The starting lineup for the Atlanta Falcons’ game against the Boston today has been announced.
Shortly after Falcons guard K. McGary was downgraded to questionable earlier today, he was declared out.
He is not going to play in the Celtics game today. Murray will not start; Bogdan Bogdanovic will start alongside Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, Saddiq Bey, and Trae Young. De’Andre Hunter is going to continue to come off the bench.
Tonight’s starting lineup for the Celtics will include Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis in lieu of Jrue Holiday. The Hawks’ next game will be among the hardest of the season, especially without Murray.
Boston is now 20th in free throw attempts, first in rebounding, first in three-point attempts, first in three-point percentage, fifth in PPG, 13th in field goal percentage, and sixth in turnovers among NBA teams. Boston ranks third for points per 100 possessions, fifth for effective field goal percentage, third for turnover percentage, eighth for offensive rebounding, and sixteenth for free throw percentage, according to Cleaning the Glass. I will note that Boston’s low free throw attempts and low free throw rate are a result of their strong three-point shooting percentage.
Additionally, it is how I believe the Hawks’ defense—despite its shortcomings—can generate stops. The Hawks’ greatest chance of winning is to force some low-percentage three-point shots from Boston and win the game on the glass because they are not a very good team at getting to the rim. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum is having a season worthy of an MVP.
He is shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three, averaging 27.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 4.5 APG. De’Andre Hunter will be essential to the Hawks’ efforts to slow down Tatum in this contest.
Hawks guard Trae Young (point guard) versus the Clippers, USA TODAY Sports, Dale Zanine Regarding field goal percentage, three-point attempts, three-point percentage, free throw attempts, rebounds, and turnovers, the Hawks rank third in the NBA going into this game, eighth in rebounding, and fifteenth in turnovers.
Atlanta is ranked 11th in turnover percentage, 10th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 3rd in offensive rebounding, and 9th in free throw rate, according to Cleaning the Glass.
In terms of defense, Boston is among the best teams in the NBA. They rank 27th in three-point attempts allowed, 5th in three-point percentage allowed, 2nd in field goal percentage allowed, and 5th in points per game allowed. The Celtics are third in terms of effective field goal percentage and points allowed per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass.
