The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics haven’t been tested much against their Eastern Conference opponents after seven games.
Still yet to play a Western Conference team, Boston has won six of seven to start the season, with its lone defeat a three-point road overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.
After back-to-back wins in Charlotte over the Hornets, the Celtics hope to continue the trend on the road against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
After topping Charlotte 124-109 on Friday, the Celtics led the entire second half during their 113-103 victory over the Hornets on Saturday.
Boston forward Jaylen Brown will miss his second straight game on Monday because of a hip injury. In six starts this season, Brown is averaging 25.7 points and 7.2 rebounds.
With Brown out, the Celtics will lean on their other offensive options. Jayson Tatum is averaging 30.3 points, Derrick White is chipping in 18.7 and Payton Pritchard is contributing 15.7.
On Saturday, Tatum scored 29 points and Pritchard added 22 off the bench to help complete the sweep against Charlotte.
“Charlotte doubled (Tatum) and he made the right play every time,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought he controlled the game and made the right play almost every single time. I thought he had tremendous poise throughout the game and had an understanding of how the defense was guarding him.”
This is Boston’s only trip to Atlanta this season. The Celtics, who finish their four-game trip on Monday, lost both of their road contests against the Hawks last season.
Atlanta enters Monday on the second night of a back-to-back set. The Hawks beat the New Orleans Pelicans 126-111 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Atlanta is missing Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring) and Kobe Bufkin (shoulder), who are both sidelined indefinitely. De’Andre Hunter (knee) and Onyeka Okongwu (toe) both missed the game Sunday.
Jalen Johnson had 29 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Trae Young added 23 points and 12 assists Sunday. The Hawks trailed by a point at halftime, but opened the second half on a 7-0 run and never looked back.
The Hawks struggled defensively during their four-game skid, allowing 126.3 points per game, but that changed Sunday.
“I think it was pretty simple,” Johnson said. “We came in at halftime, we knew what we needed to do, and that was to turn it up defensively. If we did that, shots were eventually going to fall.”
–Field Level Media
