Atlanta Hawks (41-41) at Boston Celtics (57-25)
Game Info: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. EST (TD Garden)
Betting Odds: Celtics (-12) / Over/Under (230)
Pick: Celtics (-12)
As the First Round of the NBA Playoffs continues to progress, we will head to TD Garden to take a look at game 5 being played between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.
Atlanta missed a great opportunity to even the series up on their home floor on Sunday, losing by a score of 129-121 to fall into a dreaded 3-1 hole. Now, they will have to shock the world and upset the Celtics on their home floor if they want their season to continue past Tuesday night's game. Although it has not been officially announced yet, Dejounte Murray is most likely going to have to sit out this one after making contact with an official after game 4 while heading off the court into the locker room. If the NBA does decide that he can not play in game 5, the Hawks will have to rely on the likes of De'Andre Hunter and Bojan Bogdanovic to fill the massive hole that Murray will leave on the offensive side of the ball. Trae Young is the main man for the Hawks, but Murray is not too far behind in his ability to penetrate the defense from all 3 phases of the game. Time will tell if the Hawks can overcome the controversy.
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Boston followed up their disappointing showing in game 3 with a stellar performance in game 4 to deliver a close-to-finishing blow to the Hawks. Heading back home to play game 5 inside of TD Garden gives them the perfect chance to take the lead early and never look back as they spring into the next round. In saying that though, this game will surely not be handed to them in any shape or form, so they will need to make sure that their heads are on right from the jump to kill off any hopes that the Hawks have of delivering an upset. Looking back at game 4's box score, we can see that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the stars of the show once again, scoring 62 points combined while adding in 7 assists and 11 rebounds as well. If they can produce that high level of an outing once again, they will be sending Atlanta packing in no time.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- The Celtics are 34-22 ATS in Conference games
- Boston is 26-17 ATS when playing as the home team
- The Hawks are 23-33-1 ATS in Conference games
I usually am not one to flip sides in a series in back-to-back games, but I will go against that here. In game 4, I expected the Hawks to continue using the momentum they built in game 3's win to keep them within striking distance. Although they only lost by 8 points, they were not able to cover. Moving on to Tuesday's game, I do not see how the Hawks will not be demoralized as they will most likely be without their 2nd best player and after falling into a deadly hole in the series. Give me the Celtics to pounce on this opportunity early and often and for them to cover with ease!
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