Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks Preview

Added on Mar 27, 2009 by sbworld in

Oddsmakers are predicting that the best NBA game on the slate for Friday is going to be extremely competitive and it’s hard to disagree with them.

The Boston Celtics (54-19) are on the road as they get set to take on their Eastern Conference adversary Atlanta Hawks (42-30) and both teams have some injury issues that are making it hard for sportsbooks to favor one team over the other.

Boston has forward Kevin Garnett back in the lineup but the big man is still playing limited minutes (just 16:31 last time out) but he’s not the only Celtic with an injury. Guard Tony Allen has been out for a while but now forward Leon Powe is out for at least a few days as well for the Celtics. On top of that, point guard Rajon Rondo sprained his ankle in Boston’s last game but he is expected to play against Atlanta.

The Hawks haven’t avoided the injury bug either with forward Marvin Williams and guard Speedy Claxton out for the season while guard Acie Law is dealing with back spasms and is questionable for Friday night’s game.

With all those injuries figured in, Bookmaker has listed the road-team Celtics as a 1-point favorite on the point spread with a total of 183.5. Boston seems to be the favorite of the sports betting public but neither the point spread nor the total have moved since they opened.

Boston has had some holes on the road this season with a 25-13 mark but much of that was from when Garnett was out so it will be interesting to see how they respond in a playoff atmosphere with Kevin only playing limited minutes. Atlanta has shown their fans a good time this season with a 28-8 mark at home but did lose their last home game against the San Antonio Spurs by a final score of 92-102.

Atlanta has won 8 of their last 10 games outright including only one point spread loss over that time but they have dropped both games against Boston this season. With just a combined 4 points of difference in the 2 games, these teams tend to play very close. The Celtics have won 5 of their last 10 and are struggling with only 3 covers of the NBA betting odds over that span.

Statistically, Boston has an edge in points scored, field goal %, free throw %, defense, and rebounding. They turn the ball over a little bit more then the Hawks but also have a stronger bench so it will be interesting to see if the home court advantage will be enough to overtake a Celtics team that is better statistically on the season but not playing their best lately.