Starting Lineups: Hawks vs. Celtics

The Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics are set to tip off tonight at State Farm Arena and the starting lineups for the game have just been announced.

G-Trae Young

G-Dyson Daniels

F-Zaccharie Risacher

F-Jalen Johnson

C-Clint Capela

G-Jrue Holiday

G-Derrick White

F-Jayson Tatum

F- Al Horford

C-Neenias Queta

Our very own Rohan Raman gave his example of tonight’s match:

“So far, the Hawks have been one of the better offenses in basketball while struggling on defense. Their defense looked better against the Pelicans, but it’s hard to take much away from that considering the Pelicans Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III and Trey Murphy III running back CJ McCollum and Herb Jones They also struggled to contain Brandon Ingram, who had 32 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

Going into tonight’s game, the Hawks are 7th in the NBA in PPG, 10th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 12th in 3P%, 3rd in FTA, 23rd in rebounding, and 20th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the glassAtlanta ranks 6th in points per 100 possessions, 5th in effective field goal percentage, 22nd in turnover percentage, 17th offensive rebound percentage and 3rd in free throw percentage.

Atlanta ranks 28th in PPG allowed, 14th in field goal percentage allowed, 29th in 3PA allowed and 30th in 3P% allowed. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks rank 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and 22nd in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Unsurprisingly, Boston ranks near the top of the NBA in many statistical categories. They are 1st in points per game, 16th in field goal percentage, 1st in three-point attempts, 8th in three-point percentage, 11th in free throw attempts, 20th in rebounds and 13th in turnovers. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics are 1st in points per 100 possessions, 2nd in effective field goal percentage, 3rd in turnover percentage, 15th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw percentage.

Defensively, Boston ranks 13th in PPG allowed, 22nd in field goal percentage allowed, 12th in three-point attempts allowed and 9th in three-point percentage allowed. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics rank 12th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 19th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Celtics are a bit more suspect on defense and there is some reason to think Atlanta can take advantage of this. Trae Young is still Atlanta’s main creator and he didn’t disappoint, posting 23 points and 12 assists with four rebounds. He was assisted by Jalen Johnson, who had his best game of the year against the Pelicans. Johnson finished just short of a triple-double with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Especially if the Celtics don’t have Jaylen Brown, I think this is a big game where Johnson can excel. Despite getting a healthy dose of Jayson Tatum on defense, Atlanta will likely need him to have a big scoring game to continue scoring. keeping pace with Boston’s offense.

Dyson Daniels was able to return to the lineup against his old team, the New Orleans Pelicans, and looked great. He scored 16 points, three assists and five rebounds (on 7/10 shooting) while consistently working well within the flow of the offense. Daniels is currently shooting 36.4% from three-point range (easily a career high) and appears to have made tangible improvement as a shooter. It’s what has allowed him to stay on the field more with the Hawks and impose his signature defense on opponents. It’s hard to think of ten better perimeter defenders in the game than Daniels, and he could climb even higher on the list if he continues to stand out against Boston. Tatum, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday all demand respect as scorers and it will be interesting to see how Dyson fares against one of the tougher lineups Atlanta has played all year.

Another matchup that will likely play a big role in Atlanta’s chances for this is Zaccharie Risacher against Boston’s defense. After a great debut, the rookie has hit a bit of a slump. He finished with 11 points on 4/13 shooting from the field and hit just one of his five attempts from deep. Now there was some nice activity on defense as he picked up three steals and two blocks. However, it is clear that Risacher is still finding his way in the league. If he can get hot from three-point range and force some turnovers, that could give the Hawks the edge they need to win this one.”

According to Fanduel Sports BookBoston is a 10-point favorite tonight and the total stands at 234.

The game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.

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