Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics Game 1 Prediction, NBA Odds
The C’s are priced as 9-point favourites on the NBA odds with a total of 230.5 points.
Hawks vs. Celtics NBA Playoff Betting Odds
This will be the 13th postseason series between the franchises but first in seven years. To win the best-of-7, Boston is -1111 and Atlanta +550. On the series handicap, the Celtics at -2.5 at -175 and the Hawks at +2.5 +130. The favoured exact result is Celtics in a sweep +181, while Atlanta in a sweep pays a whopping +7420. The over-under for total games is 5.5, with the under a -208 favourite. That the series finishes in five games is +186. The full seven is a +464 long shot.
Boston won the season series 3-0, all very high scoring. They played in Beantown in the regular-season finale and the C’s won 120-114 to enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak. You can pretty much throw out that game, though, as both teams rested many key players. For example, Celtics backup point guard Payton Pritchard barely plays when the team is healthy but played 46 minutes in that one and had a triple-double.
The Celtics are 5-0 ATS in the past five meetings.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks were 5-point underdogs for their play-in tournament game in Miami on Tuesday but were by far the better team in a 116-105 upset – the Hawks’ first playoff game under new coach Quin Snyder, who took over for the fired Nate McMillan in late February. Rare for a team to hire a coach long-term in season, but Snyder had a lot of success previously in Utah and the Hawks didn’t want to lose out on him. Trae Young had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on Tuesday after playing horribly in a Round 1 playoff loss to Miami last year. Clint Capela had the unusual line of four points and 21 rebounds. Trade acquisition Saddiq Bey had 17 points off the bench. Atlanta is a great offensive team, averaging 118.4 ppg during the year, but defence has been an issue. They held the Heat to 42.9 per cent shooting and obliterated them on the boards. Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its past eight.
Boston Celtics
It will be the first playoff game as full-time Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. Of course, Boston reached the 2022 NBA Finals, losing to Golden State, under Ime Udoka, but he was suspended this entire season due to an alleged affair with the wife of a Celtics executive and eventually cut loose entirely. Mazzulla started the year as the interim coach but got the full-time gig in mid-February. All-Star Jaylen Brown missed the final few games due to a laceration on his finger that required stiches, but he’s good to go. Fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum was the MVP favourite for a bit this year. He’ll get some votes but not win it. Tatum averaged 30.1 ppg, sixth in the league. Against Atlanta, he put up an average of 26.5 ppg in the two games he played. Boston is 6-1 ATS in its past seven at home. The C’s win, but that’s a big spread.
ATL
BOS