Hawks vs Celtics Picks and Predictions: Boston's Defense Propels Revenge Win

The Boston Celtics are one of the hottest teams in basketball right now and they’ll look to keep it rolling with a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

The Celtics’ trade deadline acquisition of Derrick White couldn’t have come at a better time, as they’ll need him to defend Trae Young tonight.

Will Boston take care of business against Atlanta here? Find out by reading the rest of our Hawks vs. Celtics NBA picks and predictions. 

Hawks vs Celtics odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

The Celtics are favored by anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5 points in this meeting with a Hawks team that is without one of its best offensive players in John Collins. Meanwhile, the total opened at 220.5 in this one and hasn’t moved. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Hawks vs Celtics predictions

• Prediction: Celtics -5.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 220.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Williams III Over 1.5 blocks (-175)

Predictions made on 2/13/2022 at 1:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Hawks vs Celtics game info

• Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Date: Sunday, February 13, 2022
• Tip-off: 2:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC

Hawks vs Celtics betting preview

Key injuries

Hawks: John Collins F (Out).
Celtics: Daniel Theis C (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

Atlanta is 1-5 against the spread in its last six road games against teams with winning home records. Find more NBA betting trends for Hawks vs. Celtics.

Hawks vs Celtics picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

With Collins out for the Hawks, Atlanta is going to be missing a key offensive piece against one of the league’s best defensive teams. That’s not going to be easy for the Hawks to deal with, even with Young leading a Hawks offense that is second in the league in offensive rating.

With Collins out, Atlanta’s pick-and-roll attack won’t be quite as lethal, as Young will have to run it with only centers that can finish at the rim. Collins isn’t exactly a great shooter, but he is at least a threat to pop out and attempt some jumpers. That makes it harder for opponents to cover, as there’s more unpredictability. 

Also, with White in the fold for Boston, the team now has the luxury of putting him or Marcus Smart on the opposing team’s primary ball-handler. That will make life on Young extremely difficult in this one. It’s just hard to envision him having one of his more efficient nights with White and Smart taking turns defending him.

Boston also has the luxury of throwing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on guys like Kevin Huerter and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the Celtics also have Robert Williams III to battle in the paint with Clint Capela. Overall, Boston just matches up really well with Atlanta, and the team should be able to flip the script from January’s blowout loss at State Farm Arena. 

Offensively, Tatum and Brown should be able to torch the Hawks in this game, and White should be able to join in on the fun. He’s an underrated offensive player and will have the luxury of getting to go at Young, who is one of the league’s worst perimeter defenders. 

Atlanta also happens to be 1-5 ATS in its last six road games, and the team is also 1-9 ATS in its last 10 road games against teams with home winning percentages greater than 60%. Take the Celtics.

Prediction: Celtics -5.5 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

The Under has hit in each of the last two games that these teams have played, with the last one featuring the two combining to score only 200 points. In that game, the Hawks held the Celtics to 92 points, marking the second time in a row that Atlanta held Boston to under 100. However, with the Celtics now being one of the best teams in the league on the defensive end, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the roles were reversed a bit here. Boston should really be able to keep Atlanta in check here, especially with Collins out of the lineup. 

The Under is 8-2 in the last 10 games that the Celtics have played and it’s also 8-3 in the last 11 home games that Boston has played. On top of that, the Under is also 16-7 when Boston has played against teams with losing records this year. Those games saw the two teams combining to score just 205 points per game, with Boston winning them by 7.4 points per game. 

Prediction: Under 220.5 (-110)

Best bet

Williams didn’t have any blocks the last time these two met, which just isn’t like him at all. The big man enters this game after having at least two blocks in each of his last seven games. He’s also done so in 11 of his last 12, and he comes into this one after having blocked three shots in back-to-back games. Williams is one of the game’s best shot blockers and the Celtics will be counting on him to protect the rim against a Hawks team that is one of the best in the league on the offensive end. 

Don’t be surprised if Boston comes out with a lot of energy in this game, as this group lost to Atlanta by 16 when the two met on January 28. Williams should be the one to set the tone.

Pick: Robert Williams III Over 1.5 blocks (-175)

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