Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks: Is it payback time for the Celtics?

The Boston Celtics are visiting the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Thursday.

The Celtics are safe on top of the East

The Boston Celtics are the best team in the league with a 57-15 record. After winning nine consecutive games, the Celtics lost 120–118 to the Hawks. They are the best three-point shooting team in the league, making 16.6 threes per game for a league-high 39%. They are also ranked second in the league with 121.1 points per game. Jayson Tatum is the best player on the team, averaging 27.3 points per game.

The Hawks are still without Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks are tenth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-39 record. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 120-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Hawks are leading the league with 92.6 field goal attempts per game but are only 26th shooting 46.6% from the field. In the absence of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray leads the Hawks with 22.3 points per game.

Betting Trends

Boston has covered the spread in 10 of the last 14 games against Atlanta. The Celtics are 8-2 ATS in the last 10 games overall and 6-1 ATS in the last 7 games on the road. The Hawks are 4-2 ATS in the last six games overall, 6-1 ATS in the last 7 home games and 4-1 ATS in the last five games against teams from the Eastern Conference.

Prediction and Conclusion

This is the second time this week that these two teams have gone against each other. The Celtics were going after their tenth consecutive win and had a 30-point lead, but the Hawks made an epic comeback to win 120-118. The Celtics had a couple of days off since that game, while the Hawks beat the Blazers in the meantime. The Celtics will put the foot on the gas to payback the Hawks for the previous loss, but the given spread of -17.5 points is simply too low. There is no doubt that the Celtics will dominate this game and get back on track, but the Hawks will cover the given spread.