Boston Celtics travel to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Hawks Friday night – NBA Preview
The Boston Celtics travel to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The Celtics come into the game having won 7 of their last 10 games and having clinched the Atlantic division. Atlanta are 5th placed in the Eastern Conference behind
Boston. They have a better win loss record than the Celtics but cannot move up any further in the conference since Boston, owing to their topping the Atlantic Division, cannot be placed any lower than the 4th position.
However, if Atlanta lose, they will be only 1 loss ahead of 6th placed Orlando Magic. The Hawks have won their last two games. If Atlanta finish with a better win loss record than Boston, then despite being placed 5th in the conference
they will clinch the home court advantage in a possible first round match-up with Boston.
The two teams have played each other twice before this season, with Boston winning both games. In the March 19th game, the Celtics won 79-76. 4 of 5 Boston starters had double digit points in that game and Rajon Rondo had 13 assists to go with
his 10 points on the night. It was a tight game, with both teams shooting at almost the same percentage, although Boston shot better from the foul line.
Atlanta outrebounded Boston 45-40 but Boston had the lead in assists. Boston did a good job shutting down Josh Smith as he was 5 of 20 from the field for his 10 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds in the process. Joe Johnson scored 25 points in the loss against
Boston. It was a low scoring affair with both teams not shooting well from the field, but Boston used its experience to hang on till the end and win.
On April 11, Boston won 88-86 in an overtime victory. Josh Smith scored 20 points for Atlanta and Jeff Teague had 21. The Celtics scoring was led by Kevin Garnett with 22 points and Brandon Bass with 21. Boston had a good rebounding night, outscoring the
Hawks 56-39 in boards. They also had 28 assists compared with 20 for Atlanta. The Celtics were, however, careless with the ball and turned it over 23 times. Both teams were dismal from the distance, with Atlanta going 2 of 20 and Boston only managing 3 of
13 attempts.
Friday night will again come down to which team holds up the defence. Both are good rebounding teams and second shot opportunities will play a crucial role in the game.
Boston will be playing without Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Allen has been out for the past six games with a sore ankle, while Rondo missed Wednesday night’s game with a back injury. Both did not make the trip to Atlanta with the team. In the absence of Rondo,
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will need to step up and get the scoring done. The Boston bench also needs to provide support in the absence of Rondo and Allen. The Boston bench has only managed 27 points in the two games combined played against Atlanta.
For the Hawks, Josh Smith will need to step up offensively, as he holds the key to the Hawks offense. Jeff Teague has been performing very well this season and he will need to support Smith in scoring. Atlanta allowed Boston 15 offensive rebounds in the
April 11th loss. They need to do a better job of boxing out Boston jerseys.
It is a possible preview of a first round Eastern Conference match-up and the game will show the preparations of both teams, with the Playoffs commencing in just over a week.
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