Filip Tomic
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It’s the battle between 2 of the top 3 seeds in the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics head to Atlanta in hopes of winning their 8th game in a row. Tip-off is scheduled for 7.30 pm ET on ESPN, and we have a Same-Game Parlay for this matchup.
Don’t forget to also check out our NBA Predictions page for picks on the side and total for Wednesday’s 10-game slate.
Let’s dive into this intriguing Celtics vs Hawks showdown.
Atlanta Hawks 1 – 10 Win Margin (+210)
Dejounte Murray to Score 20+ Points (-145)
Trae Young to Record 8+ Assists (152)
Parlay odds: +686
Atlanta Hawks 1 – 10 Win Margin (+210)
I’ve been very impressed with the way Atlanta has improved on defense this season. We’ve seen them jump from all the way from 26th to 5th in opponent points per possession. They’ve also improved heavily in limiting their opponent’s effective field goal percentage at the 2nd highest rate of 51.2% this season, they were 24th in this category last season. Defending the three-ball is also something they’ve worked on in the offseason, right now they are allowing only the 5th fewest three-point attempts in the NBA and are 2nd best at defending it allowing just 32.7% shots made from distance.
So it goes without saying that the Celtics offense will face an uphill battle to score points here. It’s also worth mentioning that the home team has won the last 6 meetings between these two sides. Therefore, there’s really good value in backing the home team to continue that run in tonight’s game. Boston has impressed lately, but all win streaks must come to an end at some point.
Dejounte Murray to Score 20+ Points (-145)
If the Hawks want to get the win here, then Dejounte Murray will have to have a big scoring night. So far this season Murray is averaging 21.5 points per game. However, over his last 10 games that number has jumped up to 22.8 per game on 46% shooting from the field and 31% from three. His 3-point percentage isn’t among the best in the NBA, but his mid-range game is something that can bring him a ton of points in tonight’s game.
The Celtics give up allow opponents to shoot 38.6% of their shots from just inside the 3-point line, with a 44.8% success rate (fifth highest in the NBA). So we don’t really have to worry about a lack of a three-point shot from Murray, all he has to do is continue doing what has worked so far and he will get to 20 points in this one. In his last 3 games against Boston as a member of the San Antonio Spurs he has scored 24, 29 and 22 points, so hopefully that streak continues tonight.
Check out today’s NBA Player Prop Best Bets!
Trae Young to Record 8+ Assists (152)
Another player that needs to have a big game for Atlanta tonight is obviously Trae Young. Young has really struggled shooting the ball this season at just 37.8% from the field, but thankfully his assist numbers are still high at 9.3 per game. That number jumps up to 10.2 per game at State Farm Arena, which is one of the reasons why the Hawks have been so successful at home this season. He’s had double-digit assists in 3 of the last 6 against Boston and has also cleared this line 4 times in his last 5 games overall. Boston does a solid job at limiting their opponent’s ball movement. However, when the Celtics hit the road, teams are averaging 24.1 assists per game against them. So even if Young continues to struggle with his shot, I am confident he can instead get his teammates involved here.
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