Game 72 Preview: Hawks at Celtics

Although it is to be expected, it can become official tonight.

If the Philadelphia 76ers lose tonight and the Celtics (37-34) are able to hold off the Atlanta Hawks (40-32), the C's will officially clinch a playoff spot. The only thing left to be decided is seeding.

Tonight, Boston has a great chance to climb the ladder if they want to, as they only trail the Hawks by two-and-a-half games for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. But as we all are well aware by now, the Celtics basically don't give a hoot about seeding at this point and are focused on getting as healthy as they possibly can before the playoffs.

With regards to the Celtics' health woes, Courtney Lee participated in this morning's shootaround and is listed as a game-time decision. Kevin Garnett is still out as well.

The Hawks come into TD Garden exactly three weeks since their last visit when they fell to the Celtics 107-102 in overtime. Since then, the Hawks have hovered around the .500 mark, going 6-5 in 11 games since March 8. They've alternated wins and losses -- 3-3 record in 6 games -- since March 17. They are coming off a 107-88 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

So if you want to predict how the Hawks will do tonight, history says they should lose tonight.

Here's a preview:


Projected lineup:

Hawks:
Jeff Teague
Anthony Tolliver
Kyle Korver
Josh Smith
Al Horford

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Jordan Crawford
Paul Pierce
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass

Keys to the game:

1. Avery Bradley: Over his last 12 games, Bradley is shooting a ghastly 32% from the floor. However, his offensive slump hasn't affected his defense, which continues to be other-worldly. And it's going to have to stay that way tonight when he matches up with Jeff Teague. Teague has come into his own of late, averaging 19.2 points, 7.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 53.1% over his last six games. Bradley will have his hands full with Teague tonight. He needs to bring his A-game offensively as well. The Celtics are 12-4 when Bradley scores at least 10 points, so Bradley's success on the offensive end is crucial to the Celtics' success.

2. Interior design: Well, whatever interior designs the Celtics are drawing up sure wouldn't do so well on the open market. No one would want the blue print to what they've been coming up with because their interior defense -- in particular their rebounding -- has been pitiful. Especially against the Hawks. The Celtics have allowed the Hawks to grab 42 boards in three games this season. They've allowed at least one player from the Hawks to grab at least 10 rebounds in each game. That's a major no no. Just please, for once, be successful on the boards. They might even be happy with the result.