Celtics at Atlanta Hawks Game 1: Hawks 83, Celtics 74
- The Hawks were brilliant early, shaky in the middle and bad down the stretch. That also kind of describes the Jason Collins Game Flow after Larry Drew decided to start Collins and then play him 32 minutes in the playoff opener after not playing him more than 25 minutes all season.
- It all worked out in the end for the Hawks. Or at least it did after Rajon Rondo decided it was a good idea to get two technical fouls and then bump official Marc Davis with his team down four points and 41 seconds to go.
- It’s an automatic one-game suspension if league officials determine that Rondo intentionally bumped Davis. They can also add games to the penalty.
- “I was upset about the call, and I said something to [Davis],” Rondo said. “As I was walking I thought he stopped and my momentum carried me into him. I even think I tripped on his foot. I didn’t intentionally chest-bump him.”
- The sequence led to three Hawks free throws and killed Boston’s momentum. The Celtics are in trouble if Rondo sits because he was the only thing they had going for long stretches tonight. It’s hard to understate the stupidity of his actions.
- “[Doc Rivers] just told me to keep my composure, which I know,” Rondo said. “I was just out there competing. I wanted to win.”
- Rondo was arguing the call even though it was clear Brandon Bass harangued Josh Smith. “It was definitely a foul, so that was the right call,” Josh said.
- Joe Johnson had another poor performance in the playoffs. It’s not as if he doesn’t know he’s going to get pressured. He handled it pretty well early (it helped that the Hawks played faster) but then Joe came out after halftime and seemed to want to go one-on-one.
- “I missed a lot of wide open shots I normally make. I’m sure Game 2 will be a lot different,” Joe said. “I’m just glad guys like Jeff [Teague] and Josh was able to pretty much carry us down the stretch.”
- You can’t fault Joe for missing open shots. Well, I guess you can, but that happens. More problematic were all the possessions that came to a halt because Joe was dribbling aimlessly (or, worse, getting stripped by Paul Pierce) while his teammates stood and watched.
- “I look at the stat sheet and he didn’t have a typical Joe Johnson game shooting-wise,” Drew said. “Yet we still won the game. With this team, I always try to focus on the positive with things like that. He’ll watch the tape and, like everyone else, he will make adjustments. We will continue to run plays through him, put the ball in his hands and put him in position to score the ball.”
- Iso-Joe was a big reason the Celtics got back in the game early in the third quarter. Joe not touching the ball much was a big reason why the offense got going again soon after that stretch.
- If Joe is going to have an off night offensively he has to play better than one quarter of solid defense against Pierce. Pierce is always moving and looking to attack and then moves the ball when he can’t find an opening.
- Teague was Atlanta’s best offensive player tonight. He had two key baskets in the clutch to atone for that memorable airball in the loss here to the Celtics.
- The first was a 3-pointer on a drive-and-kick from Josh. “I knew they were going to stunt off of me, because Kirk [Hinrich] had been making shots from the corner. So I knew [Mickael] Pietrus was probably going to stunt off of me. So I just tried to set my feet and knock it down.”
- Soon after that big shot, Teague slithered to the basket to make a floater. It was a gutsy play both because of the circumstances and because he hadn’t been finishing very well. “I just tried to make plays when the opportunity presented itself,” he said. “I think the guys believe in me, and I believe in the guys. I just try to go out there and play my game. Playing with Josh and Joe and those guys makes my job a lot easier.”
- Teague generally forced Rondo to take jumpers. He made them at a pretty good clip but better than than Rondo operating around the basket area.
- Let’s start with the good for Collins: He made Kevin Garnett pay for his insistence taking him to the post, got five rebounds in spite of a marked disadvantage in athleticism against Boston’s frontline and scored six points on five shots. Collins even showed some nice feet when KG finally decided to try to go past him.
- But Drew pushed his luck with Collins and the Celtics started getting him in pick-and-roll actions with Pierce and KG in the final period. That didn’t work out so well, especially with Joe constantly trailing the ball-handler.
- Josh was making enough jumpers that KG eventually had to come out and challenge. But after a stretch where he took advantage by driving to the basket, Josh launched three jumpers over the final eight minutes and missed two.
- Still, Josh beasted for 18 rebounds, often fighting through traffic to snag them, and played solid straight-up D against KG. Garnett was right to try to post Josh but struggled to get clean looks on his turnaround Js.
- Kirk Hinrich had his best games in months. The good ball movement often ended with Hinrich open in the corner and he made the Celtics pay by making 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Maybe Kirk has been sandbagging, or perhaps he punished me for giving Avery Bradley the edge in my matchup box.
- Ivan Johnson showed no fear in his first playoff game while collecting five rebounds and two steals with no turnovers in 15 minutes. It’s hard to argue with the outcome of Drew’s Collins fixation tonight but Ivan should get more than 15 minutes in a series where the opposition doesn’t have much size.
- There was a stretch when Pierce and Garnett took turns going at Marvin Williams, who didn’t handle it well. Marvin played 14 low-impact minutes. I guess it’s a good sign that the Hawks had a 50-41 rebounding edge with Marvin getting just one.
- My Tracy McGrady prediction already looks shaky. The best I can offer in my defense are the five rebounds, including two offensive, in 14 minutes. He’s got to stop looking for calls on those drives.
- In 10 minutes Jannero Pargo scored five points on six shots, had no bad entry passes for turnovers and recorded an assist. That was good enough and he was solid defensively.
- Willie Green managed to post a team-worst -15 in just 10 minutes. Defense was the issue, as it sometimes can be.
- When Drew let his bench guys run over the final two weeks of the season, I thought it was because he was trying to get his starters some rest. Now I’m not so sure after he opened the fourth quarter with that Pargo-Green-McGrady-Marvin-Ivan alignment–and then subbed Ivan for Collins when it became clear that wasn’t a good look. That’s just one example of some odd sub patterns tonight.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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145 comments Add your comment
tyger
April 30th, 2012
12:24 am
Hawks shock the world…hard being right all the time…
Magic said the playoffs were setup for Miami-Chicago…
Then eliminated the Hawks referring to the Celtics as next…
This is the challenge…the table is set for ATL…
Orlando’s motto: “We aint got nobody but us!”…
Then knocked off Pacers w/o Superboy…
It’s mental…Hawks will need everybody…
Celtics are tough, dangerous, skilled, smart….
Hollins, Bradley, Williams, Smeitsma…young, long, athletic…
Bench play will decide this one, starters will close is out…
Hawks up 1-0, take notice world…
P.S. Rose, Shumpert injuries mean diddly…smokescreen….
Someone always rises in playoffs, always have, always will….
Loserville USA
April 30th, 2012
12:24 am
That was insane.
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
12:24 am
Griz went away from Marc Gasol. I don’t think he even got a FG attempt in the 4th quarter.
Clippers basically did to the Griz in the 4th, what the Griz did to them in the 1st
Section 212
April 30th, 2012
12:25 am
Memphis showed their immaturity thinking that the game was over with 4 mins left.
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:25 am
Nick Young calmly hit two HUGE contested 3’s down the stretch with assists from CP3..
Our #2 lottery pick would have nailed those in practice and missed them both in the game….
Grandad
April 30th, 2012
12:25 am
Somebody please tell *’` GM-JeJe `’* that the Hawks won.
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
12:28 am
This team gets bad press as we always get big leads & tend to blow them which otten happens because JJ wants to play iso so he can get his points & LD s poor. Substitutions &bad coaching.
Grandad
April 30th, 2012
12:29 am
Rondo will not be suspended.
Had it been one of the Hawks who bumped an official …….
at least two game suspension !
Mr Stern will not allow a Celtic to be disadvantaged.
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
12:31 am
Grandmaster a lot of people on this blog really think that LD really knows what he is doing.
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:32 am
Reggie Evans Gets the game ball! His rebounding was key..
CP3 is an amazing floor general? He led that humongous comeback..
Oh yea, Billy passed on him too..Check
Mike D
April 30th, 2012
12:36 am
Im new to this blog an Im not a hawks fan but there growin on me!
T Mac is my fav player an I feel he needs more minutes an he will
flourish wit the talent Atl has, look he played wit way less talent in Detroit
an made those guys better. An now you pair him wit J Smoove atl pick n roll
should be best in the league.An nobody on the Celtic roster can hold Tmac!
jdewayneatl
April 30th, 2012
12:36 am
Its crazy all the negative comments here after a big win in light of no one outside of a hand full of fans and the guys in the locker giving the Hawks a chance to win even a couple games in the series.
Did anyone notice that the Celtics only managed to score 74 points?
Does anyone realize that while Joe had a bad game, so did Paul Pierce?
Does anyone realize that this team is without two of its key players and is down to what was supposed to be a situational backup center?
Do people not realize that this is playoff basketball and no team is gonna give up, regardless of the score (i.e. LA Clippers vs Memphis)?
Is this really the best that you AJC bloggers can come up with on a night that the Hawks won against the odds?
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:37 am
Memphis fell in love with their perimeter jump shots and lost a huge lead? Hmmm..
sounds familiar?
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
12:38 am
One thing about tonight’s game: it is a little bit of fool’s gold. Pierce isn’t going to throw up that many bricks every game. Allen will be back. Kirk isn’t going to play this well the whole series. Teague, and to a lesser extent Josh, are not going to make outside shots at the rate they did.
The one aberration going the other way is Joe’s terrible shooting night; Joe will get better. But if the Celtics make half of those jumpers in Game 2, the Hawks are not going to win again playing the way they did, even if Rondo doesn’t play.
During those dry spells, the Hawks have to find a way to get better shots. Can’t rely on bailout 3s from Kirk to save bad possessions. I am glad they won and they played great defense, but they have to find a way to get good shots more consistently against Boston’s D. A lot of that is on LD to read the Celtics D and design plays that will get players open more often.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
12:39 am
Oh yeah, allow me to say once again that the Hawks should have signed Reggie Evans instead of Vlad.
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
12:39 am
If Joe is going to have an off night offensively he has to play better than one quarter of solid defense against Pierce. Pierce is always moving and looking to attack and then moves the ball when he can’t find an opening.
********************
LOL @ MC . . . so who was guarding Pierce in the 2nd half? As bad as JJ was offensively after the 1st quarter, Pierce was 5 – 19 FG for 12 points . . and most important, only shot 3 FTs the entire game.
Pierce was 1 – 9 FG in the 2nd half, with most of that with JJ guarding him ( unless somebody else was guarding that dude ). Pierce hit 2 jumpers the entire night. So WTH are you talking about man?
I know you’re not the biggest JJ fan in the world, but at least be accurate in what you’re talking about. Talk about JJ’s bad offense all you want tonight. The guy was terrible offensively. But the guy’s defense was more than on point. That team doesn’t win tonight if guys didn’t step up defensively and control the glass.
Game balls to Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, and Jason Collins. Hinrich deserves one too, since he was knocking down open shots.
LOL @ talking about JJ’s defense. You can do better than this MC. IF Paul Pierce goes 5 – 19 FG, JJ’s defense had to be on point ALL NIGHT, not for just one quarter.
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:40 am
jdewayneatl
April 30th, 2012
12:36 am
“Its crazy all the negative comments here after a big win in light of no one outside of a hand full of fans and the guys in the locker giving the Hawks a chance to win even a couple games in the series”
Note: You like azz kisser head over to the Falcons blog Sir…..
tyger
April 30th, 2012
12:40 am
A win is a win…as I predicted Hawks 1-0…
Hawks have been a horrid 3Q team all year…
Re-surfaced tonight as Celtics cut 15 pt. lead…
But Hawks did not fold…that’s all that matters…
Celtics will come hard Tuesday, Rondo or not…
They, and everybody else, believe they can win…
Hawks won despite off night for JJ, Green, Marvin…
I am predicting Hawks in 5…bold, I know…
Beantown will be the test, I expect they lose one there…
And finish them off righteously at home…then rest
Folks have slept on Jason Collins all year…
Have forgotten Jason was a Shaq stopper…
He’s seen it all…and displayed a lil’ offense tonight…
If he surges, Celtics in trouble…
JJ, Green, Marvin will come around…
Teague was great!!!! I repeat Teague was great!!!…
Josh is a MAX player, find the money fast!…
I love Pargo guts but damn, 1 fast break 3 is enough…
TMac didnt bust loose, but made several good plays…
Hinrich making up for last years playoff absence…
Remember I said it first, if not sweep, Hawks in 5…
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
12:41 am
MC acts like Pierce went off tonight. As he likes to say about JJ when he shoots bad . . . Pierce had 12 points on 19 shots.
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:42 am
Joe locked up Paul and threw away the Key!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow….
i_am_soulstar
April 30th, 2012
12:42 am
Anybody noticed when Josh made a pass down court that resulted in a turnover, and on the next possession after a defensive rebound, he called for the ball, but Jason Collins refused and looked for a guard. Gutsy move by Collins.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
12:43 am
Yeah, I agree with northcyde. I didn’t think Joe’s D let up much at all. The Hoopinion recap said the same thing as MC, that Joe gave up a lot of open looks in the second half that Pierce just missed, but I didn’t see it. I saw the Hawks as a team (not just Joe) making it a point to get up in Pierce’s face on the perimeter the entire game and making him get the ball out of his hands. This is why, for example, KG scored so many points in the second half — they tried to run plays for Pierce, but the Hawks crowded him, and Pierce dumped it down to KG who established good post position.
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:44 am
Collins= Smart Basketball player.. HI BBIQ. Imagine his head on Josh Body?
Grandad
April 30th, 2012
12:45 am
Rusty
Do you understand anything about player rotations ?
Resting players ?
Was Teague in the game at the end ?
Are you totally clueless ?
Do you realize Kirk played well tonight ?
Do you realize anything really beyond your prejudgement ?
I`m glad that I comprehend your narrow mindedness;
otherwise I might think you to be lacking keenness of intellect.
Section 212
April 30th, 2012
12:47 am
Can you believe there is discussion that Rondo’s bump was not intentional, WTF??? I was sitting next to Celtic fans and they agreed it was intentional. At the game, it looked obvious,
Grandad
April 30th, 2012
12:52 am
i_am_soulstar
” Anybody noticed ….. Collins refused – to throw Josh the ball …..
& – looked for a guard ” -edited-
Yes – I noticed that moment !
kudos to you for reminding me
-and-
bringing it to everyone`s attn.
I agree;
That was a ” Leadership ” Play.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
12:54 am
Even Charles Barkley is calling out Roddy White’s butterfinger bitch ass.
keno
April 30th, 2012
12:57 am
What did Roddy get called out for?
Slimjr
April 30th, 2012
12:57 am
Waive Roddy White! Drops at least a touchdown per game………..
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
1:00 am
Shoddy got called out for this.
Roddy White @roddywhiteTV Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Hawks got a good win tonight over my celtics hope rondo not suspended for game 2 cause the series is over
Mike D
April 30th, 2012
1:01 am
TMAC TMAC TMAC GIVE MY DUDE SOME MINUTES, FAR FROM THE OLD TMAC BUT STILL BETTER THAN ANY PLAYER ON THE HAWKS BENCH AN SHOULD BE THE 6th MAN IN THE HAWKS ROTATION!!
COME ON L.D YOU GOTTA KNOW YOUR TEAM BY NOW WILLIE GOOD FOR A JUMPSHOT,SAME FOR VLAD RAD, AN NOBODY LIKES MARVIN, AT LEAST FROM WHAT I SEE ONLY ONE WIT A LEGITAMITE GRIP OFF THE BENCH IS IVAN EVERYBODY ELSE SHOULD TAKE A BACKSEAT TO TMAC
Najeh Davenpoop
April 30th, 2012
1:02 am
“You play in Atlanta, you’re from the south, you should be a Hawks fan”
-Charles Barkley, on Shoddy White
keno
April 30th, 2012
1:04 am
Because he’s a Celtics fan? He gave the Hawks props for winning. I don’t see the big deal, but I guess you have to be one to understand. Thanks.
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
1:05 am
Najeh, I disagree.
This is essentially the 3rd game that the Hawks and Celtics have played like this. If you take out the game in which the Boston scrubs played in, this is basically how all of the games have went
GAME 1: Celtics 79 – Hawks 76
- Pierce goes 4 – 14 FG
- both teams shoot less than 40% FG
- Josh Smith had a bad game, while JJ had a flurry and 25 pts to almost win it
- Ray Allen saves Boston with some clutch 4th quarter shooting
GAME 2: Celtics 88 – Hawks 86 in OT
- both teams shoot less than 42% FG
- Pierce: 6 – 19 FG ( see a theme? )
- Josh Smith was good ( 20 pts -11 rebs )
- JJ had a game very similar to tonight ( 5 – 17 FG )
- Teague balls ( 21 pts )
- Rondo: 3 – 16 FG
- Horrible execution in OT kills the Hawks
GAME 3: Hawks 83 – Celtics 74
- both teams shoot less than 41% FG ( another theme )
- Pierce: 5 – 19 FG ( theme continues )
- JJ: 3 – 15 FG
- Josh plays like a superstar, basically making midrange jumpers
- Teague: 15 pts ( 7 in the 4th )
- Hawks hold off Celtics by playing defense down the stretch
Basically, these two teams are evenly matched. The main thing I was concerned about, was Josh Smith and his toughness vs KG. Tonight, he handled it very well, mixing driving the ball and shooting the jumper. Most important, he gobbled up all of the defensive rebounds he could.
Rod from College Park
April 30th, 2012
1:13 am
Great game by Hinrich, Josh and Teague. Very solid games from Ivan, TMac, and Collins. Joe and Marvin Williams were even worse in person(SMH).
Joe played solid defense on Pierce, and Pierce only began to get off when we put Marvin on him. Pierce just missed open shots, just like Joe. Joe Johnson was horrible on offense. This guy should be destroying anyone guarding him in the post, yet he continues to miss wide open long shots. TMac should get all of Marvin’s minutes. Marvin defense is overrated, TMac rebounds better than him also. TMac also creates easier shots for his team.
I picked Boston to win this series, but no way we should lose this series if Ray Allen does not play.
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
1:19 am
I need to clear time at work to go to Game 5 next Tuesday night. I don’t wan to “jinx” the Hawks by buying my tickets now, but I guess I would get a refund though, if there were no Game 5.
EmirS.
April 30th, 2012
1:24 am
I was was very upset to see Josh still refuse to throw the ball to either one of our guards when running up the court. To many times do I see Teague running infront with his body turned to Josh asking for the ball and Josh not giving it. I swear it’s like he’s pretending he’s running threw a field of daisies with a basketball. It’s so aggravating, especially knowing that Teague can run up that court in less then 4 seconds and score (at times).
One thing I’m starting to not mind is Josh throwing those Hail Mary passes. I think he’s getting a lot more accurate with them.
I don’t think Rondo will be suspended neither. It’s a biased sport (see TNT crew) and the excuse will be is that his momentum carried him into the referee. As far as the little chest bump, well……what chest bump?
I would actually prefer him to play. As a true basketball fan, I want to watch a GOOD GAME. Without Rondo, Celtics are just messy.
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
1:47 am
Yeah grandad I forgot you know it all.this was a big game ,play the second team until our lead disappears . Doc plays Rondo 43 minutes while LD plays JT 32 minutes & leaves him out of the game for long periods while he plays KH & Pargo at PG then jump all over JT .
Big Lou
April 30th, 2012
1:55 am
“Rondo will not be suspended.
Had it been one of the Hawks who bumped an official …….
at least two game suspension !
Mr Stern will not allow a Celtic to be disadvantaged.” Grandad
I would agree if he wasn’t a repeat offender. He did throw a basketball at a referee during the regular season and got suspended for two games. If it is deemed intentional, it is in the rulebook that he will get suspended for at least one game.
Big Lou
April 30th, 2012
1:57 am
Also,
CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY LD PUTS THE WHOLE BENCH OUT AT THE SAME TIME, WHEN DOC RIVERS USUALLY HAS A COUPLE STARTERS SPRINKLED INTO HIS BENCH ROTATION?!
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
2:03 am
Grandad read above mc,he sure as hell understands basketball much better than you.
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
2:06 am
Big Lou agree with you 100% I have been asking this question all year but grandad says I don’t understand rotations.
Rusty
April 30th, 2012
2:09 am
Big Lou be careful as grandad might be soon calling you stupid also
manu
April 30th, 2012
2:24 am
what was mc perdiction regarding to tmac that it looks shaky now. I thouhght tmac was ok with being fantastic. solid game
northcyde
April 30th, 2012
2:39 am
Big Lou . . it’s partially because the Celtics bench sucks, so the starters have to play heavy minutes. In a game like tonight, Drew basically has to have a better feel for the game. He has to quickly see what is going on, who is playing well, and who he should have in the game.
Drew has to understand that Doc is going to ride Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett for heavy minutes. He’s not going to use a regular season type rotation.
He did play Josh Smith 43 minutes tonight, and JJ played 38 minutes, so they got much more time than normal. Teague played well enough to play as many minutes as JJ and Josh, but he logged 33 minutes.
Drew’s rotations only became an issue in the 4th quarter, when the Celtics started to make their move.
Josh Smith: 1 – 8 FG in the 2nd half ( 5 – 8 FTs )
Joe Johnson: 0 – 6 FG in the 2nd half ( with 5 of those shots being 3s )
And the Hawks still win.
Ended up being an ugly win, but I’ll take these kinds of wins all day.
vava74
April 30th, 2012
3:08 am
Mark my words:
If the league suspends Rondo, the refs on game 2 will simply give away the game to BOS as compensation.
With a win in ATL without Rondo, our momentum will simply crumble.
For me, although it was a clear intentional bump deserving a two game suspension, I prefer that the league does not suspend Rondo and maybe, just maybe, the refs will feel “de-authorized” by the league and will call fair games going forward to keep things real.
Mike D
April 30th, 2012
3:35 am
TMAC MORE MINUTES MC YOU NEED TO STRESS THAT POINT TO YOI LD! Maybe he will listen to you because he obviously isnt watchin the games!
Mac-Town (478)™
April 30th, 2012
4:30 am
Is Ray Allen playin’ in game 2?
Marcus
April 30th, 2012
6:47 am
northcyde @ 1:05 am.
I agree that both teams are essentially equal. What the season series and Game 1 tells us is that we can expect to go at least Game 6 with realistic chance of Game 7, as one would expect with most 4/5 seed matchups.
I am real interested in seeing how the League deals with Rondo, and if prior history and recent history (this season) of his incidents with officials has any bearing on the decision.
We can’t sleep, because Avery Bradley went off on us in that last game of the season series and they nearly stole it with all backups, so he is fully capable of burying baskets and handling the ball for the team.
Terrell
April 30th, 2012
6:59 am
Ok, so we did win right? The way people blog on here makes it seem like we lost. I guess I was watching a different game because I just saw the ebbs and flow of a playoff game between two good teams. I could only imagine if the Hawks would’ve lost the game what would be said.