For the third time this year, Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference matchup. The two East foes have split the season series to this point, but it could very well be setting up a higher-chances matchup down the line.
In a typically top-heavy Eastern Conference, the Hawks look well positioned to make the play-in tournament at season’s end but are still within touching distance of the sixth seed and a path to avoiding the risky play-in. It would be a big swing in their direction to pick up a quality win in Boston.
The Celtics, meanwhile, continue to keep pace as the second seed and are not quite within touching distance of the Cleveland Cavaliers, atop the conference, and the New York Knicks, trailing in third. Between their status as defending champions and the little need to jostle for position, staying focused is a major key for the Celtics.
With an intriguing meeting between Eastern Conference teams to look forward to on Saturday night at TD Garden, check out our Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for January 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Matchup Hawks vs Celtics Overview
Teams: Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics
Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: TD Garden
Win Probabilities
The prediction tip for the winner in the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics is the Boston Celtics.
Projected Final Score
Our predicted final score for this NBA matchup is Boston Celtics 122-110 Atlanta Hawks.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
With the Boston Celtics more or less locked into the second seed of the Eastern Conference, there’s a good chance this game is a first-round playoff series preview. The Atlanta Hawks have found themselves in the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons and, in 2023, won to vault themselves to the seventh seed.
To repeat that feat would be to set up a likely meeting with the defending champion Celtics. First, Atlanta needs to shake off a little New Year’s hangover, as it has gone just 1-4 since the calendar turned—and has a tough trip to Madison Square Garden looming after its visit to Boston. If the Hawks want to try and get up to the top six in the Eastern Conference and avoid the risk of the play-in tournament altogether, wins like one in Boston would go a long way.
Why the Atlanta Hawks Can Cover
The Atlanta Hawks have a couple of major factors in their favor as they head to the Northeast to take on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The first is a sweet, soft schedule spot that may allow them to catch the Celtics sleeping a little.
Boston hosts the much stronger Orlando Magic on Friday night before the Hawks come into town on Saturday night. Even at home, back-to-backs are grueling propositions and impact even the league’s best teams. The Celtics have already played six back-to-backs in 2024-25 and have dropped three games within that framing—including one, at home, at the hands of these same Atlanta Hawks.
Furthering the difficulty of this schedule spot for the Celtics is what looms on the other side of the back-to-back, and that’s a four-game road trip that will see them swing through California and all the way down to Texas before coming home.
The Hawks’ efforts in a tough matchup in Boston are aided by their personnel, specifically, two shining bright spots on the roster. In Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson, the Hawks have two long, physical defenders who can make the C’s wings, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, work extremely hard.
On the second night of a back-to-back, it is easy to imagine Tatum facing physical, taxing defense from Atlanta early on before settling in for a night full of jumpers to make life easier on himself. And, for Brown, the kind of face-guarding Daniels can bring to the equation could derail the Finals MVP altogether. Arguably the league’s preeminent thief, Daniels’ hands are incredible defensively, and he won’t even need Brown to use his offhand in order to wreak havoc and cause turnovers.
If Brown and Tatum are sufficiently negated, a very clear path for the Hawks to cover—and maybe even win outright—opens up.
Why the Boston Celtics Can Cover
While the schedule is working against the Boston Celtics here, they do have a couple of ways to try and even the playing field while making life hard on the Hawks’ offense. Though Boston is just eighth in adjusted defensive rating, it could come up with a suffocating performance on Saturday night.
The Hawks’ offense, currently just inside the top 20 in adjusted offensive rating, has a pair of streams contributing so much to the production.
The first is unsurprising for a team with a defender like Daniels, points off turnovers. With their ability to turn the opposition over and Trae Young’s ability to lead a fast break, the Hawks have been one of the league’s most productive teams in fast break points. Atlanta’s currently sixth in the NBA in fast break points per game, at 17.2. However, with genius-level defenders in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Boston has excelled in negating fast break opportunities this year. The Celtics, at 14.3, allow the eighth-fewest fast break points per game in the entire NBA.
Similarly, through Jalen Johnson’s rim attacks and Young’s probing passing, Atlanta creates a lot of offense in the paint. The Hawks’ 53.5 paint points per game are fourth in the league, but Boston’s mix of perimeter excellence and rim protection from Kristaps Porzingis can shut that off. It’s in the top half of the league in opponent paint points per game and would likely be among the league’s elite in that defensive metric had Porzingis been healthy all season.
If the Celtics can effectively limit the Hawks’ streams of offense, a home win is likely—even on the second night of a back-to-back.
How to Make Hawks vs. Celtics Picks
Ready to make picks on the Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics matchup on Saturday, January 18? Make sure to head over to Sportzino, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend and so much more!
