The Boston Celtics squandered an opportunity to close out their opening-round series in Game 5, so they will need to defeat the Atlanta Hawks on the road in Game 6. Read on for our Celtics vs. Hawks prediction based on the best NBA odds.
This opening-round series has lasted longer than anyone thought possible, perhaps even the Hawks themselves. Thanks to a huge showing from Trae Young, the Hawks earned a 119-117 road win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5.
Even with the series back in Atlanta, Boston is a 7-point road favorite to close out the series. Will the Celtics take care of business or do the Hawks have one more upset in them?
Here is our best Celtics vs. Hawks prediction (odds via PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Celtics vs. Hawks prediction
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Nothing in this series has gone according to plan, but you have to imagine the Celtics will come out motivated in this one. They have no desire to let this series get to Game 7, so I expect them to start strong and finish even stronger. Our Jon Metler believes Malcolm Brogdon's work in the assists department will help the Celtics in their efforts in his NBA best bets.
My initial instinct was to take the Celtics' first-half spread using such logic. According to NBA.com, Boston leads all playoff teams in first-half net rating (20), thanks in large part to an offensive rating of 126.1 across the first two quarters.
The Celtics have outscored the Hawks in the first half in four of the five games, with the lone exception being Gam e 3. Boston has bested Atlanta by a combined 54 points in the first half of this series, averaging 66.6 points per game in the opening frame.
Of course, none of this should be a surprise to anyone who paid attention during the regular season.
The Celtics led the entire NBA with a net rating of 9.2 and were second with an offensive rating of 119.2 in the first half during the regular season. The Hawks ranked 15th in net rating and 21st in defensive rating in the opening half of regular-season contests.
All of this puts the first-half spread of Celtics -3.5 and Boston's first-half team total of 61.5 in play for this game. Both such betting lines are widely available at the best sportsbooks at the time of this writing.
But we settled on this double-result due to the pricing advantage, and the fact we just need the Celtics to be ahead at ha lftime before eventually winning Game 6. PointsBet's price of -130 is extremely advantageous compared to the other shops, which is why this is a four-star pick.
Celtics vs. Hawks best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS 1H, BOS Full Game | BOS 1H, BOS Full Game | BOS 1H, BOS Full Game | BOS 1H, BOS Full Game | BOS 1H, BOS Full Game |
| -160 | -150 | N/A | -135 | -130 |
I honestly was prepared to bet this up to -150 before I noticed PointsBet's superior price of -130 on this game prop. Caesars offers the next-best value at -135, but it is telling that shops like DraftKings and FanDuel have juiced this so much.
Celtics vs. Hawks odds
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Celtics vs. Hawks odds analysis
The Celtics opened as 5.5-point favorites but are now laying -7 at most of our best NBA betting sites. The total hasn't moved much over the last couple of days, but it sits around 232 at the best sports betting sites.
The winner of the first five games has gone on to cover the spread all five times during this series. The Over is 3-2 in this playoff matchup, clearing the total in each of the last three contests.
Celtics vs. Hawks game info
- Date: Thursday, April 27, 8:30 p.m. ET
- TV: TNT
- Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Celtics-Hawks pick made 04/27/2023 at 11:05 a.m. ET.
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