With the Atlanta Hawks’ victory over the Miami Heat in the Play-In tournament, the Hawks earned the seventh seed and will play the second-seed Boston Celtics in round one of the NBA playoffs. The Hawks deserve all their flowers. They were eight-point underdogs on the round to a Heat team that was expected to turn on another gear come playoff time. Enough of the hypotheticals though. Let’s look at how the Celtics and Hawks matched up this season and what are the keys to victory for the Celtics.
Regular Season Matchups
The Celtics seem to have the Hawks’ number this season. Boston has won all three matchups by an average of 13.3 points. They played two real matchups. The last one was game 82 of the season, where the clinched teams tend to rest their guys. In the two games Trae Young participated, he averaged 31 points and 11 assists and only turned the ball over four times total. Young can be a problem, but he can’t do it alone. Dejounte Murray averaged only 16.5 points per game in those two games. Murray will need to step up for the Hawks to stand a chance.
As for Boston, it’s been pretty standard. Jayson Tatum averaged 26.5 points per game with 11 boards and seven assists. Jaylen Brown put up 23 points per game with five boards and 3.5 assists. However, the pleasant surprise in their matchups this season was Derrick White. White averaged 17 points, five rebounds, and 8.5 assists. This includes a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists in their first matchup of the year, where the Celtics won 126-101.
Safe to say, the Celtics had the regular season number on the Hawks, but what has to stay the same to keep this first-round series from becoming potentially long?
Celtics Key Factor One: Clean The Glass
In the Play-In game, the Hawks outrebounded the Heat 63-39. This included 22 offensive rebounds for the Hawks and 21 total rebounds from Clint Capela. The Celtics and Hawks split the rebound battle wins in their two meaningful matchups this season, but the Celtics will need to win it consistently.
This may call for plenty of double big lineups of Rob Williams and Al Horford. Williams didn’t play in either of these games so he will be a huge X-factor in minutes against Capela and Onyeka Okongwu.
Celtics Key Factor Two: Trio Guards On Young and Murray
Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon are widely regarded as one of the best point guard groups in the NBA. One thing they all share is the impact on the defensive side. While they will all bring something different on offense, they need to hold down Young and Murray in this series. As mentioned earlier, Young played well in his two games but he can’t do it alone.
Murray hasn’t stepped up this year against Boston, and the trio of guards needs to keep it that way. In close games, the difference will be how Boston contains Murray. Young will do his thing, but if he remains without a second scorer, it’s all for nothing.
A dark horse candidate to step up for the Hawks is Saddiq Bey. He’s coming off a 17-point game and has been shooting 40% from three since he arrived in Atlanta. He will most likely have an increased minutes role, with his shooting pivotal for a successful offense for the Hawks.
Final Thoughts And Predictions
This Hawks team is going to come in and be fired up. Coming off an upset win against the team that knocked them out last season, and no one is picking them to win. The Celtics need to remain on Earth and not look past this team. Tatum and Brown alone could put this series away in five, but with how well Brogdon and White finished the season, the Celtics can wrap this up in four games.
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