Atlanta Hawks (43-44) vs. Boston Celtics (60-26)
April 25, 2023 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Boston Celtics -11.5; Over/Under: 231
(Get latest betting odds)
The Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics meet Tuesday in Game 5 of the NBA East First Round Playoffs at the TD Garden. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Atlanta Hawks are averaging 114 points on 45.1 percent shooting and allowing 120.5 points on 51 percent shooting. Trae Young is averaging 26.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, while Dejounte Murray is averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter is the third double-digit scorer, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is grabbing 3 rebounds. The Atlanta Hawks are shooting 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the free throw line. The Atlanta Hawks are allowing 42.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 46 rebounds per game.
The Boston Celtics are averaging 120.5 points on 51 percent shooting and allowing 114 points on 45.1 percent shooting. Jayson Tatum is averaging 28.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown is averaging 23.3 points and 2.8 assists. Derrick White is the third double-digit scorer and Marcus Smart is grabbing 4.8 rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc and 79.7 percent from the free throw line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 33.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45 rebounds per game.
The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The over is 6-2-1 in Hawks last 9 overall. The over is 5-0 in Celtics last 5 games playing on 1 days rest. The Hawks are 0-6 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Boston and 1-8 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
The Boston Celtics are the better team and capable of blowing this game out, given the Hawks don’t play much defense. However, this is a massive line and an overreaction to something I don’t understand. The Hawks have hung around in most of these games, and they lose as underdogs by an average of 2.2 points. The Celtics are 9-10 ATS as double-digit favorites. I’m grabbing the free buckets with the Hawks as this line is crazy steep.
