The Boston Celtics (57-15, first in the Eastern Conference) and Atlanta Hawks (33-39, 10th in the Eastern Conference) will face off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE has the Celtics favored by 16 points with an over/under of 227.5.
Boston is looking to maintain their position atop the conference standings, while Atlanta hopes to extend their three-game win streak with a victory over the defending champions. Despite having a winning record against opponents with a losing record, the Hawks have struggled against teams like Boston that have had strong success in the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, the Celtics have been dominant against conference opponents, boasting a 38-8 record and averaging an impressive 121.1 points per game, which ranks second in the league. However, they may struggle to contain Atlanta’s offense, which averages 119.2 points per game and allows just 4.6 more than Boston’s defense allows on average.
This will be the fourth meeting between these two teams this season, with each team winning one of their previous encounters. In their last matchup on March 25, Atlanta emerged victorious with a final score of 120-118 over Boston. De’Andre Hunter led the way for Atlanta with 24 points in that victory.
Two key players to watch in this game are Dejounte Murray for Atlanta and Jayson Tatum for Boston. Murray is averaging an impressive array of statistics including 22.4 points per game, along with 5
