Boston Celtics Playoffs Schedule 2012: Odds & Predictions for First-Round Series

The Boston Celtics have locked up the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and clinched their fifth-straight Atlantic Division title during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.

Now they are preparing to begin what might be the last playoff run of the Big Three era.

The C’s have drawn the No. 5 seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round and are hoping to get past them without a hitch.

Boston has the personnel to shut down the Hawks and can easily pull away in the series if they execute their game plan and clean up the glass.

Keep reading to find out exactly what the Celts must do to vanquish Atlanta and advance deep into the postseason.

Superstars Who Must Shine

Obviously, every member of the Big Three and Rajon Rondo need to play well for this extremely thin team to move on. However, these two guys have the most important jobs of the series.

Ray Allen

The aging shooting guard has to have a big outing for the Celtics to prevail. He’s the best three-point threat the team has against an opponent that lacks a true perimeter stopper.

If the rest of the squad is setting good screens and freeing up Jesus Shuttlesworth for open looks and they are falling, this series could be over before it gets started.

Kevin Garnett

With Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Wilcox and a myriad of other bigs done for the season, KG has to shine in the middle.

Fortunately, the Hawks will be without center Al Horford, meaning they will not be able to destroy Boston down low with superior size and bulk.

If Garnett can use his massive length to outrebound Josh Smith--and whoever else the Hawks put in the post--while getting some buckets in the low post, the C’s will be just fine. 

Role Player Who Must Emerge

Avery Bradley

The emergence of Bradley as a supremely athletic guard who can lockdown the best perimeter players on defense--while hitting open jumpers at the other end--has been a major reason for the Celtics’ second half resurgence.

He’s going to be assigned primarily to Joe Johnson when he comes off the bench and should have no problem locking down the main scoring threat on the Hawks.

Johnson is a great talent, but he’s definitely trailed off this year and isn’t playing up to the elite level that his team expects of him.

If anyone else gets a hot hand on Atlanta, you can expect Bradley to check in and shut him down. 

Strategies to Watch

Offensive Strategy

Spreading the ball around and finding shooters should be the goal for Boston. Rajon Rondo is more than capable as a passer (he leads the league with 11.6 assists per game) and will be constantly on the look out for the open man.

As mentioned earlier, Ray Allen should be the beneficiary of many of these dimes and his three-point shooting will make a huge difference.

Defensive Strategy

Box out and clean up the glass. If the Celtics win the rebounding war, they will win the series.

Kevin Garnett and Greg Stiemsma must do their best to establish position and come down with the board each time the Hawks fire up a shot.

Avery Bradley should play a key role any time the team needs to get a stop. 

Last-Second First-Round Odds and Prediction

Boston won two of the three matchups against the Hawks and kept it close during a game in which they started Sasha Pavlovic, Brandon Bass, Greg Stiemsma, Keyon Dooling and Avery Bradley.

If that second unit can put up a fight against Atlanta’s regular starting five, the Celtics are in good shape to advance past the first round.

The Hawks may steal a game at home, but this is the C’s series and they will win it in five.

Celtics Odds: 82.7 percent chance of series victory

Full First-Round Schedule

Here is the full first round schedule via NBA.com. 

Date and Time (ET)	Matchup	TV
Game 1: Sun April 29th - 7 p.m.	Boston at Atlanta	TNT
Game 2: Tues May 1st - 7:30 p.m.	Boston at Atlanta	NBA TV
Game 3: Fri May 4th - 7:30 p.m.	Atlanta at Boston	ESPN2
Game 4: Sun May 6th - 7 p.m.	Atlanta at Boston	TNT
*Game 5: Sun May 8th - TBD	Boston at Atlanta	TBD
*Game 6: Sun May 10th - TBD	Atlanta at Boston	TBD
*Game 7: Sun May 12th - TBD	Boston at Atlanta	TNT

*If Necessary