The Boston Celtics, who found new life during the second half of this season, begin this postseason with a first-round series vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
Sportsbooks have Atlanta as a 1.5-point favorite for Sunday's series Game 1 (7 pm Eastern, TNT), with an 'over/under' of 178.
But Sportsbook is also lining Boston, which does not hold home-court advantage in this series, as a -200 favorite to win this series, with the Hawks getting +170.
Looking a little more long-term, the Celtics at 10/1 to win the Eastern Conference and 20/1 to win the NBA championship, while Atlanta is getting 35/1 to win the East and 60/1 to win the league title.
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Boston started off 0-3 this year, sat at 5-9 in late January and still was only 15-17 as March approached. But the Celts won 24 of their last 34 games and sneaked past fading Philadelphia to win the Atlantic Division again.
On the other side of this matchup the Hawks got off to a 16-6 start this season, played roughly .500 ball for the next two months, then finished well by winning nine of their last 12.
So the Hawks, who ended up taking second in the Southwest Division at 40-26, hold home-court advantage in this series over division-champion Boston, which finished 39-27. Which is bad news for the Celts, who only went 15-18 straight-up on the road this season.
The Celtics took a closely-contested season series from Atlanta two games to one. Boston won by three points and by two in overtime, while the Hawks' victory came by five points.
Two of those three games played 'under' their posted totals. [ Best OVER number of 178 was at Sportsbook earlier ]
On the injury front Boston G Ray Allen, who missed most of the last month of the regular-season with a sore ankle, is listed as questionable for Sunday's game and beyond.
Over on the other side of the scorer's table Hawks C Al Horford is still out after having surgery on a torn pectoral, and his back-up, Zaza Pachulia, hasn't played in two weeks because of a sore foot, and is questionable for Sunday's game.
As the Celtics led the league in FG defense this season, holding foes to less than 42 percent shooting from the floor, they went 28-35 on the 'over/unders.'
Celtics vs Hawks Prop Bets from Sportsbook:
Series Price
Boston Celtics (Series Prices) 1/2 (-200)
Atlanta Hawks (Series Prices) 17/10 (+170)
Exact Series Result
Atlanta Hawks 4-0 28/1
Atlanta Hawks 4-1 17/2
Atlanta Hawks 4-2 9/1
Atlanta Hawks 4-3 17/4
Boston Celtics 4-0 15/2
Boston Celtics 4-1 9/2
Boston Celtics 4-2 9/4
Boston Celtics 4-3 5/1
Total Games in Series
Over Games O 5½ 5/9 (-180)
Under Games U 5½ 3/2 (+150)
Total Games in Series
4 6/1
5 13/5
6 33/20
7 9/5
Series Game Spread
Atlanta Hawks +1½ 5/6 (-120)
Boston Celtics -1½ 10/11 (-110)
Series Game Spread
Atlanta Hawks -1½ 7/2 (+350)
Boston Celtics +1½ 1/5 (-500)
Where will the Series be Decided
Philips Arena, Atlanta 21/20 (+105)
TD Garden, Boston 20/27 (-135)
Player Props
Average First Round Points Per Game - Joe Johnson
Over/ Under 18
Average First Round Points Per Game - Josh Smith
Over/ Under 18
Average First Round Rebounds Per Game - Josh Smith
Over/ Under 9
Average First Round Points Per Game - Jeff Teague
Over/ Under 11.5
Average First Round Points Per Game - Paul Pierce
Over/ Under 19
Average First Round Points Per Game - Kevin Garnett
Over/ Under 16
Average First Round Rebounds Per Game - Kevin Garnett
Over/ Under 7.5
Average First Round Points Per Game - Rajon Rondo
Over/ Under 12
Average First Round Assists Per Game - Rajon Rondo
Over/ Under 12