Post by Admin on Jan 19, 2019 19:27:36 GMT -5
What to watch for: Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks
by Ryan Eggers
Photo By Christopher Evans/Digital First Media/Boston Herald via Getty Images
After a three-game losing streak last week, the Boston Celtics have an opportunity to win their third straight game tonight against the Atlanta Hawks, a day after their win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kyrie Irving put up another monster performance for the Boston Celtics last night, scoring 38 points with 11 rebounds and seven points to boot. The showing helped the Celtics beat the Grizzlies at home 122-116, just two days after their impressive victory against the Toronto Raptors.
Tonight, the Celtics travel to Atlanta to try and keep that momentum going. While the Celtics are on the road and on the second half of a back-to-back, they haven’t had an issue with the Hawks yet this season, defeating them in both of their previous matchups.
Here’s what to watch for as the Celtics battle to win their third straight game.
Tale of the Tape
Celtics: 27-18 (5th in the East), 10-13 on the road this season
Hawks: 14-30 (12th in the East), 8-11 at home this season
Tired Legs
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Simply put, the Boston Celtics have not had great success this year when they aren’t rested. The team is 2-5 on the second night of a back-to-back, and 1-8 in third-game-in-four-nights scenarios. Tonight’s game happens to be both a back-to-back and a third-game-in-four-nights, and Boston is 0-4 in those situations this season.
The Hawks, on the other hand, haven’t traveled in a week, and haven’t played since Tuesday in their win over the Thunder. Atlanta may be 14-30, but any team with three days rest at home vs a team on a road back-to-back is going to have a serious advantage.
It should be specifically noted that Kyrie Irving played 36 minutes last night and 38 minutes against Toronto. Both were stellar performances; will he be fresh enough to keep it up tonight?
Fast Start
Photo By Christopher Evans/Digital First Media/Boston Herald via Getty Images
In the Boston Celtics’ previous two matchups against the Hawks this year, they won comfortably: 114-96 and 129-108. Both were smooth wire-to-wire finishes, with most of the credit owed to their stellar first quarters.
The Celtics dropped 45 and 42 points in the first quarters of their first two matchups against the Hawks, allowing 23 and 19 points from the opposition, respectively. Boston has no trouble coming out swinging against this Atlanta team, and we could be in for another masterpiece of an opening frame.
Kevin Huerter
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Nope, it’s not Trae Young that has given the Boston Celtics’ fits from deep this year. Despite a rough first matchup against the Celtics off the bench, Kevin Huerter dropped five threes in his last game against Boston as a starter, leading the team with 19 points.
The rookie has carved out a huge role for himself in the Atlanta offense, and he’s coming off a bit of a hot streak: in his last three games (two of which were Hawks wins), Huerter made 12-21 shots from deep. He’s a 39% three-point shooter on the year, and he could be the biggest offensive threat tonight for the Celtics defense.
