Winners of seven games in a row before the meeting, the Celtics put their current good momentum to the test, with this trip to Atlanta, at the always unpredictable Hawks.
And indeed, the meeting held its share of surprises, in this case not the most qualitative since it is clearly not the best version of the Atlanta troupe that we have seen. Leaded from the start by a failed first quarter on the offensive level (33% on shots), the Hawks briefly managed to get back into the second quarter, before completely taking the water after the break, against realistic Celtics (48/88), firing everywhere, with seven different players exceeding 10 points scored.
As almost always this season, it was the pair Trae Young – Dejounte Murray who was the most prominent for the Hawks, the two leaders scoring 46 of the locals’ 101 points in this brutal “blowout” (126-101).
With this 8th consecutive success, the Celtics sit a little more their domination on the Eastern Conference, and more broadly on the whole league.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Celtics offense, a steamroller. Despite the absences of Marcus Smart, always more organizer in this Boston attack, and Malcolm Brogdon, the Celtics had no difficulty in overwhelming the feeble defense of the Hawks with formidable offensive efficiency. Joe Mazzulla’s men have indeed recalled that they have the most effective offense in the league, with 119.5 points scored on 100 possessions, planting 126 points on 55% on shots (21/46 from three-pointers), and a very good ratio of 29 assists for “only” 14 ball losses. In the end, seven players scored 15 or more points: four starters (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Grant Williams and Derrick White) and three substitutes (Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard). With 19 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, Jayson Tatum was unsurprisingly the most prominent Celtic, continuing his first month of competition worthy of an MVP candidate.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ The Boston Collective. While Robert Williams is still in the infirmary, Danilo Gallinari should stay there and the Smart / Brogdon duo was not there, Joe Mazzulla can rely on a rich and efficient workforce. Off the bench, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard hurt Atlanta.
✅⛔️ Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. The two leaders were the only two to float in this failed evening collectively for the Hawks, but their good performances (27 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists for the first, 19 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists for the second) are unfortunately marred by defeat, ugly in the way. There is still work to be done in Atlanta, before really setting up a collective…
⛔️ De’Andre Hunter. Overall, the entire Hawks team went through, but the winger symbolized the team’s lack of solutions, with his 4/13 shooting and his -21 +/- on this game.
THE FOLLOWING
Celtics (12-3) : trip to the Pelicans, on the night of Friday to Saturday (02:30)
Hawks (9-6) : reception of the Raptors, on the night of Sunday to Monday (00:00)
