Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics: NBA Picks & Predictions
Written April 3, 2009 by Steve Janus
A pair of playoff teams square off tonight as the Boston Celtics host the Atlanta Hawks. Both squads have clinched a playoff berth, now it’s a matter of which seed they’ll be in when they enter this year’s NBA post-season. If the season were to end today, the Celtics would be the #2 seed in the East, 4 games behind the Cleveland Cavs and 2 games ahead of the Orlando Magic. Atlanta is currently sitting in the 4th seed in the East, a good 12 games behind 3-seed Orlando and 4 wins ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, who, if the season ended today, would be the East’s 5th seed.
The Celtics are in the midst of a 5 game home stand, playing in their 3 straight game in Boston. The C’s are already 2-0 as the host on this stand including an exciting double-overtime victory over Charlotte on Wednesday Night. Ray Allen was the hero in that game scoring 11 points between the overtime periods and hitting the game-winning three with about 2 seconds left in the game. Boston also received solid efforts from Paul Pierce, who scored a game-high 32 points, and Rajon Rando, who chipped in with 21 points and 9 assists. The Celtics are already an impressive 31-6 in Boston this year and they’ve beaten the Hawks in four straight at TD Banknorth Garden. The remaining home stand for Boston includes match ups against the Nets and Heat. Looking at the NBA odds for tonight’s showdown, the Celtics are 4.5 point favorites over the Hawks and the Over/Under has been set at 186 points.
The Atlanta Hawks have hit a bit of a rough patch to finish out their regular season campaign. They’ve clinched a playoff spot in the East already, but they’ve lost 4 of their last 6 games. The Hawks have been one of the worst road teams in the NBA this season, winning just 14 of their 37 games as the visitor. Atlanta last played Tuesday against Philadelphia, suffering an 85-98 loss. The one bright spot for the Hawks on Tuesday was the play of Josh Smith, who lead all scorers with 33 points in his best effort of the season. As previously mentioned, the Hawks sit at 4th in the East, but they are in danger of losing their seed if they continue their slide. Both the 76ers and Miami Heat are within striking distance for the 4th seed in the playoffs if Atlanta isn’t up to the task. The Hawks have had a horrible time against Boston in recent history, losing 6 in a row versus the Celtics including an 0-3 mark this season.
The Celtics are bidding for a win to keep their #2 spot in the East and to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. Even without Kevin Garnett I expect Boston to come out and beat an extremely road-weary Atlanta team, who seems content with simply clinching any old spot in the playoffs.
Predicted Score: Boston Celtics 102, Atlanta Hawks 91
Play on:Â Boston Celtics -4.5 & Hawks/Celtics OVER 186
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One Response to “Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics: NBA Picks & Predictions”
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Atlanta has less to play for as they can not move up in the standings and are 3.5 up on the current 5th East team, Philadelphia. So I would lean towards Boston. The thing that scares me is almost 2 out of 3 bets are being place on Boston and the line has moved from Boston being -6 to -4.5. (Perhaps sharp money going on Atlanta? or just trying to move the line down to get a better line?)
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