The Boston Celtics finished as the fifth seed in the East and will take on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs
The Boston Celtics ended the season in a four-way tie at 48-34. Despite making an unbelievable comeback against the Miami Heat to win the season finale at home, the Celtics still ended up as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. They fell short of home-court advantage in the first round and will take on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Atlanta owns the season series 3-1, although the playoffs are another season.
This is the second straight season Boston will be in the playoffs and Hardwood Houdini will be keeping you up to date on everything that happens. Here is the staff’s predictions for the upcoming series…
Jeremy Karll: This is the team that most people did not want to see in the first round. While Atlanta ended the season on two losses, they are a week removed from an easy double-digit victory over the Celtics. The Hawks dominated the East last season in the regular season and made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is a team that has been together for a couple of seasons now and knows what it takes to win in the playoffs.
Al Horford and Paul Millsap are going to be a nightmare down low for Boston. Isaiah Thomas may have the edge over Jeff Teague, however, Teague is no scrub and his game started to take off after the all-star break.
In the end, Boston is the fourth-worst shooting team in the NBA and the Hawks hold their opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the league. The Celtics won’t be able to speed up the game as often as they could in the regular season which will lead to a disaster. There’s a reason why Atlanta won three of four this season; they match up very well against Boston.
Atlanta Hawks in 6 games
Joshua Bateman: I think the Boston Celtics/Atlanta Hawks matchup could be the closest in the entire Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks are the last team the Celtics want to see out of the three that they are tied with in the standings and they will have to be at their very best to escape with four victories. The Hawks are balanced and talented and it is difficult to see where the Celtics have a distinct edge.
The Hawks shoot well, they pass well and they do not turn the ball over. The Celtics have proven their defense is good enough to compete with anyone but if they have a bad game on that end the Hawks could run away with it. The Celtics need to find a way to turn them over and if they can disrupt them on the offensive end they will have an opportunity to win the game.
The problem is that even if the Celtics slow down a great Hawks offense, they have to find a way to get around a great Hawks defense. The Celtics are one of the worst shooting teams in the league and the Hawks force their opponent into the worst shooting percentage in the NBA. The Celtics will have no hope if they do not take advantage of all easy opportunities that they need to create with ball movement.
The easy opportunities may also be hard to come by, with the Hawks forcing the fifth most turnovers per game in the league. The Hawks will challenge the Celtics in every phase but the good news is they should be able to play in the pace they are comfortable in. If they Celtics play at the speed they are best in and win the turnover battle then they will have a great chance to advance to the second round. The Celtics have proven that they can overcome poor shooting and they have not been phased by the best offenses in the league. It will be a seven game battle but the Celtics’ ability to set the pace should give them the edge they need to win.
Boston Celtics in 7 games
Vasilis Nessis: Facing the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs is perhaps the worst possible matchup for the Boston Celtics. The Hawks have found their form and rhythm recently and are playing much better than they were at the beginning of the season.
Their style of play is much similar to the Celtics as coach Mike Budenholzer is relying on teamwork and unselfishness of his players. Their frontline is the biggest threat for the Celtics, as both Paul Millsap and Al Horford have great inside presence and can create offense outside the paint.
Brad Stevens will need to find the right rotation for his big men in order to slow down Atlanta’s biggest weapons. Moreover, Jae Crowder vs Kent Bazemore is a very crucial matchup for the outcome of the series. The Atlanta Hawks have the talent, the toughness, and the playoff experience as well. The Boston Celtics haven’t stopped to surprise us and have exceeded everyone’s expectations in the past two years, but perhaps home-court advantage might play a big role in the tightest first round series of the playoffs.
Atlanta Hawks in 7 games
Derek McVay: If Boston is going to win this series, they’ll have to do so on the defensive end. Atlanta averaged a ridiculous 110.3 points per game in the four meetings between these two teams this year. If that continues, it will be a quick exit for the Celtics. The Celtics specifically need to defend the three-point line, as that’s where the Hawks do their damage. They don’t get to the free throw line very often, they are very much a jump shooting team. Boston also needs to find a way to slow down Paul Millsap. He has crushed Boston this year, averaging over 22 points and 10 rebounds per game in their meetings.
The Hawks have had issues taking care of the ball this year; that can work in Boston’s favor. The Celtics were tops in the league in forcing turnovers. Atlanta is a very good defensive team so the more transition baskets the Celtics can get, the better.
Luckily for Boston, they rediscovered their defensive swagger in the regular season finale against Miami, and I think that’s going to carry over. Boston’s backcourt should be able to bother Atlanta’s and force them into turnovers, leading to fast break points. If it goes to a game seven in Atlanta, I don’t like Boston’s youth and inexperience. They need to win this thing in six games, which is what I think they will do.
Boston Celtics in 6 games
Liam O’Brien: These two squads stack up extremely well against each other, and expect this to be the most closely contested series out of the eight first round matchups in the league. Atlanta stole three of the four contests between the two this season, however, and expect that trend to continue as the postseason commences.
The Hawks possess a stifling defensive attack, garnering the second-best defensive rating in the NBA this season, and expect the team to put the clamps on Celtics’ point guard Isaiah Thomas and supply him with a surplus amount of pressure that he has yet to endure in the midst of his career season. In the Hawks telling 118-107 victory over Boston last Saturday night in Atlanta, Thomas was harassed by Hawks point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder amid a playoff-like atmosphere in that contest, scoring just 17 points on a porous 6-19 shooting from a field, a night which including a harrowing four turnovers.
On the opposite end of the floor, expect the two-headed frontcourt monster of Paul Millsap and Al Horford to cause fits for the Celtics. Millsap owned Boston for 31 points and 16 rebounds in last week’s contest, and his improved three-point shooting combined with the Celtics recent lethargy in closing out on shooters could be troublesome for Boston.
Down low, the defensive intensity of Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson has declined recently, and expect Horford to take advantage in the post, proving to be a key factor in the Hawks series win.
The Celtics defensive presence in the backcourt combined with favorable offensive matchups for the likes of Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Evan Turner and Boston’s dominance at home will push this series to seven games.
Atlanta Hawks in 7 games
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J.T. Clifton: This will come down to the Celtics backcourt and the Hawks frontcourt, and which one plays the best. The Celtics will need all of the scoring they can get from Isaiah Thomas who has averaged 26 points per game in March. Crowder and Bradley cannot get sucked in helping on Millsap and allow Bazemore and Korver to take open threes. Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger have a tough matchup and will have to limit the touches down low. The Celtics need to speed up the Hawks and not let them get into their half court sets as much.
The Hawks are 15-7 since March first which is good enough for third best in the East. Paul Millsap was dominant in the 118-107 win in the most recent game against the Celtics scoring 31 points and adding 16 rebounds. Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and have almost an identical record at home and on the road. This matchup screams seven games as the teams are so even.
Atlanta Hawks in 7 games
Next: Isaiah Thomas Needs to Lead Celtics Past Hawks
Michael Manning: In order to win the series the Celtics need Avery Bradley to keep Jeff Teague under control. In the last ten games of the regular season, Teague averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 assists. The Celtics are also going to need their big men core of Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, and Amir Johnson to keep the Hawks duo of Paul Millsap and Al Horford from dominating the game like they did during their last matchup with the Celtics; where the all-stars combined for 43 points and 24 rebounds. The Celtics bigs shouldn’t be lacking in motivation as many rumors have the Celtics targeting Horford in the offseason. Overall, I think the Celtics will manage to slow down Teague and keep Millsap and Horford from replacing his production.
Boston Celtics in 6 games