Hawks vs Celtics: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks pull out a momentum-sparking win against arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference in the Celtics?

Mar 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) works against the defense of Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After a much-needed 126-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans to snap a five-game losing streak, the Hawks are back in action against one of their toughest opponents of the season. They will take on the Celtics at home tonight before they take on another difficult matchup in the Knicks on Wednesday. Both tonight and Wednesday's game are going to be big tests for Atlanta and it is coming at a bit of a difficult stretch for the team.

Dyson Daniels was able to return to the lineup and played well in the win over New Orleans, but the team will likely be without a lot of personnel due to injuries. Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe injury management), Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation), De’Andre Hunter (right knee injury management) and Vit Krejci (right adductor strain) all missed the New Orleans game. Outside of Okongwu, none of those players seem especially likely to return against Boston.

For the Celtics, they will be without big pieces in Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown. The All-Star forward Jaylen Brown has already been ruled out (left hip flexor strain) while Porzingis has not suited up yet this year due to left posterior tibialis tendon surgery rehabilitation. Boston will likely get Sam Hauser, who had been dealing with a low back injury, for this game. Not having Brown is certainly significant for Boston, but their lineup is one of the best in the NBA. It will still be a challenge for the Hawks to beat them.

Game Preview

So far, the Hawks have been one of the better offenses in basketball while struggling on defense. Their defense looked better against the Pelicans, but it's hard to take much away from that given that the Pelicans were down Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, CJ McCollum, and Herb Jones. They also struggled to contain Brandon Ingram, who had 32 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 7th in the NBA in PPG, 10th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 12th in 3P%, 3rd in FTA, 23rd in rebounding, and 20th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 6th in points per 100 possessions, 5th in effective field goal percentage, 22nd in turnover percentage, 17th offensive rebounding percentage, and 3rd in free throw rate.

Atlanta is 28th in PPG allowed, 14th in field goal percentage allowed, 29th in 3PA allowed, and 30th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and 22nd in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Unsurprisingly, Boston is close to the top of the NBA in a lot of statistical categories. They are 1st in points per game, 16th in field goal percentage, 1st in three point attempts, 8th in three point percentage, 11th in free throw attempts, 20th in rebounds, and 13th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics are 1st in points per 100 possessions, 2nd in effective field goal percentage, 3rd in turnover percentage, 15th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate.

Defensively, Boston is 13th in PPG allowed, 22nd in field goal percentage allowed, 12th in three point attempts allowed, and 9th in three point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics are 12th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 19th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Celtics are a bit more suspectible on defense and there's some reason to think Atlanta can take advantage. Trae Young is still the primary creator for Atlanta and he did not disappoint, putting up 23 points and 12 assists to pair with four rebounds. He was aided by Jalen Johnson, who turned in his best game of the year against the Pelicans. Johnson finished just shy of a triple-double with 29 pts, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Especially if the Celtics do not have Jaylen Brown, I think this is an important matchup for Johnson to excel in. Despite getting a healthy dose of Jayson Tatum on defense, Atlanta will likely need to him to have a big scoring game in order to keep pace with Boston's offense.

Dyson Daniels was able to return to the lineup against his old team, the New Orleans Pelicans, and looked great. He put up 16 points, three assists and five rebounds (on 7/10 shooting) while consistently working well within the flow of the offense. Daniels is currently shooting 36.4% from three-point range (easily a career high) and looks to have made some tangible improvement as a shooter. It is what has allowed him to stay on the court more with the Hawks and inflict his signature brand of defense upon opponents. It's hard to come up with ten better perimeter defenders in the game than Daniels and he could rise further up that list if he continues to show out against Boston. Tatum, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday all demand respect as scorers and it will be interesting to see how Dyson fares against one of the tougher lineups Atlanta has played all year.

Another matchup that will likely play a big role in Atlanta's chances for this one is Zaccharie Risacher versus Boston's defense. After a great debut, the rookie has experienced a bit of a slump. He finished with 11 points on 4/13 shooting from the field and only hit one of his five attempts from deep. Now, there was some nice activity on defense as he picked up three steals and two blocks. However, it is clear that Risacher is still finding his way in the league. If he can get hot from three-point range and force some turnovers, that could give the Hawks the edge needed to win this one.

The possible absence of Okongwu means that Clint Capela should once again take over as the starter. I think this is a matchup where Capela could struggle since Boston has a ton of size and length to get on the boards and reduce the impact of Capela's rebounding. That advantage has not shown up in Boston's will also likely ignore him on offense and hyper-focus on slowing down Young and Johnson. If he struggles and the Hawks need to go to a different look, Larry Nance played quite well against the Pelicans. The veteran big man put up a 14 point, six-rebound performance off the bench that gave Atlanta the edge it needed to close out the Pelicans. He also hit two of his three attempts from deep and could be in line for more work against Boston because of the respect he demands as a shooter. Either way, keep an eye on how Capela fares against Al Horford and if the Hawks go to a different look in order to go five-out and compete with Boston's shooting.

Last season, a fantastic performance from Vit Krejci helped the Hawks beat the Celtics. They'll need another great night from a rather shorthanded bench to get the win. Still, players like Nance, Garrison Mathews and Keaton Wallace have been giving Atlanta good minutes. Matthews had 23 points and hit seven three-pointers against the Kings and kept the Hawks in the game. He cooled off against the Pelicans, but the potential for a big game still exists. Wallace has shown up as a two-way force and finished with two steals against the Pelicans.

Injury Report

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Bufkin, DeAndre Hunter, Vit Krejci, Seth Lundy and Cody Zeller are all out for Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu is off the injury report.

For Boston, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porizings are out while Sam Hauser is probable.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, Boston is a 10-point favorite tonight and the total is set at 234.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G - Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Clint Capela

Celtics:

G - Jrue Holiday

G - Derrick White

F - Sam Hauser

F - Jayson Tatum

C - Al Horford

Additional Links:

Atlanta Uses Dominant Second Half to Bury New Orleans, 126-111

NBA Analyst Says Hawks Haunted By Dejounte Murray Trade