Celtics at Atlanta Hawks Game 2: Game thread
- The Hawks feared Zaza Pachulia could miss up to another two weeks but word is they were encouraged by a recent test of his injured left foot. Pachulia could return to play as soon as Game 5 of this series.
- Ray Allen (ankle) is out for the Celtics and Doc Rivers didn’t sound very optimistic when asked if it was time to count out Allen for the series: “I don’t know. It’s frustrating, more for him than for us. We don’t know what to do. He looked great yesterday off the court running and shooting. Today he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t do his normal shooting before the game.”
- Avery Bradley slides to point guard and Mickael Pietrus will start at shooting guard. Pietrus draws Kirk Hinrich. Rivers: “We don’t want Paul chasing around little guards. When we change lineups, [Peitrus] will slide over to guard Joe at times.”
- Larry Drew: “We have played this team without Rondo before and they beat us. We have to play our ‘A’ game because our ‘B’ game is not going to get it done.”
- Josh Smith on the Celtics without Rondo: “We will get up and pressure the ball and make it hard for them to get into their sets. With Bradley, we have to cut him off early and take his confidence because when he gets confidence he’s tough.”
- Bradley: “They will probably try to speed me up. I feel like the regular season got me ready for this.”
- Drew on Bradley’s big game vs. Hawks in regular season: “We did not do a good job with him off the dribble. He was able to be just as elusive as Rondo. I think both guys are very capable of getting into the interior of your defense. Bradley is a little different. Rondo is more finesse; Bradley is more power getting in there. He got in there a few times against us where we did not do a good job of containing the basketball. We are going to have to be good defending him off the dribble.”
- Rivers: “If we feel the pressure it will take us out of our stuff. That’s why losing Rondo hurt us. He’s really our only true point guard.”
- Drew: “I expect Paul [Pierce] to get it a little more touches and things run through him. I expect [Kevin Garnett] to be even much more offensive minded.”
- Marvin Williams, on if the Hawks will avoid their tendency to have a letdown against a short-handed opponent now that it’s the playoffs: “I would like to think so. I think everybody understands what’s at stake at this point.”
- Charles Barkley last night on TNT: “Game 2 is more about the Atlanta Hawks. We always criticize them for their mental toughness and lack of focus. This is a game where they would normally let up. Doc Rivers’ guys are going to play and come out way more focused than they were in Game 1. But the Atlanta Hawks have a tendency to chill out…a lot.”
- Joe: “As scorers and shooters, you have to have that short memory. I missed a lot of shots I normally make. I’m sure I’ll make them tonight.”
Drew on Joe Johnson’s poor Game 1: “He missed a lot of good shots. He had good looks. It’s not a situation where he gets discouraged or we do anything differently. We are still going to run things through him.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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725 comments Add your comment
bigdave
May 1st, 2012
10:09 pm
Marvin need to be locked up.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 1st, 2012
10:09 pm
Use Joe/Teague/Kirk with 2nd unit.
Enough of this Pargo/Willie bS
This is Atlanta
May 1st, 2012
10:09 pm
Hawks thought this was the NCAA tournament. Shocked they had to play another game against the same team tonight.
DSGB
May 1st, 2012
10:09 pm
Can’t blame Josh for wanting to get the hell out of here. Ld is clueless.
phil
May 1st, 2012
10:09 pm
We have so much of which to be proud…
Joe T
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
MArvin is living high off the hog.. his arase proves it.. he is the most overpaid player in history… ohh no my badthat would be Joe JJJJJJJJJJJ… Chokeson
Rob
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
We have to win one in Boston now, dont know if thats possible
Luke Cage
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
Home court + series lost tonight, No Rondo & No Ray, sad display, this team never deserves respect because they pull this every year, I turn 44 this year and have been watching this team since like 1978-1979 and they have pulled this crap every year when they get on the national stage.
Shootless Joe Johnson lost us this game along with LD figuring he needs to rest everybody, old men pierce & kg play big minutes in game 1 and now in game 2, Marvin has got to be Amnestied before he gets back to the locker room.
Bama14
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
From down 65-54, C’s close out 33-13 (so far).
DawgNole
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
Shamrock
May 1st, 2012
10:08 pm
Quiet as a morgue.
______________________
NOW you show up. Coward.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
4th Q melt down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hawks .. flat on their faces
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
24-20-22 … 12
Hey Atlanta, this is the playoffs … wth is up with that 12?? 12 pts in a pivotal game 2?
“come on, man!”
Gee Offa Old National
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Joe Johnson is real moist
Slimjr
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Larry maybe the weakest strategist in these playoffs?
He may have coached them right out of this series……..
RealTmacFan
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
SEES WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE MCGRADY ON THE FLOOR AT THE END OF THE GAME!!!!!!!!
Luke Cage
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Amnesty Marvin & LD TONIGHT!!
DawgNole
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Rob
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
We have to win one in Boston now, dont know if thats possible
______________________
It’s not.
Vick Supporter
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Damn this is some BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DawgNole
May 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
Slimjr
May 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
Larry maybe the weakest strategist in these playoffs?
He may have coached them right out of this series……..
_____________________
He did.
coacht
May 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
If the Hawks come back and win this series I’ll eat these words, but right now I have say Joe is not the answer. We sorely missed Josh down the stretch. Dominique is a worse announcer than he was a player….and yes…I’ll say it….when he left …when he left….Ga went to the final four…without him…he still bothers me…..annoying….you know he has that same me first….gimme the ball….watch me shoot mentality…and he admires it in players like him…whether they win or not.
At any rate..really ticked off with this performance…had to say it was expected…sir charles and the rest of the talking heads lorded it over us….and he we are….sucking again….when all the chips were in our favor…we sucked.
What the heck is this man?
And yes, for what I’m seeing I have Marvin also is not a big game player. As Charles would say
TURRIBLE, just TURRIBLE. Go ahead Dominque ….analyze if for us.
Joe T
May 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
and there you have it another 4th quarter meltdown for the Swallows
High-sider
May 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
Hawks didn’t even foul with all that time left!!!!! [smh]
Sid
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
garbage organization…..always has been. Haven’t beaten the Celtics in a playoff series in my lifetime and never will. Joe Johnson is the dumbest basketball player I have ever seen. So Atlanta media come up with another great prediction….conference finals….what a joke.
NUNNA!
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Well,like it or not yall,these are our hawks..
We know them better than the coaches do..
So,we move on to game 3 in Boston..
I would not have believed it if someone told me that the Celts would beat us 4-1 after we beat them in game 1..
That may be the last game we win..
Rondo coming back friday..
Who knows if Ray Allen will be back but he just may..
If so,and Ray can be at least 70%,then this will be a frustrating 1st round that we could very well lose..
Bama14
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Quoth Barkley, “TURRIBLE”!
Slimjr
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Marvin belongs in China somewhere….
tjhook
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Why did this joke of a coaching job have to happen tonight?! The Celts are beatable but LD wants to let his favorites play the team out of this series. And let TMac runs some sets . . . this thing is too easy. Precision and effort can lead to a series triumph!
Sautee
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
No Josh and Iso-Joe means a 14 point quarter, eh O’brien?
Bad memories from two years ago.
Section 212
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Marvin Williams needs to be waived immediately….LD lost this game
bigdave
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
All that talk about iso’s and movement, blah..blah..blah. nothing..
FormerSeason TicketHolder
May 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
The decision to bail on this team many years ago has been vindicated so many times.
But, there is a silver lining. If they win, huray… but when they lose its usually due to their stupidity from coaches to players, and I enjoy their anguish.
This series I am rooting for a loss just to break up these losers. The Hawks key players simply lack the intellect to be winners.
Hawkfan
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
We are who we thought we were. Most confounding, unpredictable bunch in history. Now that we think they are dead they’ll probably win the next one. Fire LD
yodaddybrother
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
EVERY SINGLE TIME….EVERY ATLANTA TEAM.
Harpie
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
Larry Drew turns my stomach.
DawgNole
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
Luke Cage
May 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
Home court + series lost tonight, No Rondo & No Ray, sad display, this team never deserves respect because they pull this every year, I turn 44 this year and have been watching this team since like 1978-1979 and they have pulled this crap every year when they get on the national stage.
_________________________
Don’t feel so bad; I’ve been watching them do it since 1968-1969.
BulldogBen
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
Ol No Show Joe. Nothing ever changes.
Epic offensive meltdown. 14 FREAKING POINTS IN THE 4TH????
Chop It Up All-Star
May 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
Another terrible night to be an Atlanta Pro team sports fan. Braves lose to an injury depleted Phillies team; and the Hawks follow suit. Wow…that’s all I can say.
High-sider
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
Anybody miss Jamal Crawford [now]? Hawks only score 80 points. BOS beats ATL, 87-80.
Old Man Peabody
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
Hawks problem is they rely on too many jump shots. When they are not falling they turn to ISO Joe
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
MVT stopped playing in the 4th. Kept passing the ball back to Marvin behind the arc. No penetration or urgency from Jeff in the 4th. With Josh gone, he should have taken over,
Kirk and Joe disappeared too. Shoulda’ played Vlad or Pargo for the three too, in the 4th. No scoring at all.
Luke Cage
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
Now all the national media going to be like “I told you so about the Hawks”, thanks guys.
coacht
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
And yes…why not play McGrady more when Josh went out?
What’s the deal?
We just stunk up the joint and I can’t believe we are really that TURRIBLE.
But I guess we are.
yodaddybrother
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
“This series I am rooting for a loss just to break up these losers.”
THIS.
City Of Atlanta Still Recovering From William Tecumseh Sherman
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
dont blame LD blame joe sorry ass
Mike
May 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
Tonight is a good reason why this team needs to be broken up. No matter what happens, the core is done
This is Atlanta
May 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
What’s sad is that this may be the Hawks best chance to get to the ECF for years. Hawks are historically terrible in the draft and can’t attract (and won’t pay for) free agents.
W. R. Terrell
May 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
Well there it is. A game that the HAWKS should have won went awry.. Will someone please get a message to Josh Smith that he is not a point guard, also if he plays to his strengths of rebounding and defense he could really help the HAWKS win this series. I am wishing a foolish dream, this kid really has no basketball IQ and it really is all about the points that Josh can score. He is about stats…..stats….stats….Atlanta HAWKS will be better off when he leaves and that’s a fact jack.
Luke Cage
May 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
High-sider
May 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
Anybody miss Jamal Crawford [now]? Hawks only score 80 points. BOS beats ATL, 87-80.
I think Crawford was sitting at home watching this game since he couldn’t get Portland in the playoffs.
Jesse
May 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
When the C’s play D, they drop everyone in the paint. Put in VLAD RAD and let him launch 3s. They’ll have to change their defense which will open up more options. ALSO… Steve Nash runs the break off of made baskets. Why can’t the Hawks….. Paul Pierce even did that tonight. Sheesh.
keepinitreal
May 1st, 2012
10:17 pm
So now that the Hawks are headed for a first-round exit, do we get excited about the Braves, who just lost their eighth straight game to the Phillies, or the Falcons, who scored 0 offensive points in their most recent playoff game?
Being an Atlanta sports fan is like living with a chronic illness.