The Hawks head into the postseason facing much lower expectations than a year ago. But they do have homecourt advantage when they open against the Celtics, who matched Atlanta’s win total during the regular season, but lost out on a tie-breaker.
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Boston Celtics +4.5
Atlanta Hawks -4.5
Over/Under 204.5
LOOK AHEAD
On Wednesday in their season finale, the Celtics showed just how good they can be, rallying from a 26-point deficit to defeat Miami 98-88. The win created a four-way tie for playoff spots No. 3-6 in the Eastern Conference. After tie-breaking rules were applied, Boston wound up as the No. 5 seed and will face the fourth-seeded Hawks in the first round.
Boston didn’t win as much as they would have liked in the final days of the regular season, but the second half against the Heat may have been its best stretch of play over two quarters all season. And that play has to become the team’s identity if they are to get past the first round, especially against an Atlanta team that took three of four during the regular season.
The Hawks limped into the postseason losing two straight and four of seven to close the season. They tried to keep Randy Wittman employed by dropping the finale against a makeshift Wizards lineup and now must flip the switch to playoff mode. Though the Hawks and Celtics finished with identical 48-34 records, Atlanta won both meetings at home during the regular season and took the last three in the season series.
INJURIES
Celtics leading scorer Isaiah Thomas has been dealing with a wrist injury most of the season, but it hasn’t been much of an issue until the last couple of weeks after several hard falls to the floor. The ankle sprain that forced forward Jae Crowder to miss eight straight games is still giving him some discomfort, but both players refuse to let their health concerns become an issue.
Atlanta may be without backup guard Tim Hardaway Jr. for the start of the playoffs. He left Wednesday’s game with a right hamstring injury.
KEY MATCHUP
Teams need stars to play big on the postseason stage and Thomas is Boston’s big star. He’s often overlooked given his short stature, but Thomas plays huge. He led the Celtics scoring 22.2 points per game and was the only player to compete in all 82 games. Thomas is one of six Celtics to average double figures in scoring, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story of his importance to the team. He creates opportunities with his fearless drives to the hole and either scores, goes to the free throw or dishes for an open look. The offense revolves around Thomas and he’s taken a step this season toward stardom. His field goal percentage isn’t the best – he ended the year at 42.8 – but he makes up for it by getting to the line, where he converts 87.1 percent of his freebies.
QUICK PICK
It’s a good bet to say this series could go the distance given the team’s identical regular season records. Atlanta stumbled into the postseason and blew a chance to take the No. 3 seed with losses in its final two regular season games. They’ll need to overcome that disappointment in a hurry. The Hawks have a few more scoring options than Boston and have a longer bench. Along with homecourt advantage, it’s easy to see them coming out ahead in Game 1.
NBA Odds: Atlanta 99, Boston 94
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