NEWSLETTER
The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a surprising win in the Play-In Tournament beating the Heat 116-105 in Miami. That moves the Hawks into the playoff field as the seventh seed. Their prize for the upset is a date with the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.
Hawks vs Celtics First Round Schedule
The full schedule for the NBA first round won’t be determined until we know which teams advance out of the Play-In Tournament. The Hawks and Celtics will kick off their series on Saturday in Boston. Game one is at 3:00 pm Eastern on ESPN. Games one and two will be in Boston. Games three and four will be in Atlanta. They’ll alternate after that if necessary with games five and seven in Boston and game six in Atlanta.
Hawks vs Celtics First Round Odds
Series Price
Hawks +660 | Celtics -1000
Total Games
Four Games +260 | Five Games +160 | Six Games +310 | Seven Games +370
Series Spread
Hawks +2.5 (+118) | Celtics -2.5 (-144)
All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
It’s no surprise the Celtics are a big favorite to win this series. The implied odds suggest the Celtics have a 91 percent chance to win the series. It’s also expected to be a short series. The Celtics 2.5 game series spread is juiced heavily and the series to end in a sweep is the shortest price for the total games prop.
It’s pretty easy to see why the Celtics are such big favorites. Boston is elite on both ends of the floor. Boston was fourth in the league in scoring and tied for the fourth fewest points allowed per game. The Jays, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown were amazing this year combining to average 56 points per game. Boston also has tremendous depth.
The Hawks made a big deal to acquire Dejounte Murray before the season but it never lived up to expectations. The Hawks were the definition of average this year. Atlanta finished 41-41 in the regular season. They had an overall point differential of just +24 over the 82-game season.
Boston won both regular season meetings between the teams. The Celtics won 126-101 in Atlanta in November. Boston beat the Hawks 134-125 at home in March.
