Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks
Monday, 11/22/10, 7:00 PM EDT
Opening Line: Atlanta -3
Opening Total: 194
Boston has dropped consecutive games and will be looking avoid a fifth straight loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. The Celtics fought back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon in Toronto, but the Raptors closed the game on an 8-3 run. “We didn’t play great, but we had a chance to win the game and we should have won the game,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “But we put ourselves in that position at least.” The team gave up 61 points in the first half and obviously missed point guard Rajon Rondo on the offensive end, who sat out with a hamstring injury. Heading into yesterday, Boston was shooting 50.5 percent from the floor, the only team in the NBA at or above the 50 percent mark. The team is 7-6 ATS on the year and the NBA lines page is available to gauge movement all day.
The Celtics have surrendered 106.3 points per game in its previous three road games after limiting teams to 88.3 over the first four. “We can’t just show up,” said forward Kevin Garnett. “We’ve got to play some D.” Leading scorer Paul Pierce also voiced his frustration after dropping consecutive games. “I know we’re a better team than those two teams, I know we are,” he commented. “It’s just mentally coming out and have the right mindset.” Boston hopes to have Rondo’s NBA-best 14.3 assists per game back in the lineup, but his status is unknown at the time of this writing.
Atlanta dropped its fourth straight game this season to a legitimate playoff-caliber opponent with a 98-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks last time out. The Hawks have been having trouble scoring at home, where they are averaging 98.3 points compared to 104.5 on the road. Scoring woes have caused them to drop four of five at Philips Arena. “We didn’t come out with the energy we needed,” said guard Joe Johnson. He will be depended upon in a big way in tonight’s matchup, coming in averaging 23.0 points against the Celtics since the 2008-09 season. Atlanta is 0-7 ATS at home this season.
The Hawks will take on the Celtics for the first-of-three games this season after dominating the series last year, winning all four by an average of 8.5 points per game. It was a far different story than Boston winning the previous seven meetings. Head coach Larry Drew knows that his team will be challenged once again versus the defending Eastern Conference Champions. “We’ve got a lot of stuff we need to clean up,” he stated. “And it has to start now.” Through 13 games, the team is second in the league in field goal percentage (.493) and 11th in scoring (101.2).
Bettors will find the the Celtics are 12-4 ATS following a SU loss, while the Hawks are 14-6 ATS versus the Atlantic Division.
The NBA handicappers at Maddux Sports are ready for a huge night of winners on the hardcourt!
