The 2023 NBA Playoffs are officially off and running. Some series already have two games in the books, which means some mightily important Game 3s are on the horizon. The Atlanta Hawks set to host the Boston Celtics on Friday in Game 3 of their first-round series, which means it is time for some Hawks Game 3 predictions.

Atlanta went 41-41 in the regular season, finishing as the eight seed in the Eastern Conference standings. This marked the second year in a row that the Hawks found themselves stuck in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but they managed to upset the Miami Heat 116-105 on the road to officially clinch the seven seed in the East playoff bracket and a date with the Celtics in the first-round.

On the other side of the matchup, the Celtics went 57-25 in the regular season, finishing second in the Eastern Conference for the second straight season. It was a six-win improvement compared to the previous year for the C's, with only the Milwaukee Bucks having a better record at 58-24.

So far, Boston has dominated Atlanta in this series, winning Game 1 112-99 and Game 2 119-106. The series will switch back to the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, meaning the Hawks will have a chance to start a comeback in front of their own fans in Game 3. So with that being said, here are some bold predictions for the Atlanta Hawks for their Game 3 matchup in their first round series against the Boston Celtics on Friday.

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3. The Hawks defense forces 15+ turnovers from the Celtics

While the first two games of this series have been far from perfect for the Hawks, there are still some things they have been doing well. On offense, Dejounte Murray is putting up a team-best 26.5 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game so far, while hitting 42.9 percent of his field goals and 36.8 percent of his threes.

On the defensive side of things, the Hawks are forcing the Celtics into turnovers rather frequently, which has helped pick up their oftentimes stagnant offense. In Game 1, Atlanta scored 12 points off 16 forced turnovers, then followed that up with 22 points off 14 forced turnovers in Game 2. The Hawks currently have six players averaging at least one steal per game so far, with Murray leading the way with 3.5, while Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanović both average two.

Since Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been very difficult to stop, the Hawks are going to have to continue capitalizing on however many turnovers they can force moving forward. With both Tatum and Brown suffering bouts of turnovers from time to time, Atlanta will ratchet up the pressure on them on their home floor and force 15-plus turnovers in Game 3. If the Hawks can force the Celtics to keep making mistakes, that will make it far easier for them to keep this one close.

2. Trae Young has his best performance of the series for the Hawks

If there is one thing that is really helping the Celtics and hurting the Hawks, it is the performance of Young. There isn't much Young is doing right at the moment, as he's struggling with his efficiency, which is seriously limiting his role on the team's offense, and getting constantly picked on defensively as well.

Through two games, Young is averaging 20 points, 7  assists, and 3 rebounds per game while shooting 35 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 69.2 percent at the free-throw line. Perhaps most notably, Young has the worst plus/minus of any player in the series at -32.

For the Hawks to have a chance in this series, they need Young to step up, especially in Game 3. Fortunately for them, he had better numbers when playing at home in the regular season. The two-time All-Star averaged 27.5 points and 10.7 assists per game on 42-33-90 shooting splits in 37 games at the State Farm Arena during the 2022-23 season.

With there being so much on the line in this game, Young will indeed step up for the Hawks in Game 3. Expect him to have his best game of the series so far (which shouldn't be all that hard to accomplish), especially when it comes to hitting his shots. If Young can improve his play, Atlanta will have a better chance to steal a win away from Boston than they did in the first two games of this series.

1. Game 3 of the Hawks-Celtics series is at most a 10-point game

Now that they are playing on their home court, the Hawks have their best opportunity to mount a comeback in this series. Atlanta went 24-17 when playing at home in the regular season, so if they are going to find a way to move onto the Eastern Conference semifinals, they are going to have to win at home.

However, the Celtics are the favorites to win this contest, according to FanDuel. Currently, the spread is set -5 in their favor, and while the Hawks are still the underdogs, the spread is considerably lower than it has been in previous outings.

All things considered, this is a make-or-break game for the Hawks. No team in NBA history has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, and given how good Boston has looked early on, Atlanta likely won't be the team that changes that. The projected spread indicates this game will be closer than expected, and sure enough, the Hawks will put together their best outing of the series to this point in Game 3. While they may not win, chances are this will be a close one, with the final score being decided by ten points at most.