The Celtics face the Hawks in Atlanta for the final game of a 4 game road trip. They are 2-1 so far on the trip with their only loss to the Pacers in overtime. The Hawks are playing on the second night of back to back games, having played in New Orleans on Sunday night. The Hawks won their first 2 games and then lost 4 in a row before beating the Pelicans on Sunday.
This is the first of 3 meetings between these two teams this season. They will face off again on November 12 and January 18, both games in Boston. The Celtics and Hawks tied the series at 2 games each last season, with both teams winning 2 at home. The Celtics are 244-149 overall all time against the Hawks and they are 112-95 in games played in Atlanta.
The Celtics stood pat for the most part in the off season, bringing back their entire core of players and losing just Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft and signed 2nd round pick, Anton Watson to a 2 way contract. They have one open roster spot that they are likely to keep open in case of injury during the season. They have also added a couple of chips on their shoulder after Olympic snubs and other drama over the summer.
The Hawks made a big trade to begin the off season. They gave up on DeJounte Murray and traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans for Larry Nance, Jr and Dyson Daniels along with 2 first round picks. They also had the first pick in the draft that they used to draft Zaccharie Risacher, a 6’9” forward from France. They also lost Saddiq Bey to the Wizards in free agency.
The Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still rehabbing from off season ankle surgery and is not expected back until December. Sam Hauser missed 3 games with soreness in his lower back but has played in the last 3 games and is probable for this game. Jaylen Brown will miss his second straight game with a hip injury. I’m going to guess that Joe Mazzulla will once again start the double big of Al Horford and Luke Kornet in Brown’s absence.
The Hawks are having injury problems of their own. Vit Krejci is out with a right adductor injury. Bogdan Bogdanovic is out after a medical procedure to fix his right hamstring tendinopathy. Kobe Bufkin is recovering from a shoulder subluxation and is also out. Seth Lundy (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (knee), and Cody Zeller (personal) are all questionable for this game.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaylen Brown (hip) out
Sam Hauser (back) probable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Hawks Starters
Hawks Reserves
Mouhamed Gueye
Garrison Mathews
Onyeka Okongwu
Larry Nance, Jr
David Roddy
2 Way Players
Dominick Barlow
Seth Lundy
Keaton Wallace
Injuries/Out
Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring) out
Kobe Bufkin (shoulder) out
Vit Kretjci (thigh) out
Seth Lundy (ankle) questionable
De’Andre Hunter (knee) questionable
Cody Zeller (personal) questionable
Head Coach
Quin Snyder
Key Matchups
Jrue Holiday vs Trae Young
Young is averaging 27.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 11.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He isn’t particularly efficient and is shooting 39.8% from the field and 30.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to play him for the shot as well as the pass as he has been very good at finding open teammates. He is also very quick in the passing lanes and so the Celtics need to be careful with their passes.
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Derrick White
Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
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Dyson Daniels
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Dyson Daniels
Daniels is averaging 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.0 block per game. He is shooting 50% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. This is a matchup between 2 defensive guards, who can also block shots. The Celtics will need White to step up his game with Brown out for this one.
Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Jalen Johnson
Johnson is averaging 16.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals. He is shooting 41.2% from the field but just 25% from beyond the arc. Tatum shot just 1-9 from 3 on Saturday against the Hornets and hopefully he can find his range again in this game as they will need him to score with Brown injured.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning games. Defense is especially important for the Celtics in this game because the Hawks are a good scoring team, averaging 117.2 points per game, which is 9th in the league. The Celtics are 1st, averaging 123.7 points per game. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 110.7 which is 12th while the Hawks have a defensive rating of 118.6, which is 28th. In their only loss, the Celtics perimeter defense was lacking, allowing the Pacers to shoot 39.5% from three. The Celtics must make defense a priority in this game and they have to play that tough defense for 48 minutes and not let up.
Rebound – Next to defense, rebounding is a key to winning. Much of rebounding is effort and desire. When the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, it usually carries through to the rest of their game. The Hawks are averaging 42.2 rebounds per game (23rd) while the Celtics are averaging 42.9 rebounds per game (21st). The Celtics have not been rebounding as well as they did last season and they need to aggressively go after every rebound. They can’t afford to give the Hawks extra possessions and 2nd chance points by allowing them to beat them to rebounds.
Effort and Ball Movement – The Celtics lost to the Pacers because they were a step slow and didn’t move the ball very well. Their effort in the first 3 quarters was very lackluster. They allowed the Pacers to out rebound them 57-51 and they were a step slow on just about every play. They weren’t moving the ball, with just 23 assists to 33 assists for the Pacers. The Celtics have to move the ball and not play hero ball. They also need to play with maximum effort for 48 minutes and not allow the Hawks to build a lead or if the Celtics build a lead, they need to keep it and not allow the Hawks to come back.
Bench Play – In their November 1 game against the Kings, the Hawks’ bench outscored the Kings’ bench 56-26. The Hawks’ reserves shot 51.3% from the field and 46.4% from beyond the arc. Even with injury woes, their reserves came through for them. The Celtics need their reserves to come through with big games, especially on defense.
X-Factors
Road Game and Fatigue – The Celtics are playing in their 4th straight game on the road and will have the distractions of travel and a hotel stay and playing in front of hostile fans in an unfamiliar arena. However, they had a day off since their last game while the Hawks are playing in the second of back to back games and had to travel after Sunday’s game. Fatigue for Atlanta could come into play down the stretch in this game. Both teams are also playing short handed. The last game on a road trip is usually the toughest and so the Celtics must stay focused.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game a little differently with some calling it tight and others letting them play. Some refs just make head scratching calls while others try very hard to get them right. Sometimes they are tech crazy for every little thing. In some games they call the 2 halves completely differently. The Celtics have to adjust to how the game is being called and focus on playing the game and not on the officiating.
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