With the Milwaukee Bucks down 3-1 to the Miami Heat and a hobbled Joel Embiid waiting after this series, the Boston Celtics could not have asked for the Eastern Conference to open up any better. To take full advantage, there should be focus today to close out the Atlanta Hawks and make the Sixers series start sooner.
That cause is helped by the Hawks missing arguably their best player in this series, Dejounte Murray, due to bumping an official after the Game 4 loss. Murray was supposed to be who helped Atlanta from allowing defenses to load up on Trae Young, so now the question is can the Hawks score enough?
Hawks vs. Celtics Betting Odds
| Hawks | Celtics | |
| Spread | +13.5 | -13 |
| Moneyline | +625 | -835 |
| Over/Under | 218.5 | 219.5 |
Lines accurate at the time of publication
Hawks vs. Celtics Best Bets
Hawks Team Total Under 107.5 (-105, BetMGM)
As mentioned above, the loss of Dejounte Murray is critical for the playoff viability of the Hawks’ offense. Murray has averaged 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in this series and has been critical as the second creator in Atlanta’s primary units and he allows Quinn Snyder to stagger Murray and Young to keep at least one quality creator on the court at a time. Now with Murray out, the floor on the Atlanta offense becomes significantly lower.
In previous playoff trips, teams would double Trae Young or blitz him to get the ball out of his hands and that will likely be the case again today but with a less capable supporting cast around him to make plays. Kevin Huerter would fill that role previously but he is obviously in Sacramento, so that means Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, John Collins and Saddiq Bey will have to create more for themselves instead of their usual role of taking advantage of chances created by Young or Murray.
With the series shifting back to Boston, the pace is something to watch as well. In the first two games of the series, Atlanta averaged 101.5 possessions but in Atlanta, that rose to 103. It is a small distinction but considering the likely drop in efficiency, every possession gained is important for the Hawks. In those games in Boston, Atlanta averaged 102.5 points with Murray. Adding in the personnel the Celtics have to be able to execute schemes to get the ball away from Trae Young, scoring points should be tough sledding for Ice Trae and Atlanta.
Risk: 1.05 units on BetMGM to win 1 unit.
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