The Boston Celtics are going through a rough patch, with an 8-7 record since December 20. A commanding win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night was much needed, but will they build on that in the second night of a back-to-back?
The Celtics still have plenty of grace following last season’s dominant run to the title, so there’s little reason to sound the alarm just yet. This is a team that clearly has had it’s chemistry impacted by player unavailability in the early months of the season, so their main focus will be gelling ahead of the playoffs in April.
The Celtics’ are in a similar position to the Denver Nuggets last year, who amped up their performance level post-All-Star break in a tilt to top their Conference. Boston have lost a lot of ground on a Cleveland side who have stormed away at the top of the Eastern Conference, so it’s easy to see why their intensity has eased a little.
Meanwhile, the Hawks find themselves in the Play-In mix once again. However, this is a team which has been able to rise to the big occasion. Across eight meetings with Boston, Cleveland, the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks, the Hawks have won six times. They visit Boston having won three of their last four games and they have the rest advantage, so back Atlanta to keep this close at least.
Trae Young is a magnet for criticism, but he’s been given a new lease of life since the Dejounte Murray trade. Young is no longer sharing responsibility in the backcourt, this is firmly his team once again. His scoring has dipped amid a career-high in assists per game, but Young should put the offense on his shoulders here.
Young is averaging 23.1 points per game, just shy of his line for this matchup. However, a key factor for the guard is that he’s a driving force in the Hawks being the third-best side from the free-throw line across the NBA.
Combine that with the fact that the Celtics allow more two-point attempts than all but four teams in the NBA and this game looks primed for Young to excel.
Jaylen Brown under 1.5 Threes Made - -115
While there are plenty of things to pin Boston’s issues on, their three-point-heavy offense has slowed in 2025. A key part of that is Jaylen Brown, who has been notably less aggressive from distance since a shooting slump in December.
The Celtics’ defeats towards the end of last year saw Brown post poor returns from deep. He went 1-for-8 in a loss to Chicago and 1-for-7 in a defeat to the Magic. He finished 2024 making two of eight three-pointers across his final two games.
The final straw appears to be his 1-for-6 return from a marquee matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Celtics lost to the West’s top side by 13 points in that game and Brown has attempted just 11 three-pointers in the five games since. He’s scored just three of those, meaning he’s now failed to make multiple threes across his last seven games.
Brown’s previous three appearances have seen him shoot no more than twice from three-point range. His price doesn’t reflect that reluctance to test himself from deep, so back him for fewer than two threes made.
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Atlanta Hawks | +400 ML |
Boston Celtics | -550 ML |
Spread | BOS Celtics -10.5 |
Total Points | O/U 235.5 |
Jayson Tatum (BOS Celtics) | O/U 27.5 |
Jaylen Brown (BOS Celtics) | O/U 23.5 |
Trae Young (ATL Hawks) | O/U 23.5 |
Jalen Johnson (ATL Hawks) | O/U 17.5 |
Derrick White (BOS Celtics) | O/U 14.5 |
Dyson Daniels (ATL Hawks) | O/U 11.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.