Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks betting tips and predictions for Saturday’s NBA Playoffs game on ESPN. The number 2 seed Celtics host the number 7 seed Hawks in what will be Game 1 of their highly anticipated postseason series. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Boston Celtics
Boston finished off the regular season winning 4 of their last 5 games, with their last win coming against the Hawks at home 120-114. It’s been all Boston in head-to-head meetings recently with them winning the last 5 in a row. At TD Garden they’ve lost only once to the Hawks over the last 9 played and they look primed to start off their Eastern Conference championship defense with a victory.
The only worry head coach Joe Mazzulla has here is the status of Jaylen Brown who recently suffered a hand injury which required stiches and although he said he would be ready for the series opener vs Atlanta, caution is still advised as it’s his shooting hand. The Cs were one of the most consistent home teams in the NBA this season covering 24 times in 41 games played.
Atlanta Hawks
Not a lot of people gave the Hawks a chance in their play-in game against Miami, but with a huge night on the boards and timely conversions offensively they were able to pull off the upset. ESPN’s Analytics gave them less than 15% of a chance to beat Miami, on Saturday in Boston that percentage is up to 19.1% for them to win Game 1.
That’s very realistic considering their struggles on the road this season. Atlanta has just 4 wins in their last 13 road games, while in head-to-head meetings vs Boston they’re 0-5 ATS/SU in the last 5 games played. But still, this team is healthy and with new head coach Quinn Snyder implementing new ideas, they can be a dangerous opponent for Boston here. They head into tonight’s game as 9 point underdogs.
Boston’s average margin of victory in the 3 wins during the regular season was 13.3 points, which tells us they should be able to dominate this match-up at home. However, if Brown isn’t at 100% there could be some issues. I say we give Atlanta a chance here and back them to cover the big spread.
Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks Predictions & Odds
Scoring will be a huge factor in this series, if the Hawks are able to play their style which includes a lot of running they might be able to steal a game or two. That’s how they were able to eliminate Miami on Tuesday, but the Celtics will present a much bigger challenge moving forward. The projected total is set at 230.5 points, that’s quite the number for a home playoff game in Boston.
The Celtics and Hawks have averaged just 223.9 points per game over their last 10 meetings, with the under cashing 5 times in their last 7 games. I’m looking forward to the match-up between Derrick White and Trae Young as those two have gone at it in the 3 meetings during the regular season. Boston has the 3rd highest defensive efficiency this year, I think that’ll be their blueprint to winning the series opener here. Back the under.
