The Celtics meet the Hawks in Atlanta for the final game of a four-game road trip. They are 2-1 thus far with their only loss coming against the Pacers in overtime. The Hawks play on the second night of back-to-back games after playing New Orleans on Sunday night. The Hawks won their first two games and then lost four straight games before beating the Pelicans on Sunday.

This is the first of three meetings between these two teams this season. They face each other again on November 12 and January 18, both games in Boston. The Celtics and Hawks tied the series at two games each last season, with both teams winning two at home. The Celtics are 244-149 all-time against the Hawks and they are 112-95 in games played in Atlanta.

The Celtics largely held out this offseason, bringing back their entire core of players and only losing Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft, and second-round pick Anton Watson to a two-way contract. They have one open roster spot that they will likely keep open in case of an injury during the season. They also have some extra weight on their shoulders after Olympic shenanigans and other drama over the summer.

The Hawks made a big trade to start the offseason. They gave up DeJounte Murray and traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans for Larry Nance, Jr. and Dyson Daniels, along with two first-round picks. They also had the first pick in the draft which they used to draft Zaccharie Risacher, a 6-foot-4 forward from France. They also lost Saddiq Bey to the Wizards in free agency.

The Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery and isn’t expected back until December. Sam Hauser has missed 3 games due to lower back soreness, but has played the last 3 games and is likely for this game. Jaylen Brown will miss his second straight game due to a hip injury. I assume that in Brown’s absence, Joe Mazzulla will start the double big of Al Horford and Luke Kornet again.

The Hawks are also suffering from injuries themselves. Vit Krejci is out with a right adductor injury. Bogdan Bogdanovic is out after a medical procedure to correct his right hamstring tendinopathy. Kobe Bufkin is recovering from a shoulder subluxation and is also out. Seth Lundy (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (knee) and Cody Zeller (personal) are all questionable for this game.

Likely Celtics starters

Grid view

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser

2-way players
J.D. Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Jaylen Brown (hip) out
Sam Hauser (back) probably

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Hawks starters

Grid view

Hawks Reserves
Mouhamed Gueye
Garrison Mathews
Onyeka Okongwu
Larry Nance, Jr
David Roddy

2-way players
Dominick Barlow
Seth Lundy
Keaton Wallace

Injuries/out
Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring) out
Kobe Bufkin (shoulder) out
Vit Kretjci (thigh).
Seth Lundy (ankle) questionable
De’Andre Hunter (knee) questionable
Cody Zeller (personal) questionable

Head Coach
Quin Snyder

Key matches

Grid view

• 

  Jrue holiday
  
  

  Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images
  

• 

  Trae Young
  
  

  Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
  

Jrue Holiday vs. Trae Young
Young is averaging 27.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 11.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He isn’t particularly efficient, shooting 39.8% from the field and 30.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics should play him for both the shot and the pass, as he is very good at finding open teammates. He is also very fast in passing lanes, so the Celtics have to be careful with their passing.

Grid view

• 

  Dirk White
  
  

  Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
  

• 

  Dyson Daniels
  
  

  Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
  

Derrick White vs. Dyson Daniels
Daniels is averaging 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He is shooting 50% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. This is a matchup between two defensive guards, who can also block shots. The Celtics will need White to step up his game, while Brown is out for this.

Honorable mention
Jayson Tatum vs. Jalen Johnson
Johnson is averaging 16.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals. He is shooting 41.2% from the field, but only 25% from beyond the arc. Tatum shot just 1-9 from 3 against the Hornets on Saturday and hopefully he can find his range again in this game as they need him to score while Brown is injured.

Keys to the game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning games. Defense is especially important for the Celtics in this matchup, as the Hawks are a high-scoring team, averaging 117.2 points per game, which is 9th in the league. The Celtics are 1st, averaging 123.7 points per game. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 110.7, which is 12th, while the Hawks have a defensive rating of 118.6, which is 28th. In their only loss, the Celtics’ perimeter defense was lacking, allowing the Pacers to shoot 39.5% from three. The Celtics need to make defense a priority in this game and they need to play that tough defense for 48 minutes and not give up.

Recoil – Besides defense, rebounding is a key to winning. A big part of bouncing back is effort and desire. When the Celtics put in the extra effort, it usually carries over into the rest of their game. The Hawks are averaging 42.2 rebounds per game (23rd), while the Celtics are averaging 42.9 rebounds per game (21st). The Celtics haven’t rebounded as well as they did last season and they need to aggressively chase every rebound. They can’t afford to give the Hawks extra possessions and second-chance points by letting them beat them with rebounds.

Effort and ball movement – The Celtics lost to the Pacers because they were a step too slow and didn’t move the ball well. Their efforts in the first three quarters were very poor. They allowed the Pacers to outrebound them 57-51 and were a step slow on almost every play. They didn’t move the ball, with just 23 assists compared to 33 assists for the Pacers. The Celtics need to move the ball and not play hero ball. They also have to play with maximum effort for 48 minutes and not allow the Hawks to build a lead. If the Celtics build a lead, they should keep it and not allow the Hawks to come back.

Play bank – In their November 1 game against the Kings, the Hawks bench defeated the Kings bench 56-26. The Hawks’ reserves shot 51.3% from the field and 46.4% from beyond the arc. Even with injury problems, their reserves came through for them. The Celtics need their reserves to have big games, especially on defense.

X factors
Road game and fatigue – Playing in their fourth straight game on the road, the Celtics will face the distractions of travel and a hotel stay and playing in front of hostile fans in an unfamiliar arena. However, they had the day off since their last game as the Hawks are playing in the second of back-to-back games and had to travel after Sunday’s game. Fatigue for Atlanta could come into play in this game. Both teams also play with short hands. The last game on a road trip is usually the toughest, so the Celtics must stay focused.

On duty – Officiating is always an x-factor. Each crew calls the game a little differently, some call it tight and others let them play. Some referees just make mind-bending calls, while others try really hard to get them right. Sometimes they are technically crazy about every little thing. In some games they call the 2 halves completely different. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the game is called and focus on playing the game and not the referee.

And be sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Playback stream for a live conversation about the game. To participate, all you need to do is create a free account, connect your LP sub if you have one, and join our community.