The Atlanta Hawks host the Boston Celtics on Friday night! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Celtics-Hawks prediction and pick.
The Boston Celtics are coming off of a huge win over the Sacramento Kings where they won by 53 points. The game was never close as the C's controlled the game from the jump. They are now (25-24) on the season which is good for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics need to stay above .500 if they want to really compete in the East this year.
The Atlanta Hawks are struggling this season after having a phenomenal season last year. They are just (22-25) on the year but they have won five-straight games. The Hawks beat good teams also like the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks to inch closer to .500 on the season. They are also coming off a huge win over the Sacramento Kings and look to get past the Celtics as well.
Here are the Celtics-Hawks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Celtics-Hawks Odds
Boston Celtics: +1.5 (-110)
Atlanta Hawks: -1.5 (-110)
Over: 217.5 (-114)
Under: 217.5 (-106)
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Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
For the first time all season, the Celtics are healthy and do not have anyone out with injuries, besides the two new additions PJ Dozier and Bol Bol. The Celtics are coming off their best offensive performance of the season and Jayson Tatum has a combined 87 points over his last two games. He and Jaylen Brown both scored over 30 in the win over the Kings and they both will need to do the exact same to get past the Hawks here. The Hawks are rolling as of late and seem to have finally gotten over the hump. Trae Young was just named an East All-Star starter and that should continue to give them some motivation going forward. Both Tatum and Young are averaging north of 26 points per game right now.
The Celtics will need to defend Young as well as possible and not let him get free beyond the arc. If he gets into a rhythm then the Celtics will struggle to contain him. They have never defended the three-ball very well even though they are an elite defensive team. Boston is 23-24-2 against the spread this season.
Why The Hawks Could Cover The Spread
Atlanta is favored at home right now which seems to be the right call. Even though the Celtics are coming off a 50-point win, it was against a poor team and the Hawks also just beat them by over 20 points. The Hawks are still near the bottom of the conference but their record is starting to take shape as they have gone on a winning streak. The Hawks' biggest reason for covering this spread will be to contain Tatum and Brown. Tatum is in one of those grooves where it's impossible to stop him unless he stops himself. He is fresh off of a 50-point performance against the Washington Wizards and then dropped 36 against the Kings. He could be a nightmare for the Hawks if they don't disrupt his flow.
The Hawks are 20-27 against the spread this season and will need to win this game to cover. It's not a large spread by any means so this is very doable for them to cover. Atlanta is also healthy for the most part so it will be interesting to see how both head coaches go about having their full team intact. The Hawks won the first matchup of the season 110-99 in Atlanta.
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Final Celtics-Hawks Prediction & Pick
This is not an easy pick because both teams are playing very well. I do like the Celtics to cover this spread on the road as they seem to be the better team overall. Anything can happen though as we have seen both of these teams play inconsistently this year. I believe the over will hit as this will be a high-scoring affair. Take the Celtics and the over here.
Final Celtics-Hawks Prediction & Pick: Celtics +1.5 (-110) & over: 217.5 (-114)
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