Celtics vs. Hawks NBA Online Betting, Picks and Prediction for a potential first-round Eastern Conference playoff

The NBA’s Trade Deadline is Thursday, which means that Wednesday vs. Boston could be the final game in an Atlanta Hawks uniform for ex-All-Star guard Dejounte Murray as he is reportedly very much available. The Celtics will be heavy home favorites vs. Atlanta on the NBA odds. 2024 NBA Expert Analysis Atlanta vs Boston | MyBookie Sportsbook NBA Week 16

How to Bet Hawks at Celtics NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: TD Garden
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Celtics -12.5 (total 243.5)

Celtics vs. Hawks Season Series

Boston leads 1-0, winning 113-103 at home over Atlanta on Nov. 26. Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 21 for the Celtics, who were without injured starters Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Yet Boston never trailed. Trae Young paced the Hawks with 33 points and seven assists. De’Andre Hunter chipped in with 24 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 23 for Atlanta. The Celtics have won six straight in the series overall and five in a row at home. They will still visit Atlanta twice later this season.

Why Bet on Atlanta Hawks?

The Hawks had a four-game winning streak snapped on Monday in a wild 149-144 home loss to the red-hot Clippers as Atlanta finished 4-2 on their six-game homestand. The Hawks were without starting center Clint Capela in this contest (sidelined for a minimum of 7-10 days with an adductor strain) while the Clippers were on the second night of a back-to-back and without their own starting center Ivica Zubac.

Kawhi Leonard keyed an 8-2 burst with under 2:30 to play, hitting a 3-pointer, converting a three-point play and assisting on a layup. The run gave the Clippers a 139-130 lead. After three free throws by Young, Harden banked in a 3 while being fouled and stretched the lead to 142-133 with 1:06 left. That clinched it. Los Angeles shot 60% from 3-point range, while the Hawks finished at 51.3%. The 149 points were the Clippers’ second-most of the season. They only turned the ball over seven times.

Atlanta has allowed at least 120 points in each of its last six games. On the bright side, the Hawks’ 20 made three-pointers marked a season best, as did the team’s 35 assists. It marked the first time since January 2019 the Hawks scored at least 140 points while dishing out and at least 35 assists.

Trae Young, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week, had 25 points and 12 assists. Over his last six, he’s averaged 29.5 points, 11.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 4.3 three-pointers made, clearly miffed about not being chosen for the All-Star Game. Young’s 27 games with at least 20 points and 10 assists are eight more than the next closest player in the league this season. With his second assist of the night, Young passed Mookie Blaylock (3,764 assists, 518 games) for the second-most assists in franchise history. He is 91 shy of Doc Rivers’ record of 3,866. Young is the only player in the league averaging at least 25.0 points and 10.0 assists and ranks top 10 in PPG (8th), APG (10.9) and SPG (1.47) .

De’Andre Hunter amassed 27 points and seven rebounds in just 19 minutes. Hunter was sidelined from December 22 to January 30 due to a knee injury, and in two games since returning, he averaged just six points and a rebound across 16 minutes. Despite playing fewer than 20 minutes, Hunter racked up a team-high point total and the third-highest point total of his career. He became the first Hawk since John Drew in 1981 to score 25-or-more points in less than 20 minutes of action and just the ninth player in NBA history to score 25+ points on at least .800% from the floor in less than 20 minutes played.

Onyeka Okongwu tallied 18 points and five boards. As expected, Okongwu slid into the starting five and saw one of his larger workloads of the season while Capela was sidelined. Okongwu has made 20 three-pointers this season, including at least one in each of his last four games, marking the longest made three-pointer streak of his career. Over those four contests, he is averaging 16.5 points on 79.4% shooting overall along with 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 30.8 minutes.

Bogdan Bogdanovic enters Wednesday’s game with the second-longest active made triples streak in the NBA (59 straight games) and the second-longest such streak in franchise history. Bogdanovic has buried 151 three-pointers this season, the second-most by any player in the East, trailing only teammate Young (154 3FGM).

In 24 road games this season, the Hawks are averaging 119.0 points, tied with Boston for the fourth-most points per game on the road.

Why Bet on Boston Celtics?

The Celtics were upset at home last Thursday by the Lakers but bounced back Sunday by destroying Memphis 131-91 to improve to 23-3 at TD Garden. Boston’s reserves played nearly the entire final quarter against a Grizzlies team that had 13 players out injured.

“I thought we did our job,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “The game went how it was supposed to go from the standpoint of I thought we played well, we executed, and I thought we came with the right mindset. You can’t not appreciate the times where you just come in, do your job and get out. I think that’s important, you know? But the mindset remains the same, whether it’s a win or a loss, it’s still unhealthy to stay attached to it. So we have to get better, and I think that’s the healthy mind frame that we’re trying to stay into.”

Jayston Tatum had 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes. The points were the most he’s scored in a game since January 22, when he dropped 39 on the Mavericks. The All-Star starter has averaged 28.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks while posting 50.7/41.4/85.4 shooting splits over his last seven contests.

Kristaps Porzingis had 26 points and eight rebounds. Since missing three of four games, Porzingis has appeared in three straight matchups, averaging 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes during that stretch. Derrick White had 15 points. White has knocked down four 3-pointers in three of his last four games. In games where he’s made at least two, the Celtics are now 27-6 this season. Led in part by White, the Celtics’ bench ranks 4th in three-point percentage (38.8), 3rd in offensive rebounds (5.2), 1st in plus/minus (2.8) and averages the second-fewest turnovers per game (4.1) in the NBA.

The C’s were without All-Star forward Jaylen Brown because of a back injury on Monday. Reportedly, Brown is thinking about entering the Dunk Contest at the All-Star Game. The last player to participate in a season in which he was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game was Victor Oladipo in 2018. This year’s contest will be part of the All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 17 in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. Brown should play Wednesday after practicing Tuesday.

There is talk that Boston will make a trade before Thursday’s deadline. The latest buzz includes a potential reunion with Utah Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk and reported interest in Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond and Washington Wizards guard Delon Wright. A trade for Olynyk’s $12.19 million salary would have to include Payton Pritchard and four of Boston’s minimum-contract guys to make the money work. Wright makes just $8.19 million, so Boston could technically get to that number with just Oshae Brissett, Svi Mykhailiuk, Lamar Stevens, and Dalano Banton. Meanwhile, Drummond could be acquired with just picks.

The Celtics hold the NBA’s top mark by a three-game margin. They have until 3 p.m. ET on Thursday to make trades.

Celtics vs. Hawks Expert Prediction

Celtics 123, Hawks 116

Celtics vs. Hawks, Game 6 | 2023 NBA Playoffs Expert Analysis

The lone NBA playoff game on Thursday night is from the Eastern Conference as the second-seeded Boston Celtics visit the No. 7 Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 with Boston up 3-2 and solidly favored on the NBA odds to finish it.

Celtics vs. Hawks, Game 6 | 2023 NBA Playoffs Expert Analysis

How to Bet Boston at Atlanta NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: State Farm Arena
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Celtics -6.5 (total 232)

Why Bet on Boston?

The Celtics suffered one of their biggest upset losses in franchise history on Tuesday as they were 13-point home favorites, led by 14 midway through the fourth quarter but lost to Atlanta 119-117 on a last-second Trae Young three-pointer. The Celtics outscored Atlanta 60-38 in points in the paint and 24-8 in fast break points as well as shooting 53.3 percent from the floor (49-92 FG) compared to the Hawks’ 46.9 percent (45-96 FG).

Jaylen Brown was easily Boston’s best player with 35 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He shot an efficient 15-of-23 from the floor, and the C’s needed his offensive touch in a game in which Jayson Tatum scored only 19 points on 8-of-22 shooting and 1-of-11 from downtown.

Asked if Boston let its foot off the gas after holding such a large lead in the final period, Brown admitted it may have.

“I guess you could say that,” Brown said. “We made some bonehead plays, some fouls. We gave them some opportunities to get going. We’ve just got to finish the game.”

Center Robert Williams closed with 10 points and seven rebounds. Williams flirted with a double-double in the loss, although he was noticeably quiet on the defensive end. Al Horford had just three points but six rebounds, five assists, five blocks and one steal.

He became the second player in Celtics history to record at least five rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a playoff game, joining Paul Pierce in 2005, and became the 34th player in NBA history to post such a stat line. Horford was only the eighth Celtic to register 5+ blocks in a playoff game and now ranks seventh in franchise history with 84 postseason blocks, behind Kevin Garnett (93).

Horford is tied with Kevin McHale for 32nd on the NBA all-time playoffs rebounds list with 1,253 boards, trailing Dave Cowens (1,285) next on the list, and he ranks 14th in Celtics history with 604 behind Don Nelson 647.

“I thought we got some good shots, but I just didn’t think we executed the way we normally do down the stretch,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla. “I think it was more we just lost our pace a little bit on the offensive end, partly on me trying to make sure we run a good play. And we talk about playing faster down the stretch and I thought we just lost some of our pace, which allowed them to pressure us and get in the passing lanes.”

Why Bet on Atlanta?

After Boston led the Hawks by as many as 13 points early in the fourth quarter, Trae Young took over. He scored the Hawks’ last 14 points, including the game-winning 30-foot dagger over Jaylen Brown with 2.1 seconds remaining in the 119-117 victory.

“I’ve been owning the moment my whole life. That’s what I do,” Young said. “I’m not afraid of it; I’ve worked too hard to be afraid of the moment.”

Young scored 16 points in the 4th quarter Tuesday and now has 60 4th-quarter points this series. Those are the most through the first 5 games of a playoff series since Kevin Durant in 2011. Young added 13 assists, his 10th career playoff game with at least 20 points and 10 helpers. He is one of five players with 10 or more before turning 25 years old, joining: Magic Johnson (15), Kevin Johnson (15), Deron Williams (11) and Isiah Thomas (10).

Young’s 14 straight points tied for the most consecutive points scored to end a playoff game when facing elimination and are the most consecutive points scored by a player on the winning team in an elimination game. Atlanta outscored the Celtics 23-8 in the final 6:10 of the game (109-96 Boston lead).

The Hawks connected on 19 three-pointers, marking the second-most triples in a postseason contest in franchise history. Despite only making five three-pointers in Game 1 of the series, the Hawks are averaging 13.8 three-pointers per contest, the fifth-most in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. In their last four outings, the club is averaging 16.0 triples per contest on .400% from deep (64-160 3FGM).

Atlanta played without suspended guard Dejounte Murray for Game 5 but he’ll be back for Game 6. Murray is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.25 steals in 38.3 minutes in this series. He has tallied at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in each game, becoming just the second Hawk in franchise postseason history to have four straight 20/5/5 playoff games (5: Lenny Wilkens, 1967).

The Hawks enter Thursday’s Game 6 contest with a 16-15 all-time record in Game 6s. The last time Atlanta faced Boston in a Game 6 of the NBA Playoffs was in 2016, taking a 104-92 win on 4/28/16.

Game Trends

• Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.
• Celtics are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall.
• Hawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Thursday games.
• Hawks are 20-44 ATS in their last 64 games following a straight up win.
• Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
• Celtics are 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Celtics 119, Hawks 117

NBA Betting News: Hawks Star Dejounte Murray Suspended Game 5 vs. Celtics

The Atlanta Hawks’ season is on the line in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at the Boston Celtics on Tuesday and now Atlanta will be without All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to suspension. The C’s are heavy favorites to end it on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Atlanta at Boston NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: TD Garden
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Celtics -13 (total 229.5)

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Guard Dejounte Murray, who has been Atlanta’s best player in this series, has been suspended for Game 5 for “making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing” an official. Murray appeared to make contact with referee Gediminas Petraitis as Murray was walking off the floor at the end of Atlanta’s 129-121 home loss Sunday to the Boston Celtics in Game 4.

Murray is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.25 steals in 38.3 minutes this series. He has tallied at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in each game, becoming just the second Hawk in franchise postseason history to have four straight 20/5/5 playoff games (5: Lenny Wilkens, 1967 playoffs).

In the Game 4 win, Trae Young had his best game of the series with 35 points, 15 assists and two steals in 41 minutes. Young became just the fifth player in NBA history to post at least 35 points and 15 assists in a playoff contest, joining Jerry West (2x), Walt Frazier, John Bagley and Allen Iverson. Young’s 35-point outing marked his 10th career playoff game with 30-or-more points, the fifth-most such games in franchise playoff history. It also marked his ninth career playoff outing with at least 10 assists, the third-most such games in Hawks postseason history.

De’Andre Hunter tallied 27 points on 11-17 shooting from the floor in addition to seven rebounds in Game 2. The 27 points were the second-most points he’s scored in a single playoff game in his career. Hunter was the first Hawk in franchise playoff history to register at least 25 points on .600 FG%, .500 3FG% and 1.000 FT%, in addition to five rebounds in a single postseason contest.

It’s the first time since the 1986 NBA Playoffs the Hawks have scored at least 120 points in two straight postseason contests. Over the last two games, Atlanta is averaging 125.5 points on .497 FG%, .408 3FG% and .850 FT%.

A win on Tuesday would mark the club’s 24th Game 5 victory all-time in franchise playoff history (23-30), as well as the club’s fifth Game 5 win over the Celtics all-time in postseason play. The Hawks, 4-7 all-time against Boston in Game 5s, have won each of its last two such games over the Celtics. Since the 2014 NBA Playoffs, the Hawks are 6-3 in Game 5s.

Why Bet on Boston?

After opening Sunday’s Game 4 with a 1-of-7 shooting effort against the Hawks, Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown felt the need to make a change. So he took off the facial mask he has been wearing since mid-February and finished with a team-high-tying 31 points in a 129-121 win that put the Celtics ahead 3-1 in their first-round series. It was the first time Brown played unmasked since Feb. 8 when he suffered a facial fracture via an accidental elbow from Jayson Tatum.

“When JB took his mask off, that was go time,” said Tatum, who tied JB in the scoring column with 31 points of his own. “I knew he was going to turn it up a notch.”

Game 4 marked the first time that Brown and Tatum each scored 30-or-more points in a playoff game, a feat they have accomplished 22 times in the regular season. The Celtics are now 22-1 when Tatum and Brown both score 30 points, including the playoffs. That .957 win percentage is the best among duos all-time, minimum 20 games.

Tatum finished with seven rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots, marking his seventh career postseason game with at least three blocks, which is tied with Tony Battie for the eighth-most such games in Celtics history.

Marcus Smart was questionable but played and had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. After taking a hard fall during Friday’s Game 3 defeat, Smart was in the starting lineup and appeared to be moving fine Sunday night. Following the game, Smart said that his back locked up on a few occasions, but he was able to stay loose while not in the game.

Robert Williams played 29 minutes off the bench and had 13 points and 15 rebounds. Starter Al Horford may have gone scoreless, but he contributed 11 rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 34 minutes on the floor. He became the sixth Celtic to grab 15+ rebounds in a playoff game since 2011, joining Al Horford (2x), Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis, Jayson Tatum, and Kevin Garnett (4x).

Boston logged shooting splits of 51.7 percent from the field, 40 percent from long range, and 84 percent from the free-throw line. Boston outscored Atlanta 56-44 in the paint and 18-8 in fast break points. Boston never trailed after grabbing a 12-11 lead on Tatum’s 3 less than four minutes into the game.

Game Trends

• Hawks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
• Hawks are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.
• Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games.
• Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
• Hawks are 1-8 ATS in the last 9 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Celtics 120, Hawks 109

Previous Betting News

Celtics vs. Hawks, Game 3 | 2023 NBA Playoff Expert Analysis

The Atlanta Hawks haven’t beaten the Boston Celtics in five tries this season, regular season or playoffs. Will that change in Game 3 of their East first-round playoff series on Friday in Atlanta? NBA oddsmakers don’t think so.

How to Bet Boston at Atlanta NBA Odds & TV Info

• When: Friday, 7 PM ET
• Where: State Farm Arena
• TV: ESPN
• Stream: ESPN+
• Radio: Tunein.com
• NBA Odds: Celtics -5 (total 228)

Why Bet on Boston?

After winning Game 1 by a score of 112-99, it was more of the same in Game 2 for Boston as it prevailed 119-106. The Celtics clearly are a matchup problem for Atlanta. Jayson Tatum finished Tuesday’s win with 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists – similar to his regular season with averages of 26.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists vs. the Hawks.

Derrick White started for the second game in a row over center Robert Williams and hit 11-of-16 shots on the way to 26 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. He became just the second guard in Celtics history to record at least 25 points and three blocks in a playoff game, joining Reggie Lewis. For the second game in a row, White scored at least 24 points and racked up multiple blocks. Through the first two games of the first-round series with Atlanta, he’s averaged 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 dimes and 2.5 swats while shooting better than 50% from the floor.

Atlanta star Trae Young seemed to hear the footsteps of White’s defense in the third quarter on Tuesday, short-arming two floaters as Boston pushed its lead to 20. White has been the best guard in a series that includes Marcus Smart (a Defensive Player of the Year), Malcolm Brogdon (a Sixth Man of the Year finalist), Young (a two-time All-Star) and Dejounte Murray (a 2022 All-Star).

Brogdon contributed 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds off the bench. He led all Boston players in scoring, rebounds and minutes played.

“On any given night, it can be anybody,” said Jaylen Brown. “You just have to encourage that. I tell D-White all the time, ‘Be aggressive, be confident.’ That does open up the game, different spots during the same game, or different games down the line. Teams respect other guys who are on the floor, so we need much more of that from D-White. We need him to keep that up.”

The Celtics finished with 12 blocks and set a new NBA playoff record with just eight fouls Tuesday. Boston had 12 blocks and 10 steals, the first time it’s hit those numbers since May 14, 1985, against Dr. J and Moses Malone’s Sixers. Brown and White had more blocks (5) than the entire Hawks team (4).

Despite his satisfaction with the wins, Coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned after both games that the Celtics are still losing the shot margin, as Atlanta took 15 more 3-pointers while both teams took 53 2s and turnovers and free throws were just about even in Game 2.

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Boston led Game 1 by 30 points at halftime. It was over. It led Game 2 by 20 in the third quarter. It was over.

Hawks star Trae Young has been voted the most overrated player in the NBA, according to an anonymous poll of 54 NBA players conducted by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins on The Athletic. Young received 14.8% of the vote. He averaged 26.2 points per game this season, above his career-average of 25.5, and he posted a career-high 10.2 assists per game in the process, but has struggled in these playoffs. In the first two games of this series, he’s shooting 35 percent from the field and 23 percent from outside the arc. The Hawks have been outscored by 32 points in his minutes on the floor.

It has been a dramatic and ugly drop since the franchise’s centerpiece helped the Hawks engineer playoff upsets of the Knicks and Sixers two years ago and stretch the eventual champion Bucks to six games in the Eastern Conference finals.

“I can be better,” he said. “I didn’t shoot the ball very well. I had some turnovers when I was driving and (the ball) left my hands. But I’m going to be better at home.”

Young enters Friday’s game with 578 career playoff points and 196 career playoff assists. Should Young dish out his 200th career playoff assist, the 24-year-old would become the youngest player in franchise playoff history to register 500 points and 200 assists in the playoffs, passing Jeff Teague (26 years old) and would do so in his 24th career playoff game, the quickest to accomplish such feat in terms of games played in franchise playoff history (Doc Rivers: 40 games).

Dejounte Murray has been great and had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in Game 2. He is the first Hawks player in franchise playoff history to have back-to-back games of at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while swiping three-or-more steals. De’Andre Hunter had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. It marked Hunter’s second double-double of the season, with his first coming during a Nov. 23 win over Sacramento.

Atlanta recorded 10 steals on Tuesday night against Boston, marking its second straight game with at least 10 thefts, becoming one of three teams in the 2023 NBA playoffs with back-to-back games of double digit steals. The Hawks are averaging 11.50 steals per game, the second-most steals per game by any team in the postseason. In the regular season, Atlanta notched 18 games of 10-or-more steals, the most such games by the club since the 2018-19 season (25).

This season, the club recorded a franchise-record 38 sellouts at State Farm Arena, topping the previous record of 25 set in the 2014-15 season. The Hawks are 6-2 in their last eight home games, averaging 129.4 points, 48.3 rebounds and 28.5 assists (.492 FG%, .374 3FG%).

Game Trends

• Celtics are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
• Celtics are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
• Hawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Friday games.
• Hawks are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
• Celtics are 7-0 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Hawks 122, Celtics 120