Gameday Preview: Celtics Get First Look at Hawks This Season
AP Photo | Elise Amendola
The Celtics take on the Atlanta Hawks tonight in their second game of a back-to-back. The Hawks are on a four-game losing streak, while the Celtics are riding the wave of a big win against the Nuggets.
Atlanta is currently 11-16 and sits at 11th in the Eastern Conference. They are led by Trae Young, who is averaging 25.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 9.3 assists this season. Young is a master at getting to the free-throw line. He draws 8.0 fouls a game (second in NBA) and shoots 10.3 free throws a game (second in NBA). There have been many complaints about his tactics in this regard, but they are effective nonetheless. John Collins and De’Andre Hunter make-up Atlanta’s number two and three scoring options, averaging 18.1 and 17.2 points, respectively. The man in the middle for the Hawks is Clint Capela. Capela is having a phenomenal defensive season, averaging 14.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a night.
Boston managed to halt a two-game losing streak last night against the Nuggets. It was the first time this season that Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum seemed to be on the same page. All three guys had solid nights, with Brown leading the way in scoring. However, it was the bench that provided the real spark against Denver. Payton Pritchard, Robert Williams, and Aaron Nesmith all had great performances and brought some great energy to the floor. If the Celtics are going to continuously compete at a high level this season, they’ll need that sort of performance from the bench on a nightly basis.
The Hawks are a super young team that runs their offense almost exclusively through Young. He ranks sixth in the league in usage rate (min. 15 games played). Having Marcus Smart would be ideal, but with him still being sidelined it will most likely be on Brown or Walker to run with Young all game. Outside of that, this could be sort of a mini-tryout for Collins. There have been rumors that he’s on the trade market, and many Celtics fans love the idea.
Boston’s injury report looks identical to yesterday against Denver. The only change is that Daniel Theis is most likely questionable, and there will be updates throughout the day. As for the Hawks, they have a few players out tonight. De’Andre Hunter, Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are all out, while Tony Snell is questionable.
Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, the Banner Town Build Up, 30 minutes before the game on YouTube and Twitter @GuyBostonSports. The Celtics tip-off against the Hawks at 7:30 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
