Celtics vs. Hawks NBA Playoff Series Preview, Prediction, Picks

Atlanta Hawks met the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Trae and the crew had to go through the play-in tournament, where they faced Miami Heat and beat the franchise from Florida in their own house. Meanwhile, the Celtics were topping not only the East but the entire NBA standings for most of the year, but in the end, the Cs slowed down, ending behind the Bucks. They are absolute favorites and one of the top contenders for the title but have to be careful against the Hawks. 

Preview

Atlanta Hawks have defeated the pale Heat, using their ruined chemistry and lack of motivation. We’ve seen the Hawks do their thing throughout the whole game, controlling the pace and dictating the rhythm. In the end, it was 116-105 for Quin Snyder and the crew.

The Hawks reached the East Finals two years ago, losing to the Bucks in a very interesting matchup. However, last year we saw them failing the Heat in the opening round and afterward, posting mediocre performances throughout the entire campaign, not having a shred of consistency.

Atlanta has the third-best offense in the league but the 26th defense in terms of points per game. There isn’t much difference between their scoring abilities on the road and at home, making them unpredictable.

Boston Celtics started the season strong and were the top team in all the power rankings somewhere until the All-Star break. That was when Milwaukee jumped over Tatum and the boys, with the Cs’ top player losing the grip in the NBA MVP race. 

Their grueling and rough defense occasionally emerged, showing us what they could do. It appears that Joe Mazzulla deliberately slowed down the team, in order to target their form for the playoffs. Over the past several games of the regular part of the season, the Cs were fast and visibly better, and a blowout in Milwaukee is proof of that. 

As mentioned, Boston’s defense has been excellent – the opponents shooting percentage is the fifth-worst in the NBA, the three-point percentage is fourth-worst, and the free-throw percentage is third-worst. And how wouldn’t it be when each foul made by one of the Cs is extremely tough

Head to Head Games

Boston swept the Hawks in the season series 3-0. The opening two events were in Atlanta, the first on November 17, 126-101 for the Cs, and the second on March 12, 134-125. The most recent on April 9 took place at the TD Garden, with the hosts triumphing 120-114. 

Prediction

Jaylen Brown will be ready for the series, though we don’t know his current state and whether he will be 100% ready immediately. But even so, the Cs have plenty of weapons against the Hawks, and the top one is defense. We are pretty sure that the criteria in the playoffs won’t favor the Hawks, but quite the opposite, it will go along well with the Celtics’ style of play. Of course, besides that, the team from Massachusetts has more quality, and we see them advancing to the East semis in five games. Atlanta has the power to grab one win, but that would be all. 

Pick: Celtics in five