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Atlanta Hawks (23-25) at Boston Celtics (29-17)
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #47, Home Game #22
TV: NBCSB, FDSNSE, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.9 The Game, Sirius XM
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Shooting Guard 
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Dyson Daniels
Small Forward 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Corey Kispert
Power Forward 
vs
Sam Hauser vs Jalen Johnson
Center 
vs
Amari Williams vs Onyeka Okongwu
Celtics ReservesBaylor Scheierman
Xavier Tillman
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Chris Boucher
Jordan Walsh
Josh Minott
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Neemias Queta (illness) doubtful
Luka Garza (illness) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Hawks Reserves Nikola Durisic
Mouhamed Gueye
Luke Kennard
Vit Krejci
CJ McCollum
Asa Newell
Keaton Wallace
2 way PlayersRayj Dennis
Caleb Houston
Christian Koloko
Injuries/Out N'Faly Dante (knee) out
Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) out
Zaccharie Risacher (knee) out
Head Coach Quin Snyder
Game NotesThe Celtics continue their home stand after a win over the Trail Blazers on Monday. This is the 2nd of 4 games between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 132-106 in Atlanta on January 17. They will meet again in Atlanta on March 30 and will play a second game in Boston on March 27. The Hawks won the series 2-1 last season with the Celtics winning one in Atlanta and the Hawks winning twice in Boston. The Celtics are 246-151 overall all time and they are 132-56 in games played in Boston.
The Hawks saw a lot of change in the off season. They were part of a 3 team trade That sent Georges Niang to Boston and Terance Mann to Brooklyn and brought back Kristaps Porzingis from Boston. They were also part of a 7 team trade involving Kevin Durant where they sent Clint Capela to Houston in return for David Roddy, who they cut. They got Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a sign and trade with Minnesota.
They traded Kobe Bufkin to Brooklyn for cash. Caris LeVert and Larry Nance, Jr both left in free agency and they cut Charles Bassey, who played for the Celtics Summer League team. They signed N'Faly Dante and Luke Kennard as free agents. They drafted Asa Newell with the 23rd pick in the draft. On January 5, they made the first big trade of the silly season when they sent Trae Young to Washington for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1 game ahead of 3rd place Toronto and 1.5 games ahead of 4th place New York, 2 games ahead of 5th place Cleveland, 4.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Miami. The Celtics are 21-11 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 14-7 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a win in their last game.
The Hawks are 10th in the East, 12 games behind first place Detroit, 2.5 games behind 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Miami, 1.5 games behind 8th place Orlando, 1 game behind 9th place Chicago, and half a game behind 9th place Chicago. They are 3 games ahead of 11th place Milwaukee. They are 11-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 14-12 on the road and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 3 games.
This game is the 2nd game of a 4 game home stand where they won over Portland on Monday and will face Sacramento and Milwaukee after this game. Then, they are on the road at Dallas and Houston before playing Miami, New York, and Chicago at home, taking them into the All Star Break. After the break, they will head out on a 4 game Western road trip through Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, and Denver.
This is the first of a road/home back to back for the Hawks. They will return home to play Houston at home on Thursday. They will then play at Indiana and at Miami before home games against Utah and Charlotte. They then play at Minnesota and at Charlotte before the All Star break. After the break they will play at Philadephia and then they have a 5 game home stand where they will host Miami, Brooklyn, Washington twice, and Portland.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum remains out as he continues to rehab from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year's playoffs. Josh Minott missed 11 games with a sprained ankle and is finally off the injury report. Neemias Queta has been battling an illness for the past 2 games but he played through it. He is listed as doubtful for this game. Luka Garza is listed as questionable with an illness.
For the Hawks, former Celtic Kristaps Porzingis will miss his 10th straight game due to Achilles soreness. He missed the first game between these two teams and has played in just 17 games so far this season. Zaccharie Risacher will miss his 10th straight game due to a left knee bone bruise. N'Faly Dante is out for the season after season ending surgery to repair a torn ACL.
Key Matchups vs
Sam Hauser vs Jalen Johnson
Johnson is averaging 23.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 50.5% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal while shooting 28.6% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. He will likely play much better in this game and the Celtics need to defend him well and keep him off the boards.
vs
Derrick White vs Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Alexander-Walker is averaging 20.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 44.1% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 37.5% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. He is a good 3 point shooter and the Celtics need to defend him on the perimeter.
Honorable MentionAmari Williams vs Onyeka Okongwu
Okongwu is averaging 16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1 block per game. He is shooting 48.2% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 57.1% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to guard Okongwu both inside the paint and on the perimeter because he shoots well from both. With Queta doubtful and Garza questionable, I'm guessing that Amari Williams will get another start here.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always a key to winning games. The Celtics have an offensive rating of 120.8 (2nd) while the Hawks have an offensive rating of 113.5, which is 21st. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 113.6 which is 11th while the Hawks have a defensive rating of 114.4, which is 16th. The Celtics have been hot and cold on defense this season. Sometimes they can shut down the other team and sometimes they allow them to score at will. The Celtics need to defend the perimeter because the Hawks are 5th, shooting 37% on threes. They also have to defend the paint as the Hawks are 11th with 51.6 points in the paint per game. The Celtics must make defense a priority in this game and they have to play that tough defense for 48 minutes and not let up.
Rebound - Next to defense, rebounding is the key to winning. When the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, it usually carries through to the rest of their game. The Hawks are averaging 42.2 rebounds per game (25th) while the Celtics are averaging 44.8 rebounds per game (13th). The Celtics need to aggressively go after every rebound. They can't afford to give the Hawks extra possessions and 2nd chance points by allowing them to beat them to rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully - When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man, they are tough to beat. When they hold the ball and try to play iso ball, they become predictable and struggle. When the Celtics have more assists than their opponents they are 13-0 and when their opponents have more assists than the Celtics, they are just 14-16. The Celtics need to move the ball, but they have to make careful passes because the Hawks are 6th in the league with 19.9 points off turnovers per game.
Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes- The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In most of their losses and even in some of their wins, they have allowed their opponents to play with more energy than them for periods of time during the game. They play well for stretches but let up and allow their opponents to surge ahead, especially down the stretch. They have to stay focused for all 48 minutes and be ready for their opponents to play harder in the second half and they need to match that effort. They also have to come out with more effort and energy to start the game and dig themselves into a hole.
X-Factors Home Game and Revenge- They call it home court advantage for a reason and the Celtics need to take advantage of playing on their home court. The Celtics need to get motivation from the home crowd, which should be loud and doing everything in their power to support the Celtics and rattle the Hawks. The Hawks have the distractions of travel and an unfamiliar arena and a hostile crowd and hopefully that will give the Celtics an advantage. The Hawks were also embarrassed by the Celtics on their home court 10 days ago and will be looking for some revenge on them. The Celtics need to be ready for the Hawks to give it their best effort in this one.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game the right way. We have recently seen how much of an x-factor officiating can be. The Celtics have to play so well all game that the officiating, no matter how bad, can't influence the outcome.
Topic: Hawks (23-25) at Celtics (29-17) Game #47 1/28/26 (Read 140 times)