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Here are five things to watch out for when the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks Lakers meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at TD Garden.
Does Avery Finally Return?
Avery Bradley has played in only one game since suffering an Achilles injury Jan. 6 against Philadelphia. He may finally make his return to the lineup tonight.
Brad Stevens stated prior to Sunday night’s game in Detroit, “Avery is going to go through his (pregame) stuff today, and I think we’re any day now. We’re excited about Avery’s progress.”
The anticipation is that if all went well with Bradley’s pregame workout in Detroit, he’ll be available on a limited basis tonight against Atlanta.
Bradley’s return, whenever it may happen, will bolster the Celtics at both ends of the court. He may be the most underrated player in the entire league. He is the team’s second-leading scorer with an average of 17.7 points per game, and he was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection last season.
Hawks Taking a Dive
The Atlanta Hawks currently sit in the East’s fifth seed with a 32-26 record, but they haven’t been playing very well of late. Atlanta has lost five of its last seven games, including three to sub-.500 opponents.
The team’s most recent defeat may have been its most embarrassing of the entire season. Orlando, which owns the second-worst record in the East at 22-38, walloped the Hawks Saturday night by a score of 105-86. Only one Hawks player, Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points), scored more than 11 points during the contest.
Atlanta has been a strange team this season. It has been successful, as indicated by its 32 victories, but it has also been incredibly streaky. One has to wonder which team will show up tonight: the one that has earned 32 wins, or the one that was crushed Saturday night in Orlando.
Unfamiliar Matchup
Boston already played multiple teams four times this season, including the Pistons, whom the C’s defeated Sunday night. Tonight’s matchup is nearly at the other end of the spectrum, as Boston has faced Atlanta only once this season.
Boston took down the Hawks back on Jan. 13 by a score of 103-101 in Al Horford’s return to his old city. Three Celtics scored at least 18 points that night, led by 28 from Isaiah Thomas.
These two teams are familiar with each other from last season’s postseason matchup, but this year’s squads simply haven’t seen each other much. Each team has a new big man, with the C’s playing with Horford and the Hawks playing with Dwight Howard, and Atlanta’s bench looks dramatically different now than it did last postseason (more on that later).
Boston held on for a win over the new-look Hawks last month after pulling ahead by 20 points. Let’s hope it can do the same tonight.
Isaiah To The Line
Thomas racked up a game-high 28 points against Atlanta last month and was able to do so while taking only five free throw attempts. Don’t expect such a low free throw number from Thomas again tonight.
Boston’s starting point guard, who ranks second in the league in scoring with an average of 29.7 points per game, is a free throw machine. He attempts 8.8 per game, which ranks fifth in the entire league. Thomas attempted nine free throws during Sunday’s win over Detroit and has attempted fewer than six free throws only once since Jan. 28.
Bench Battle
Boston’s bench, and in particular, Kelly Olynyk, was a big reason why it grabbed a win over the Hawks during these teams’ only matchup of the season Jan. 13. Olynyk came off the bench to score a season-high 26 points against the Hawks on 9-for-11 shooting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Atlanta’s bench helped the Hawks stay in the game. Hardaway Jr. scored 23 and Malcolm Delaney scored 17 to lead Atlanta’s reserves.
The Celtics are likely to use a similar bench rotation tonight as compared to that Jan. 13 game, especially if Bradley does play. Atlanta’s bench unit, however, looks much different.
Hardaway Jr. has stepped into a starting role for the Hawks, while Thabo Sefolosha has moved to a reserve role. Atlanta also recently acquired Ersan Ilyasova, who is a perimeter threat from the power forward position.
We’re unlikely to see two reserves surpass 20 points tonight as we did during these teams’ first matchup, but certainly keep an eye on each team’s bench. Boston, in particular, has been receiving contributions from many of its reserves of late.