Final: Hawks 110. Celtics 89 - Celtics outclassed by Atlanta

Game 15: Boston Celtics (7-7) vs. Atlanta Hawks (6-9)
State Farm Arena
7:30 - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTERS

BOSTON CELTICS: Dennis Schröder, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Grant Williams

ATLANTA HAWKS: Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, John Collins, Clint Capela

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Jaylen Brown (right hamstring) and Robert Williams (left knee) are out tonight for Boston. 

- De’Andre Hunter (right wrist) and Onyeka Okongwu (right shoulder) are out for Atlanta

- Despite being 6-9, the Hawks are 5-1 at home

- Atlanta is favored by 5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- Do not underestimate the Hawks. 

“Their record is not indicative of who they are,” Ime Udoka warned. “They've had some losses early but they're starting to figure it out in the last few games and (Trae) Young has really stepped up there.”

The Hawks have won two in a row, over the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks, both at home. They’ve only lost once at home, which means if Boston comes sauntering in thinking they’re facing a bad team, they’ll be in for quite a surprise.

This is especially true of Young, who has spent the beginning of the season struggling to adjust to the new way fouls are called. Young used to live at the line and he doesn’t quite as much, but now he’s beginning to adjust.

“His numbers are down from nine to about five, so free throw-wise he hasn’t had as many, and it doesn’t look like he’s trying to bait as many fouls,” Udoka said. “It’s almost making him a better shooter/scorer because he’s concentrating on that. Looks like his overall shooting numbers may be up, and he’s playing for that instead of trying to draw fouls, which could make him more dangerous.”

He shot below 37.5% in five of his first eight games, including a 6-22 game in a loss at Brooklyn. His lowest shooting percentage since then has been 40%. In his last seven games, he’s the league’s third-leading scorer at 28.9 points per game, shooting 49.7% and 47.4% from 3. 

“Obviously big-time scorer that you want to show him different coverages similar to (Luka) Doncic,” Udoka said. “If he gets used to one thing he kind of can get hot there.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Second chances: Without Robert Williams, the league’s second-best offensive rebounder, will the Celtics offense be relegated to one-and-done opportunities, or will someone else be able to step up to keep possessions alive. Meanwhile, Capela is fourth in offensive rebounding, percentage points behind Williams. So the Celtics will have to make sure they box out and prevent the Hawks from extending their own possessions.

2. Defensive intensity: The Celtics have the league’s best defense over the last seven games, but they’ll be missing Williams, the league’s eighth-best shot blocker. They’ll need to throw varied looks at Young, but will they be on the same page? 

3. Offensive consistency: “It's just seeing what worked for us in certain halves within the same game,” Udoka said of his team’s search for more complete performances. “As we are learning our players, and they're learning what we're asking of them, we kind of can pick up a package for Jayson and certain guys, Dennis, what he likes to do well. 

“But overall, the theme of the ball movement, find the guys open shots, and just playing with a faster pace, which we did earlier in the season, and got bogged down a little bit over the last few games.”

It starts with Tatum, who has been ice cold to start this season. The Celtics need to get him some easy looks early on and hope to spring him from deep later.  

GAME THREAD

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