Vegas Play of the Day: Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 | 11:20 a.m.

We've reset the Play of the Day with fresh bankrolls and turned it into a yearly competition. Our three sports writers have re-started with $10,000 bankrolls to continue using on odds from the South Point.

Boston Celtics pick’em vs. Atlanta Hawks: $330 to win $300

Strip away the records, and these teams look incredibly similar. They’re almost dead even from an efficiency standpoint.

Boston has outscored opponents by an average of 3.1 points per game. Atlanta has posted a margin of 4.1 points per game.

Whichever team is at home should give the other a few points, but that’s not the case here. That makes Boston an initial lean, but there’s more to merit a bet.

Atlanta will be playing without coach Mike Budenholzer, who had to leave the team for a family emergency. Not everyone can be Luke Walton and take over with no apparent drop-off.

Kenny Atkinson, who’s filling Budenholzer’s void, will surely be at a disadvantage against Boston coach Brad Stevens. The Hawks are coming off of torrid shooting nights in their last two games where they hit 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range.

The Celtics have been the opposite, bricking their way to 20 percent from beyond the arc in their last two games. The discrepancy won’t keep up, and the Celtics will hand the Hawks their first road loss of the year.

Current Standings (as of July 1): Brewer (21-17, $10,730), Bern (14-21, $7,455), Keefer (14-27-2, $4,901)

Lifetime standings: 2014-15 Champion Bern (95-94-1), Keefer (98-111-4), Brewer (90-104-2)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.