Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, January 28th, 2022 

Venue:  State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: Hawks -2; O/U 218.5

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread: Hawks -1.5; O/U 219.5

WynnBet: Spread:  Hawks -1.5; O/U 219.5

Celtics: 25-24, 8th place Eastern Conference

Hawks: 22-25, 12th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference matchup between two teams that desperately need to get things going, not just to firmly make the playoffs, but to match the success they have had as recently as last year.  The Eastern Conference started out as a topsy turvy bed of surprises this season… The Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Washington Wizards were early success stories this season.  They acted as billboards for the fans of any franchise to show just how easily it is to turn everything around through things as simple as a trade, a draft pick, and some “go for it!” attitude.  The Wizards have fallen off a bit from the early success, but the Bulls nad Cavaliers are still going strong!  There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and if 3 teams jump up in the standings then 3 teams have to take it on the chin and fall back.  Those teams are the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Toronto Raptors… The Celtics have been the soap opera that keeps reloading with new actors… we spent 5 seasons completely engrossed if this season or that season would finally be the one that something big happened and the characters reached the unreachable goal… This season may cancel the whole show.  The Hawks were last year’s darlings!  A deep playoff run seemingly out of nowhere that minted star PG Trae Young as the league’s top new, young star… just as the Hawks have tumbled, so too has Young’s starpower.  Young still plays great, but the Hawks aren’t winning.  Now my nephew wants to know about Ja Morant and Darius Garland… two guys he hadn’t even heard of when he had me get him a Hawks jersey last season.   There is light at the end of the tunnel for both teams however… There are still plenty of games left to play… and the trade deadline is two weeks away. The Celtics could soon be a very different team if another franchise wants Marcus Smart and Grant Williams or Dennis Shroeder and Al Horford?... The Hawks could also be reloading if you add up all the trade rumors surrounding PF John Collins… The Hawks already traded with the Knicks to land SF Kevin Knox and a future first round pick.  So, soon the Celtics could be on their 5th new starting point guard in as many seasons and the Hawks may find a starting big man that plays well with Trae Young. Until then it’s a battle between #8 and #12 in what is shaping up to be the weaker conference.

In their last game the Boston Celtics absolutely destroyed the Sacramento Kings.  It was an outright joke.  The Final score was Celtics 128 - Kings 75.  That is not a misprint as far as I know.  The Celtics were favored and easily covered the 9 point spread.  A nice home win by a 53 point margin!  More of an indictment of what is going on in rudderless Sacramento though.  The Celtics have now won 7 of their last 10 games.  Two of the 3 losses were to Eastern Conference teams slightly above them in the standing though… The Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers… those are matchups they will have to have if they expect to move up.  The Celtics two star players are still SF Jayson Tatum and SG Jaylen Brown… They average 26 and 24 ppg respectively… if one of them was a big man the Celtics would be unstoppable.  Alas they are booth swing players… which is a lot like having two Ferraris in the garage… you can only drive one of them at a time.  Still having them both also means that if the team ever got productive play from the C and PF spots consistently, they’d be a strong contender again in a heartbeat.  (Call Indiana about Sabonis… give all the future picks they want).

Coincidentally Atlanta played the Sacramento Kings in Their last game as well… Final score: Atlanta 121 - Sacramento 104… Atlanta got the win AND covered the 11 points they were favored by!  Sacramento is hot garbage!  The hawks have turned it on recently as they are on a five-game win streak…. Unfortunately that streak only means they have won 5 of their last ten games.  Following a losing streak with a win streak doesn’t do more than winning or losing every other one the whole way through.  A cool thing is they had 5 wins ATS during the winning streak and 5 losses ATS during the losing streak… so at least they are Gambler Friendly.  PG Trae Young is dropping 28 ppg and 9 apg on everybody… he’s just doing it alone this season.  The Hawks have had really bad timing with injuries and Covid absences back to back to back for a while.  They are just now getting back to full health (or as full health as an NBA team can expect)... so maybe last season’s winning ways are on the other end of this winning streak?  Still, they would be better off with what John Collins could bring back in a trade than with John Collins.

At the risk of sounding "cocky," I've made betting on the NBA look pretty easy this season. Yesterday's winner on Boston gives me a 34-16 (68%) YTD record with NBA sides! Not to be outdone, I'm also 7-2 L9 NBA totals! Though I ended up on the wrong side of Bills-KC, it was a 4-1 Sunday overall! My record over the L13 days is 33-19 with all picks! Go get it! Get Will Rogers’ picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

Boston is 25-24 on the season, but 24-24-1 ATS.  They have logged 21 Overs and 27 Unders with 1 push.  They are 9-14 in road games.

Atlanta is 22-25 on the season, but 20-27 ATS.  They have notched 25 Overs and 22 Unders.  They are 12-11 in home games.

Boston is 19th in scoring with 108 ppg, 5th in rebounds with 46.2, and 21st in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are shooting 22nd in FG%, 21st in 3PT%, and 2nd in FT%

The Hawks are 7th in scoring with 111.4 ppg, 17th in rebounds with 44.4, and 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 2.0. They are shooting 10th in FG%, 3rd in 3PT%, and 6th in FT%

Our prediction for Friday, January 28th is….  Celtics 118 - Hawks 109

The Celtics should take down the Hawks if Marcus Smart is still their point guard.  Marcus is one of the best on-ball defenders in the league and Trae Young always has the ball.  The Hawks' streak will be broken in this one as the Celtics will force switches to get Trae Young trying to guard Jaylen Brown, something Trae can not do well at all.

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to

join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Celtics/Hawks Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

The Hawks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games.

Atlanta is 5-2 ATs versus Boston over the last 3 seasons.

Atlanta is 2-1 ATS versus Boston at Atlanta over the last 3 seasons.

2 of 3 games in this series have gone Over.  

 Celtics: SG PJ Dozier (knee) Quest ** C Bol Bol (foot) Quest

Hawks: No injuries to Report!

Celtics: Sf Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III, SG Jaylen Brown, PG Marcus Smart

Hawks: SF Deandre Hunter, PF John Collins, C Clint Capela, SG Kevin Huerter, PG Trae Young

Celtics

Points: Jayson Tatum 26

Assists: Marcus Smart 5.4

Rebounds: Robert Williams III 9.4

Steals: Marcus Smart 2.0

Blocks: Robert Williams III 2.1

Hawks

Points: Trae Young 27.7

Assists: Trae Young 9.3

Rebounds: Clint Capela 12.6

Steals: Malcolm Hill 1.3

Blocks Onyeka Okongwu

Celtics: Ime Udoka

Hawks: Nate McMillan