Atlanta Hawks Play Boston Celtics in TD Garden

The Atlanta Hawks (8-2) will play an old foe in the Boston Celtics (3-4) Friday night in the TD Garden. Is this a potential first round playoff matchup?

The Atlanta Hawks got back to their winning ways versus New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night, beating the Pelicans 106-98. Atlanta’s start to their 2015-16 schedule is grueling to say the least, as the team will play their 11th game in what would be 8th game on the year for the Celtics. Nevertheless, the Atlanta Hawks have handled their slew of games better than most could have imagined.

Boston’s perception entering 2015-16 was that of a fringe playoff team, likely finishing in the 7 to 10 range in the Eastern Conference. Though this is merely a team of role players, the Celtics do have a fantastic head coach in Brad Stevens. He tends to get the most out of his players every night and Boston is lucky to have him as their head coach.

-= Related: Atlanta Hawks Beat New Orleans Pelicans, 106-98 =-

Historically, the Boston Celtics are the biggest rival of the Atlanta Hawks as both teams have met in the playoffs 12 times. Since Boston is the most storied franchise in the NBA, naturally they have won 11 of those 12 meetings. The Celtics looked at the Hawks as a good secondary rivalry, which is fine given that any acknowledgement of a rivalry from the Lakers or Celtics is a good thing.

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Outside of a Southeast Division game, I tend to get up for Celtics and Pacers games the most because of the thrilling playoff and regular season games these two clubs have played with the Atlanta Hawks in the Al Horford Era (2007 to present). Indiana games usually go down to the wire. With Boston, they are notoriously unpredictable. Anything and everything seems to happen in Hawks-Celtics games.

For Atlanta to beat the Boston Celtics in their place to move to 9-2, the Hawks will need to do these three things: 1. Make the extra pass or two to get the best shot possible on the perimeter. 2. Play with pace. 3. Control their emotions. Boston from what I remember is a strong defensive minded team out on the perimeter. Atlanta will have to work for their three-point opportunities more than they normally would against most teams.

Dictating the tempo of the game should help Atlanta. Getting fast break points and putting up points in a hurry could stand as too much for Boston. However, should Atlanta get into foul trouble and Boston is living at the charity stripe, things could go south very quickly. The more Brad Stevens can coach during a timeout, the worse it could get for Atlanta.

Lastly, Atlanta is still a very tired basketball team. Playing angry and playing cranky are two different entities. Boston can play a physical brand of basketball, so this could get a little chippy. Not like against the Clippers or Grizzlies, but don’t expect this game to feel free-flowing.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Nov. 12

Atlanta has still yet to lose away from Philips Arena this year, so hopefully the Hawks can keep the streak alive. With Atlanta looking like an Eastern Conference Title contender early and Boston feeling like a playoff team, could this be a potential first round matchup? It’s happened a lot before and could happen again. Let’s Go Hawks!