Game 7 and Series Recap
That’s how a championship team should take care of business at home. The 34-point drubbing of the Hawks wasn’t just convincing but it was damn near embarrassing. And you can blame Marvin Williams and his ridiculous foul on Rajon Rondo in the second half. The Hawks needed a spark and maybe Marvin Williams thought a hard foul would do it but he ended up carelessly horse-collaring Rondo, which pissed off the Celtics’ team. The bench showed restraint for Boston by not running out and checking Williams and Williams (a good friend of Rondo apparently) did try to catch Rondo as he fell. But it ignited the Celtics from a blowout victory to a victory where they were going to rub the loss into a team that was supposed to be swept.
For the Celtics, their defense was impregnable as Mike Tyson once said. They allowed just 26 points and 26% shooting in the first half while forcing 11 turnovers. They constantly swarmed Joe Johnson after he hit two three-pointers in a row during the first quarter. They gave up just 10 second quarter points and had only allowed 43 by the time the fourth quarter came around. The Hawks just shot 29% from the field for the whole game and gave up 27 points off of 17 turnovers when the final buzzer sounded. The Celtics needed to show their dominance at home with LeBron waiting in the wings. But they still have to be concerned with the fact that they’re winless on the road after three playoff road games.
Why the Celtics Won: They kept their home court safe and played stellar defense on the parquet floor. There wasn’t one game that ended under a 19-point margin of victory for the Celtics when they played in Boston. Kevin Garnett was able to galvanize the Celtics defense when they were at home and guys like Leon Powe and James Posey contributed valuable minutes off the bench. Rajon Rondo completely outplayed Mike Bibby throughout the series and showed that the Celtics’ chant of “Rondo’s Better” during the second game of the series was true.
Why the Hawks Lost: They’re a young team that just doesn’t know how to channel their home style to the road. Joe Johnson was nails throughout the series and Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia were able to provide toughness and show that the Celtics would not intimidate them. However, Josh Smith was terribly inconsistent during this series and Mike Bibby was embarrassing for Hawks’ fans to call their own.
X-Factor: Rajon Rondo
I can’t overstate how much this guy has grown from last year and how his play in this series allowed the Celtics to push the tempo, especially at home. His defense on Mike Bibby was stifling and his ability to get into the paint and hit tough shots was invaluable. He averaged 11.8 points, 7.5 assists and just 1.17 turnovers per game. If Rondo can play like this and dominate the Cavs’ point guards, you can pretty much pencil in the Celtics for one slot in the Eastern Conference Championship game.
Looking Forward to the Next Series: The Celtics have to figure out a way to close out games on the road in the playoffs. They can’t give someone like LeBron James any hint of weakness during this series because he has more than enough ability to make them pay. Just ask Detroit from last year. The Celtics defense will be the key to this series and if they can maintain the same intensity at home in Round 2 as they did in Round 1, then they should be able to move on to Round 3.
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Game 6 Recap
The Boston Celtics have basically become John Rocker after his racist tirade in a Sports Illustrated article; they can’t close. And this is going to be extremely detrimental to their collective psyche for the rest of the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks just won’t die right now and have forced a Game 7 in what was supposed to be a regular tune-up for the Big Green Machine. The Celtics played solid defense through most of this game but couldn’t seem to answer the Hawks’ counter punch when they needed to. Once again, Joe Johnson was completely unstoppable when he needed to be and the Hawks were able to play stellar defense in the 4th quarter. The backbreaking blow to the Celtics was right after Kendrick Perkins hit two improbable free throws with 1:31 to play. On the ensuing Hawks’ possession, Joe Johnson hit a three-pointer before the shot clock expired to essentially seal the game.
But the real issue with the game has to be the Celtics’ final possession. After Mike Bibby choked and ruined the suspicion that he was a big game performer by missing a free throw, the Celtics were down 3 with the ball and final possession. They calmly made it down court with no timeouts, set up a play for Ray Allen but didn’t have a second option if the Hawks took Ray Allen away as an option, which they did. So Rajon had to launch about a 30-footer, off balance like his name was Vince Carter. It drew nothing but hardwood as the clock expired. There has to be a better play in that situation and Sam Cassell has to be the man handling the ball on that possession. Rajon Rondo is not a good enough shooter yet, to be trusted as a last second, desperation shooter. Once again, Doc Rivers comes up short in his coaching.
Looking forward to Game 7: Who would have thought that this would be the only series to go 7 games? If anybody had wagered money on this before the playoffs, then they’d be having billionaire lunches with Mark Cuban every day as they discuss why a Bentley isn’t good enough anymore and that they just want to take a private jet to Wendy’s at night. The Celtics have to come up big here in Game 7. They haven’t played a game against Atlanta in Boston that was within 19 points. To accomplish that for a fourth time, the Celtics have to:
1) Play some defense. The Hawks have averaged 81 points in Boston in the playoffs so far as opposed to just over 100 points at home. Celtics need to force turnovers and grab defensive rebounds. Keeping the Hawks under 10 offensive rebounds is the key.
2) Rebound the basketball. Kevin Garnett has to be much more aggressive on the boards. He’s averaging just 8.5 rebounds per game against a smaller front line and needs to be dominant in that aspect of the game. His effort on rebounding has been poor.
3) Get Ray Allen going. He was 1-8 from three-point range. He ended up with 20 points but it took 19 shots to get there. If he can score early, he’ll be valuable late in the game.
Prediction for Game 7- There hasn’t been a close game in Boston yet. Boston wins by 13.
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Game 5 Recap
Now, that’s more like it, Boston. Order was restored to the playoff universe with this pounding of the Hawks in Game 5. The Celtics knew this was a game of runs and the typical rule is that there will be three big runs in every game and you want to find yourself on the good side of at least 2 of those runs. That’s exactly what the Celtics did. They got out to an early lead and just kept pushing the defensive intensity and make shots when they needed to. This led to a 15-point halftime lead and gave the Celtics some breathing room on their home court. After the Hawks cut the lead to 6 halfway through the third quarter, the Celtics responded by going on a 21-10 run to finish the quarter and leave them up 17 with one to play. The defense was once again the reason for the Celtics success. They held the Hawks to 85 points on 40.5% shooting from the field and played superior perimeter defense, which only allowed 4 three-pointers made on 13 attempts. Also, they only gave up 28 rebounds to the Hawks.
Nobody on the Celtics had a great game, but the collective effort was there, just like in the previous 68 wins (66 regular season and 2 post season) that they had. KG scored 20. Pierce dropped 22. Ray Allen had 19. Rajon Rondo and Cassell combined for 25 points. And the Celtics moved the ball well, racking up 28 assists and turning the ball over just 10 times. Once again, a lot of talking and chipping happened between the two teams. Al Horford picked up a flagrant against KG. KG and Joe Johnson yapped at each other and received double technical fouls. But ultimately, the Celtics kept their cool and took care of business the way championship teams are supposed to.
Looking forward to Game 6- This is the time for the Celtics to prove that they are capable of winning a title. Champions respond in a positive way when put to the test. They have to put this team away if they want to be serious about setting the tone for the rest of the playoffs. They need to step on the throat of the Hawks and push down. If they win Game 6 in Atlanta, they’ll probably play for the NBA championship in June. If they can’t finish the job and have to go back to Boston to close out the series, then they probably won’t make it past the second round of the playoffs.
Prediction for Game 6: Boston wins by 10.
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Game 4 Recap
Wow. That was unexpected. The Atlanta Hawks just evened up the first round playoff series at 2-2, heading back to Boston for a pivotal and important Game 5. Yes, you read that right. No, you didn’t get transported back to the 80’s. Mike Bibby kept the Hawks in it during the first half with 18 points. In fact, they held a 3-point lead heading into the second half. And that’s where it got interesting. The Boston Celtics imposed their will and showed who the #1 seed was with an impressive 3rd quarter performance that should have shrunk the collective pair of the Hawks’ players and sent them one game closer to summer vacation. The Celtics outscored them by 13 points in the quarter to take a 10-point lead into the final quarter. Game over, right? Nobody told Josh Smith and more importantly, nobody told Joe Johnson that this series was over. Smith and Johnson scored every single point of the fourth quarter for Atlanta. They started out with seven straight points to cut the lead to three. Boston tried to answer but every time down the floor, either Joe Johnson or Josh Smith seemed to answer back. Smith had 12 in the fourth quarter. Joe Johnson had 20. Boston wasn’t able to intimidate the Hawks this time. The Hawks were able to feed off their home court advantage. The result was the biggest win of this Hawks’ franchise in the last decade.
For Boston, the big 3 and the coaching really let the rest of the team down. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were terrible in this game. Forget the 39 points that they combined for in the game. Think about the 20 that Joe Johnson torched them for when it mattered. What were they doing guarding someone like Joe Johnson when you have two defensive specialists at that position in Tony Allen and James Posey? That’s a great question for Doc Rivers. Kevin Garnett tried to rally the Celtics in the last 2 minutes but the damage had been done. He should have tried to do that during the entire quarter. The only player in this game for Boston that shouldn’t hang his head is Rajon Rondo. He had 14 points and 12 assists.
Looking forward to Game 5: The Celtics have to take back the momentum with a couple of things.
1) Quit trying to intimidate and just play ball. Let’s not get confused here; it’s just the Hawks. The Celtics don’t have to try to intimidate the young players anymore. It worked in the first 2 games but not in the 2. You can thank Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia for that. They wouldn’t back down from these guys and it radiated to the rest of the team.
2) Stick James Posey on Joe Johnson. There’s no reason why Posey shouldn’t guard JJ. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t trust Tony Allen in a playoff game, but Posey is a battle tested winner and doesn’t seem to get rattled by good scorers. He won’t be intimidated and he’s the only one physically that has a chance to stay with Johnson.
3) Attack the basket. The Celtics only shot 18 free throws in this game while the Hawks got to the line 33 times. The Celtics need to be aggressive and get to the hoop. That starts with everybody. There isn’t one player on the Hawks that can guard Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, or Rajon Rondo. They need to be the aggressors and get the Hawks players into foul trouble. One thing to remember though – watch out for Josh Smith.
Prediction for Game 5: Celtics win by 15. Young teams don’t win pivotal games on the road often.
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Game 3 Recap
What the hell? The Hawks played inspired ball in front of their hometown fans. This hasn’t happened since the Kevin Willis, Doc Rivers days (their might have been some guy named Dominique involved too). The fans were able to give players like Josh Smith and Al Horford some extra energy and they responded. I figured that after the physical nature of Game 2, the Celtics would come out to make a statement and run this young Hawks’ team off the court. However, the Hawks actually came out and played a much more inspired game. Al Horford really made it evident that he wasn’t going to take any crap off of the Celtics. At the end of the game when the Celtics were making a piss poor attempt at fouling to stop the clock, Paul Pierce ended up awkwardly diving towards Al Horford and missing the foul. Horford hit the jumper and ran up court. Except, instead of going back up court, he turns back around and yells while pointing at Pierce. It almost became a much bigger issue when the timeout was called and Pierce began walking towards the Hawks bench to say something until Brian Scalabrine in street clothes ran up to direct him back to the Celtics’ bench.
Josh Smith was phenomenal by putting on a pretty intense dunking display. He finished with 27 points including a ridiculous pogo stick dunk on Ray Allen to cap off the night. Why Ray would ever jump with him and try to contest the dunk is beyond me. He must have believed that he was back in his Jesus Shuttlesworth days. Kevin Garnett was the only one that stepped up against the young Atlanta roster. He had 32 points on 19 shots and also grabbed 11 rebounds. The Celtics simply didn’t play the defense that they had utilized all year long. They gave up 10 three-pointers on 18 attempts and only forced 11 turnovers. Human douche bag Mike Bibby handed out 8 assists while contributing 12 points on 12 shots.
Looking forward to Game 4: The Celtics have to get back to what helped them dominate this year and the first 2 games of this series.
1) Play better defense. They were 5th in the league in steals this year and 4th in opponents’ turnovers. They need to get back to that. Atlanta had far too many easy buckets and they fed off the energy from those easy buckets.
2) Get physical. It isn’t going to work with Al Horford because he’s a tough kid and a winner, but the Celtics need to knock down Hawks’ players when they go to the basket. When KG was yelling at opposing players in Game 2, it seemed to genuinely intimidate them. They will wilt in KG’s intensity if he brings it early.
3) Get Pierce and Ray into it. The two players combined for 30 points on 10 of 27 shooting. They need to combine for an efficient 45 points and keep up the pressure through their attack.
Prediction for Game 4: Celtics win by 15.
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Game 2 Recap
Never in a personal setting, but I’ve been around and experienced the kind of person that Mike Bibby is in person. I’ve experienced his group of lackey’s and teet-suckers (they call themselves Team Dime and it feels as stupid as it sounds in person) that suck his bank account as dry as they can. I can realistically tell you that Mike Bibby is never going to be confused with being the smartest guy in the room no matter who his company is. His lack of intelligence is probably a reason that he was dumb enough to say that Boston Celtics’ fans were bandwagon fans due to their recent success. Not only was he dumb enough to make this egregious statement, but he also said it before Game 2 in Boston! Why not wait until Game 3 when you’re guaranteed to not have to play in front of those fans until next season? Instead you get completely outplayed for the second game in a row by Rajon Rondo, which led to chants of “Rajon’s Better!” which may have been my favorite moment of the playoffs. What’s your next act of brilliance Mike? Are you going to try to catch a bullet in your teeth?
As far as the game itself, things got a little bit chippy between Kevin Garnett and members of the Hawks, especially Josh Smith. Part of it is Kevin Garnett just trying to pump himself up and part of it was retaliation to some attempts to be physical with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Here’s a tip for Hawks players – just get through the games as quickly as possible and get out of the playoffs. There’s no sense in starting a fight with a team that is not only better than you and capable of embarrassing you with a 40-point loss whenever they want, but they’re also stronger and more physical. Just collect your check and get out like Tyrus Thomas would do.
Looking forward to Game 3: The Celtics just have to remain healthy. Paul Pierce gave everybody a scare by going down but returned and seemed to be fine. Just get through the next two games and get to the second round with a healthy roster and confidence riding high.
Prediction for Game 3: Pain. Celtics win by 25 or more.
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Game 1 Recap
Well, that was cute. The Hawks first trip to the playoffs since Mookie Blaylock was living, Dikembe’s finger wag meant something and before Steve Smith looked like Dennis Scott started out with an anticipated whimper. Maybe it was the fact that the Hawks were confused by the pre-game smoke and haze that filled the building (was Sean Williams there?). Maybe it was the fact that Marvin Williams played more like Shelden Williams with just 9 points and 3 boards in 34 minutes. Maybe it was because Mike Bibby continued regressing as a basketball player and was about as useful as Britney Spears teaching a parenting class. Maybe it was Josh Smith’s basketball IQ shining through like the look on Paul Walker’s face when he has to carry a dramatic scene.
Whatever the case may be, the Hawks proved that there would be no first round test for the NBA’s best regular season team. Joe Johnson wasn’t able to be relevant and even though he scored 19 points, it took him 22 shots to get that done. The only silver lining for the Hawks and the only thing worth noting on their end was the play of Al Horford. He was really good and proved that he’s going to be a big time player in the next couple of years. He’s the type of guy that you can rely on in the playoffs. Josh Smith is not.
For Boston, it was business as usual. Everybody contributed. Rajon Rondo was the best player on the court for most of the game and Leon Powe was beaten by his own teammates like Jared Leto in Fight Club after a superb move and dunk. There just is no way that Rajon Rondo can be guarded by Mike Bibby at any point in any game in this series. Maybe the Hawks should try Acie Law? I’m not going to analyze an ass kicking unless it involved Doug and Jackie Christie.
So looking forward to Game 2, Atlanta can help themselves one way:
1) Don’t show up. Save everybody the time of day and just forfeit the game. We’ll get much more satisfaction by watching the Celtics scrimmage. And at least the opponent will have some heart.
Prediction for Game 2: Boston by 20.
