"Me personally, I want the best" - Dejounte Murray is looking forward to first round matchup against Boston

The Atlanta Hawks secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night following their 116-105 play-in win over Miami. The Hawks are now set for a first-round playoff matchup against the second-seeded Boston Celtics.

Atlanta is viewed as the heavy underdog entering the series. This comes as the Celtics (57-25) finished with the second-best record in the league and are coming off an NBA Finals run last season.

Speaking about the Hawks’ upcoming series against the Celtics on Tuesday night, Murray said that he loves the matchup for Atlanta and has made it clear that he isn’t afraid of Boston. Murray then explained that he always wants to take on the best teams:

"I love (the matchup)," Murray said.

"Obviously Boston’s at the top because they went to the Finals last year. But last year is last year."

"Me personally, I want the best. That’s how I was raised, to want to play the best. Boston is one of the best and it’s going to be a great series and we’re going to go out there and try to win."

Atlanta finished 0-3 against the Celtics this season. However, the playoffs are different than the regular season. They were also 1-3 against the Heat this season, who they upset in the play-in on Tuesday.

So if Atlanta enters its series against the Celtics with confidence and the right game plan, it may be able to put up a fight.

Quin Snyder on the Hawks’ upcoming playoff matchup against Boston

Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder

Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder also spoke about Atlanta’s upcoming playoff matchup against Boston. Snyder explained that the Hawks are just trying to get better game after game:

“I think we’re trying to be the best version of ourselves at the end of the year,” Snyder said.

“And the year’s not over, so hopefully we can take this and continue to build on it. It’s one game but it was our game. I want our team to understand what we did well and what gave us a chance to win the game as much as anything.”

Snyder then explained that the Hawks will be facing a steep challenge going up against a Celtics team that has such strong offensive chemistry:

“They’re really connected offensively. I think it’s more than them just having a lot of weapons,” Snyder said.

“They have a feel for one another and how they play together and you can see that in the way they play. Their reads are terrific. They’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays and they want to do that for one another. They’re just really good. They’ve hit a lot of marks this year and it’s going to be hard.

“But it’s the playoffs.”

Game 1 of the Hawks’ series against the Celtics will tip off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Boston.