The Boston Celtics probably have the best chance of winning the title this season. They last appeared in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in 2022. This time, they seem uber-motivated to finish what they started. Boston ranks atop the Eastern Conference with a 57-15 record. They’ve held the best record in the league since the start of the season.
“Dad, how good were the 23-24 Boston Celtics?”
Me: pic.twitter.com/QgZBRT5ahm
— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) March 27, 2024
Interestingly, they are coming off a loss against their upcoming opponents, the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks aren’t the best prospect in the East. They are fighting to maintain a spot among the Play-In Tournament berths. Fortunately, they have a decent lead ahead of the 11th seed right now. They will be hosting the Celtics at the State Farm Arena once again.
Jayson Tatum is available to start for the Hawks vs Celtics game
Jayson Tatum hasn’t missed too many games this season nor have any other star players on the Celtics roster. This is a good sign for the Celtics as they move ahead into the post-season. However, this time Jrue Holiday and Al Horford are questionable due to injuries. Without Holiday, they’ve achieved a 9-2 record. And without Horford, they’ve done 11-2. Tatum will start against the Hawks.
midweek work 😤 pic.twitter.com/pZNUDuvYRv
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 27, 2024
Boston Celtics Injury Report:
- Jaden Springer (Questionable)
- Xavier Tillman (Questionable)
- Jrue Holiday (Questionable)
- Al Horford (Questionable)
Boston Celtics Expected Lineup:
- Payton Pritchard
- Derrick White
- Jaylen Brown
- Jayson Tatum
- Kristaps Porzingis
Atlanta Hawks Injury Report:
- Onyeka Okongwu (Questionable)
- Trae Young (Out)
- AJ Griffin (Out)
- Kobe Bufkin (Out)
- Jalen Johnson (Out)
- Mouhamed Gueye (Out)
- Saddiq Bey (Out)
Atlanta Hawks Expected Lineup:
- Dejounte Murray
- Vit Krejci
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- De’Andre Hunter
- Clint Capela
The Celtics blow a THIRTY (30!!!!) Point Lead to the Atlanta Hawks 🚨 pic.twitter.com/vg2AYjAoxW
— Ishan Ghosh (@ishanghosh824) March 26, 2024
The Hawks have taken a major hit over the last couple of weeks to a month. While they do not have much depth to work with at the moment, their current starting lineup has been accumulating good wins. Hunter and Capela have been lethal on offense lately. Garrison Mathews has also been scoring well coming off the bench.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are expected to win against the Hawks
The Celtics already have a 2-1 record against the Hawks this season. The last game was a complete masterclass from Atlanta. They managed to dominate the floor from deep shooting 18-36 without Young in the lineup. That’s exactly what helped the Hawks catch up with the Celtics eventually getting them the victory.
3’s a streak boys pic.twitter.com/wf49LsTOoq
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 28, 2024
Besides Dejounte Murray, the Hawks need their bench players to be as consistent as they can to cop the win. The Celtics have everything intact. But with Payton Pritchard coming into the starting lineup to replace Holiday, they will lose out on some depth. The Hawks could capitalise on this aspect but the Celtics are simply too powerful to beat twice in a row.