Dejounte Murray's Status Revealed For Tonight's Matchup With the Celtics

Murray had been downgraded earlier in the day

On the initial injury report yesterday, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray was not listed on the injury report. Earlier this morning, he was downgraded to questionable with lower back tightness and his status for tonight's game was uncertain. Just moments ago, the Hawks revealed Murray's status for tonight's game. 

Murray is going to be out for the game tonight vs the Celtics. I would assume Bogdan Bogdanovic gets the start in his place, but that is not official. 

Dejounte Murray (lower back tightness) is OUT tonight.

He was a late add to the injury report midday and was listed as questionable. https://t.co/frW1gIo3v7

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) February 7, 2024

This is going to be one of the toughest games of the season for the Hawks. 

Boston is 5th in the NBA in PPG, 13th in field goal percentage, 1st in three-point attempts, 5th in three-point percentage, 20th in free throw attempts, 1st in rebounding, and 6th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Boston is 3rd in points per 100 possessions, 5th in effective field goal percentage, 3rd in turnover percentage, 18th in offensive rebounding, and 16th in free throw rate.

I will point out that the low free throw attempts and the low free throw rate for Boston come from their high volume of three-point shots. It is also the way I think the Hawks's defense, as bad as it is, can get stops. Boston is not a great team at getting to the rim and if the Hawks can force some low-percentage three-point attempts and win the matchup on the glass, that is their best path to victory.

Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-type season for the Celtics. He is averaging 27.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 4.5 APG while shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three. The Hawks are going to need De'Andre Hunter in this game to help try and slow down Tatum. 

Dejounte Murray vs the Lakers / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawks come into this game 3rd in the NBA in PPG, 22nd in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 8th in rebounding, and 15th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 10th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 11th in turnover percentage, 3rd in offensive rebounding, and 9th in free throw rate.

Boston is as elite of a team on defense as you will find in the NBA. They are 5th in PPG allowed, 2nd in field goal percentage allowed, 27th in three-point attempts allowed, and 5th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics are 3rd in points allowed per 100 possessions and 3rd in effective field goal percentage.

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