Official Game Thread: Hawks at Celtics

[lethalweapon3]

“What can YOU do for me?”

 

Does the team with the worst road record (11-18) among the NBA East’s top 12 teams, and the only one with a losing record (18-19) among the East’s top 11, want to be among the seventh-through-tenth-place finishers in the East for a shot at the postseason? If so, the Atlanta Hawks will want to start chalking up road victories soon, as in, within hours, versus in-conference competition like the Boston Celtics (7:30 PM Eastern, 92.9 FM in ATL, TNT).

It is odd that a club that had lost ten straight at their very own State Farm Arena holds the best home record among NBA East teams ranked 7-through-11. A 10-2 home stretch since MLK Day, punctuated by Saturday’s mid-game explosion against Toronto, helps facilitate that situation.

The 100 points the Hawks allowed in that 27-point victory were the fewest since throttling the visitors from Boston, 108-92, back on January 28. While going 7-1 at The Farm at the outset of this season, before the swoon, Atlanta also held the Celts to double-digit scoring, prevailing 110-99 on November 17.

It is similarly weird that a team that rattled off six straight wins away from home, just as the Panini started sizzling, would find itself so far behind its peers with respect to road records. Flubbed opportunities early and late over the prior two months in Miami, Toronto, Chicago and, prior to the All-Star Break in Beantown (42 Celtic third-quarter points, 17 by the Hawks in their 105-95 loss on Feb. 13), helped make that happen. The next-worst road team among the East’s Top-10, Charlotte was splattered in Milwaukee yesterday to fall to 15-17.

Atlanta (29-31) will strive to ascend while playing four of its next five games on the road, beginning with the hosts tied for the most in-conference wins (36-27; 5.5 games behind top-seed Miami and ahead of Atlanta). Boston is tied with Milwaukee, who concludes the Hawks’ road-heavy run in eight days, for third in the East with 20 home wins, and the C’s can secure a winning home mark tonight.

While coach Ime Udoka’s club sits in the sixth slot, they very easily could view today’s contest as 7/8 versus 9/10 elimination practice, conceivably against a playoff-steeled opponent that they would much rather avoid, and especially if the game were to be convened in the ATL.

Boston fell a game below .500 on January 21, but they went on a 13-2 run to right their ship. As the Celtics seek to get back on the good foot following Sunday’s 128-107 loss to Oshae Brissett in Indiana, Atlanta could perceive Boston as the next short-staffed opponent whose time could be catching up with them.

The Celts (105.3 D-Rating, 2^nd-best in NBA) are at their letter-best when everybody crashes the glass, including headliner swingmen Jayson Tatum (career-high 8.3 RPG) and Jaylen Brown (career-best 6.3 RPG), allowing guards Marcus Smart and sixth-man newcomer Derrick White to hound ballhandlers at the point of attack. Keeping opponents one-and-done contributes to Celtic opponents shooting a league-worst 49.7 eFG%, the sole NBA team with an effective percentage below 50.0.

Boston’s chances at victory are further optimized when Tatum (2-for-12 3FGs @ IND on Sunday) and Brown don’t try to shoot their way out of in-game slumps from the perimeter. That didn’t happen in Indy, with Smart and White similarly cool from outside (combined 2-for-12 3FGs), allowing the Pacers to go off to the races in transition, guard penetration setting up bigs like Brissett and Jalen Smith for threes from the corner and at the top of the arc.

Third-lowest in transition frequency yet fourth-best in transition efficiency (1.16 points per possession), the Hawks can exploit the Celtics’ halfcourt-oriented defense. But that only works if the bigs with jumpers help the wings seal off driving lanes for Messrs. Tatum and Brown, help Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu secure possessions, and then get out and run to their spots in anticipation of tasty dishes from Trae Young (41-and-11 vs. TOR in Sunday’s bounce-back performance). Danilo Gallinari, largely a non-factor in Boston last month in relief of the rehabbing John Collins (doubtful, strained foot), and Gorgui Dieng can make Al Horford and Robert Williams pay for parking around the paint.

This remains a topsy-turvy season for the Hawks, and it will get even more so if they fail to right their wrongs on the road during the week to come. Opportunity knocks, though, and with Collins soon to return, Atlanta is in prime position to transform this season’s bizarre into a bazaar.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Lou Will (out, hip discomfort) is the only other notable on the Boo-Boo Report for the Hawks. Brad Stevens has been spackling Boston's shallow depth chart with ten-days (Malik Fitts, Kelan Martin) and two-ways since his midseason deals, but Udoka only goes nine-players-deep in a pinch anyway, and they're all active ahead of tonight's contest. Newest two-way signee Matt "Not The Human Cap Hit" Ryan joins Brodric Thomas are on G-League duty.

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

Nice write up lw3! I’m outta town no ps sim but I like our chances! 

@lethalweapon3 I was able to find yet another Lids.  
 

GO HAWKS!

[lethalweapon3]

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

@TheNorthCydeRises you are the regular gambler on the site nowadays since I went cold turkey from having problems. I was trying to chase on hockey games when NBA wasn’t on.. I digress.

Tonight’s line is Celts -6.5, Hawks +6.5

This could be one of those days we look back on and say, that was an awesome start to the month of March.

Trae on TNT with the Celts sitting in our 6th spot.

Again, I like our chances and I definitely like +6.5. Jinx no jinx. 

JUST WIN BABY!!!

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, lethalweapon3 said:

~lw3

Kind of relieved, rest those springy legs JC! 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

Hopefully Gallo has a bounce back game after only scoring 3 points vs Toronto. He also scored only 5 point vs Boston in the Feb 13th game.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

@TheNorthCydeRises you are the regular gambler on the site nowadays since I went cold turkey from having problems. I was trying to chase on hockey games when NBA wasn’t on.. I digress.

Tonight’s line is Celts -6.5, Hawks +6.5

This could be one of those days we look back on and say, that was an awesome start to the month of March.

Trae on TNT with the Celts sitting in our 6th spot.

Again, I like our chances and I definitely like +6.5. Jinx no jinx. 

JUST WIN BABY!!!

 

I took the Hawks straight up tonight.  The last time I did that, they beat Phoenix.

I normally try to avoid the Hawks, unless I feel really good about them.

Tonight is a Trae statement game. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Hockey was my gold mine back in January.  Now I can't pick a single game correct.  It's crazy.

At some point, ima get my swagger back.

Took a beating in February after killing it in January.

 

Let's see what March brings me.

 

[MaceCase]

3 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Hockey was my gold mine back in January.  Now I can't pick a single game correct.  It's crazy.

At some point, ima get my swagger back.

Took a beating in February after killing it in January.

 

Let's see what March brings me.

 

Betting on hockey during BHM?  Sounds like the ancestors work.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Exert your will on them tonight Trae.

Make them DESPISE YOU!

[RedDawg#8]

Pregame commentary on TNT was whack as usual;

Shaq: “I’m going to be watching for that Trae to John Collins connection, that’s their bread and butter” …. Did yall even get an injury report today? 

“Hawks currently in 10th place in the East” …. Dude, we are 9th, fire your researcher

”Celtics vs Trae, coming right after the break” Dude…… seriously? We can’t just be the Hawks?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Just now, MaceCase said:

Betting on hockey during BHM?  Sounds like the ancestors work.

 

LMAO . . . probably why I had my ass handed to me all month.  Might as well threw that $25 out the door into the street, every time I placed a bet on hockey.

We gonna get it back in March though . . . if the people overseas calm down a little.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Let it fly Trae.

[MaceCase]

Al Mutombo out there.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Unfortunate for Brown.  Stepped right on Hunter's foot and rolled his ankle.

Hope he's OK.

 

[MaceCase]

Nasty roll on that foot

[RedDawg#8]

2 on 1 fast break, give up the rock Kev or flush it.

Soft ass layup attempt man

[MaceCase]

woo, scored before 8 minute mark!

[MaceCase]

Good D into Good O