Atlanta Hawks Vs. Boston Celtics: Predictions, Starting Lineups (2/7/24)

After winning 20 consecutive home games to begin the 2023-24 campaign, the Boston Celtics have since dropped three of their past six at T.D. Garden. Can the Cs right the ship at home against the Hawks on Wednesday night? Find out through our Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics prediction and matchup preview below!

Atlanta Hawks Vs. Boston Celtics Prediction

Does the spread of 12 points for this matchup say more about the state of the Atlanta Hawks organization or about the Boston Celtics’ dominance, particularly at home? With a betting line that wide, you’d think that perhaps Trae Young or Dejounte Murray would be sidelined with an injury; however, that does not appear to be the case, at least when this article was written. Perhaps two things can be true at once.

Atlanta has not been playing too poorly recently, even though this season has been pretty horrible overall. The Hawks have won four of their past five games, with a narrow five-point loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the hottest team in the NBA, being the only slipup in that stretch. However, all of those games came on their home floor. And this game will be played in Boston.

While the Hawks have been passable at times on the road throughout the season, they have had some (really) bad moments recently, including a 22-point loss to Golden State, a 15-point loss to Sacramento, and a 34-point loss to Indiana. In their past five road games, Atlanta has a net rating of -15.3, which is by far the worst in the NBA. Further, the Hawks have allowed opponents to shoot roughly 51% from the field and 42% from behind the arc in that span; they have a putrid team shooting split on the other end of the floor, too.

Conversely, Boston is in a strong bounce-back spot after a couple of blips at home, including a loss to a LeBron and AD-less Lakers team. That game could be played 100 times, and Los Angeles would probably win it only a handful of times. The Celtics are still by far the best home team in the NBA, holding a net rating of +13.1. Jrue Holiday is the only player who is questionable for Boston, so it should have everyone available if he gives it a go.

The wheels could be falling off for this Hawks team, and there could be a big move in the near future as the trade deadline looms. This is a spot to fade Atlanta.

Atlanta Hawks Vs. Boston Celtics Prediction: Celtics -12 (-130)

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Atlanta Hawks Vs. Boston Celtics Best Odds

The Atlanta Hawks are massive 13-point (-115) road underdogs on Wednesday night when they face the Boston Celtics, the current championship odds favorite. Atlanta has Moneyline odds of +550 to hand the Cs their fourth home loss this season, while Boston is a -800 favorite to win the game outright, regardless of the spread. The point total for this Eastern Conference matchup is around 244 points, which is a relatively high total; the Over and Under have odds of -110 on this line.

Atlanta Hawks Starting Lineup

PG: Trae Young
SG: Dejounte Murray
SF: Saddiq Bey
PF: Jalen Johnson
C: Onyeka Okongwu

Boston Celtics Starting Lineup

PG: Derrick White
SG: Jrue Holiday
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis

Atlanta Hawks Vs. Boston Celtics Injuries

Atlanta’s injury report is fairly light, with Clint Capela (shoulder) being the only starter or rotation player who will be sidelined for this game. Meanwhile, Boston only has Jrue Holiday (elbow) listed on its injury report; he is questionable ahead of this matchup, so stay tuned to see whether he will be able to suit up or not.