Celtics vs. Hawks NBA injury report, odds, spread: Kemba Walker expected out, Cam Reddish doubtful, John Collins questionable Wednesday

Both the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks lost on the road in excruciating last-second fashion on Tuesday, and those clubs meet in Atlanta on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. ET tip. Because it's the second of a back-to-back, starting Celtics point guard Kemba Walker is not expected to play, while the Hawks are listing Cam Reddish as doubtful and John Collins as questionable. The Celtics are 2-point favorites on the William Hill Sportsbook NBA odds. Check out the SportsLine Projection Model's forecast of this matchup. 

Walker had offseason knee surgery and didn't debut this season until Jan. 17, so the Celtics are treating the former All-Star with kid gloves and may not play him in both ends of a back-to-back all season. Walker had 21 points, four rebounds and three assists without a turnover Tuesday but has generally disappointed this season in averaging 17.3 points on just 37.5 percent shooting.

Coach Brad Stephens doesn't always simply replace Walker in the starting lineup with another point guard such as Jeff Teague or rookie Payton Pritchard as he goes by matchups. Boston remains without its other primary guard, Marcus Smart, likely through the All-Star break.

Cleveland had lost 10 games in a row and had failed to cover the spread in 13 straight, the NBA's longest such streak in several years, but the Cavs stunned the Hawks (-7) on Tuesday, 112-111. Someone named Lamar Stevens dunked with 4.1 seconds left for the win – Atlanta didn't even get off a final shot after that.

Reddish missed the game with soreness in his Achilles tendon and Collins played only 13 minutes as he left in the first half with a possible concussion -- that he's listed as questionable for now seems way too optimistic considering the league's concussion protocols. Collins is second on the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) yet reportedly is on the trade market. Reddish averages 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.

These teams have split two meetings thus far in Boston and both last week, Wednesday and Friday. The Hawks won the first 122-114 behind 40 points from Trae Young to end Atlanta's seven-game skid in the series. Collins added 20 points and six rebounds. Jayson Tatum had 35 for Boston and Walker sat in the second of a B2B.

Boston won the second game 121-109 thanks to 28 points, six assists and five rebounds from Walker. Young had 31 points and 11 assists, while Collins was held to eight points in 30 minutes. Reddish had nine points.

The Celtics are on a four-game against the spread winning streak in Atlanta. Boston is 3-3 SU in the second of a B2B this season. The Hawks are 0-5 SU in that scenario. 

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it returned over $5,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks last season. The model is also up almost $8,700 on top-rated NBA picks over the past two-plus seasons. Dating back to last season, it enters Week 10 of the 2020-21 NBA schedule on a stunning 85-49 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread. Anybody who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.