off turnovers, which ranks second in the league.
Atlanta won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Celtics to 6-4 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. At 5-5, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl
Notes
“Atlanta is 14-7 ATS in its last 21 games “.
“Atlanta is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Atlanta is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games “.
“Atlanta is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta’s last 12 games at home”.
“Atlanta is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Boston”.
“Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta’s last 13 games when playing at home against Boston”.
Atlanta ranks 12th in points per game with 102.8, while Boston ranks 13th in points allowed with an average of 102.3 given up.
On average, Atlanta scores 103.2 points per home game (ranked 18th), while Boston allows 104.2 points per away game (ranked 15th).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are an outstanding 33-9. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Boston Celtics have a poor record of 6-15.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Hawks are just 14-23 this season. Boston is a solid 41-17 when it hits the century mark.
The Hawks have an offensive rating of 103.5 (ranked 17th). The Celtics rank fourth for their defensive rating of 101.3.
Boston beats Atlanta in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Celtics average 101.5 possessions and 1.043 points per possession, while the Hawks average 99.3 possessions with 1.035 points per possession.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking sixth in the league with an EFF% of 51.6%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Boston Celtics have a subpar 4-19 record.
The Atlanta Hawks, ranked second in the NBA, average 25.6 assists per game. The Boston Celtics make 24.3 assists (ranked sixth)
The Atlanta Hawks average 5.9 blocks per game for a rank of sixth. The Boston Celtics rank lower (22nd), earning 4.3 blocks each game.
The Atlanta Hawks rank 30th in offensive rebounding, while the Boston Celtics rank 15th in defensive rebounding.
The Atlanta Hawks rank third in steals, with an average of 9.1 per game. When the Boston Celtics allow at least 9 steals, they have a winning 21-11 record.
