Atlanta Hawks at Celtics Game 4: Celtics 101, Hawks 79
Boston–I could sense the anguish among tweeps over this one. Just when they thought they could at least expect the Hawks to compete, they do this. So much for management’s boasts about being in the same league as the Celtics and the Lakers.
- Now comes the mockery from Charles Barkley and every other critic who said the Hawks would eventually go belly up. The Hawks never really surrendered like this all season. So why did it happen now, when they were healthier and the stakes were so high?
- “I really can’t [explain it],” Al Horford said. “I’m trying to sit there and look at it but the only thing that I can tell is that from the beginning of the game, from the jump ball, they established themselves and were way more aggressive. I think we were on our heels from that point on. You can’t do that in the playoffs.”
- “It felt like we was going to do something good, what, the first five or six minutes of the first quarter,” Josh Smith said. “They just went on a run and scored, what, [32] points in the first quarter? That’s giving this team way too many points in one quarter.You catch yourself climbing uphill against a team that’s good like this that knows how to put a team away.”
- “It’s very disappointing,” Larry Drew said. “It’s a playoff game. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be jacked up to play. The fact that we did not respond to their aggressiveness, it just totally took us out of our game. We didn’t respond to it all. We didn’t have the zap, we didn’t have the speed. We were doing everything at about 60 percent. This is the the playoffs. How can you not have it?”
- On a day when Mike Woodson finally managed to end his streak of playoff embarrassments, Drew delivered one of his own. His rotations were out of whack again. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d made all the right moves considering his team wasn’t ready to play, but we didn’t get to find out.
- Drew on not playing Ivan Johnson until garbage time: “He was available. I just decided I was going to play Al those minutes.” Ivan wasn’t very good in Game 3 and Jason Collins had been effective in Games 1 and 2, but it quickly became clear this game better suited for Ivan’s energy than Collins’ beef.
- Drew on leaving the starters in through the third quarter, when the Hawks never cut the lead to less than 25: “I was going to try to put a dent in it. We had two or three possessions where we had some good things happen. I just said if we couldn’t close the gap in the third quarter then I would just let the starters” sit.
- I can sort of see why Al continued to play. He needs to knock off the rust and there’s no increased risk of re-injury (though that collision with Ray Allen was a little scary). The counterargument is the Hawks are such longshots to come back and win this series, what’s the point?
- Leaving Josh in is harder to understand. He’s got patellar tendonitis and there’s a chance of re-injury because of weakness in the joint.
- In any event, both Josh and Al made it through the game unscathed. Josh said he would play in Game 5: “It felt OK. Obviously it was a little sore to begin with but when the game started flowing my knee started getting warm and a little more flexible. It will probably feel a little sore tomorrow but that’s how it is when you come back from an injury.”
- Josh clearly didn’t have his same explosiveness and he deserves credit for playing on a bum knee. But I thought his focus was lacking early, too. Those two careless turnovers in transition are nothing new but they ignited Boston’s running game.
- Al: “It’s a different feeling. It’s just exciting to be out there. I’ll be able to tell more how I feel tomorrow. Right now I have the adrenalin going. I will have to see how I feel [for Game 5].”
- Al had gone back-and-forth on whether he’d play in this series. “It was just being able to mentally prepare myself for a playoff-intense kind of game,” he said. “I knew that I wasn’t there two days ago and [also] my body feeling good. After yesterday’s practice I felt good enough and I told myself if I woke up Sunday and felt good I was going to try to give it a go.”
- Drew: “He came in after he warmed up and said he felt good, that he wanted to give it a go. My plan was to play him about five minutes a quarter, just to get his legs, get his wind a little bit longer. In the second half he got into a pretty good rhythm where he felt good.”
- Al looked (understandably) shaky during his first stint. By the second quarter he looked good enough that you remembered how badly the Hawks could have used him to start this series. That’s true even with Al missing his mid-range shots.
- That’s about all there is to talk about with the Hawks in this game. It was pretty much over after Paul Pierce made three Js during that 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter as the fans went wild and Atlanta bumbled through possessions.
- No doubt the Celtics made shots. It’s one thing for Paul Pierce to light it up but when Rajon Rondo, Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling are raining down jumpers, it’s not a good sign. But it’s also true that the Celtics played at a pace Atlanta couldn’t match.
- “They shot the mess out of it tonight,” Josh said. “I’m watching it being a real observer on the bench, and they are just running the plays way more harder than we are. Whatever play is called for—Ray Allen is coming off screens 100 miles per hour, Paul Pierce is finding a way to get open. [Kevin Garnett] setting screens and getting the guards open. We have to be able to try to duplicate what they do and get open. They are trying to hard to not let Joe catch the ball and being physical. We have to try to return the favor and see if they like it and stop being so passive.”
- The Hawks were a good transition D during the regular season (sixth in efficiency during the regular season, according to Synergy Sports Technology). The Celtics are a slow-paced team but that doesn’t mean they don’t run: Transition was their third-most used play type, according to Synergy. They ranked just 18th in efficiency but it’s been hard to tell against the Hawks.
- “We came into the series with a mindset of having to get up and down the floor, push the basketball and to make it a game of transition,” Drew said. “But it seems like they are doing it to us, which at the start of this series that would be an area where we should be able to flourish. But we have not done a good job of that. They are dictating the pace and rhythm of the game.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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219 comments Add your comment
Bobby
May 7th, 2012
4:59 am
A lot of Vick fans in this thread lol, you wouldn’t hear a peep from them if Vick was losing these playoff games. Matter of fact, I remember him leading a few Falcons team that didn’tcome close to making the playoffs — you won’t hear about that though!
Cotton Fitzsimmons
May 7th, 2012
5:02 am
Same story different season…
Cotton Fitzsimmons
May 7th, 2012
5:04 am
Same outcome as always. Why would we think any team from Atlanta would move pass first round ?
hawks D
May 7th, 2012
5:07 am
“They might as well have given the Celtics a first round bye this series is a joke”
read this quote on espn. It pisses me off because right now I cant argue against it.
the hawks failed on all cylinders…so disappointed..
hopefully they make some beneficial moves in the offseason…
Max Joe
May 7th, 2012
5:29 am
Not to worry—next year, Max Joe can carry the Hawks to big things! He’s on a mission!! But, he’ll want a lot more money!!!
brigadierjerry
May 7th, 2012
5:43 am
slimjr,
why would knicks want joe johnson for carmelo. their games are similar but carmelo hits big shots and if carmelo changes his game to similar to Paul Pierce for the team, the knicks are better in the long run. In a lot of ways Carmelo is a better version than Joe Johnson but difference is he will get to the Free throw line
Must win!
May 7th, 2012
6:01 am
I heard that game 4 was “must win!” Therefore, what is game 5?
AG
May 7th, 2012
6:14 am
Rick, you said it all. Record and play what the national media is telling you. Have the picture of Charles Barkley on every locker. If we were playing Miami and LJ got 30… I understand… but Boston? You can run them OUT of the gym! You cannot let them run their plays to perfection. I will visit the Highlight Factory Tuesday… YOU GUYS BETTER SHOW UP TOO (I MEAN THE HAWKS!)
AG
May 7th, 2012
6:19 am
When the Hawks were down big in the third and made and Teague was called for a flagrant – which Hawk huddled everyone together? Just because you are the highest paid does not make you the team leader. That player was Al.
Admirable SnAckBar
May 7th, 2012
6:20 am
can’t blame the Atl fans for this one!
AP ticker
May 7th, 2012
6:21 am
Al turns my stomach. When Josh and JJ went to the bench early in the 1st quarter the hawks were in the mist of the game…leading. Then came Al horford, Boston attacked the rim, Al watched and took pictures and the hawks were down 14 points just like that.
Al Fcked this game up.. yeah Houdini on the scene. Then this *Bytch* finishes with his patent 12 pt 5 reb had his shot blocked and disrupted the chemistry of the team.
I know Josh, JJ, and Teague had to be thinking “WTF?”
This is not the same team with Al Houdini on it as it is with out him.
Al is not good for the hawks, but at least hes shown hes healthy and can now be traded for something worth while.
Id take Marvin over Al although Marvin Al and Teague are All project cases. Al doesn’t have enough talent to be with Josh and JJ
AP ticker
May 7th, 2012
6:31 am
Al is not good for the chemistry of the team. He is talentless so he cant be a leader, No body follows a loser. The players dont get a long with Al because of his selfishness and unwillingness to play with any heart at center.
Al is a hoe, Amare called him out for being a hoe. and then fck Al on national tv. Now WTF kind of leader is that? Whose going to follow? This is a mans sport. This is a much better team with out Al.
Al is no leader. Al is a lazy,whining hoe. And Old as KG pimps his Ass Just like Amare did. Every body knows Al is a hoe except his pom pom cheerleaders on this blog page.
You will never win a championship with a hoe like Al in your front court.
Time to go back to fighting in the locker room. This season is over
Thanks Houdini, We would have done better if you stayed on the injured list.
Trade his ass for Howard now.
AP ticker
May 7th, 2012
6:40 am
early 1st quarter Hawks up 2, game is tight… then stupid ass Drew sends JJ and Josh to the bench, in comes that Houdini hoe and bam Boston attacks the rim, Houdini Al watches and takes pictures while the Celtics run up the score to a 14 point lead.
Josh and JJ sit there watching the stupid ass move wondering WTF is happening to all their hard work for the season, why is Al being allow to ruin it?
After the Al Houdini induced 1st quarter blow out, the teams moral falter and the season long chemistry faded.
Al finish with his trade mark 12 pts 5 rb and had his shot block but did not block any.
The teams moral is now down and the season for the hawks is all but over.
IVAN> al houdini.
AP ticker
May 7th, 2012
6:49 am
“It felt like we was going to do something good, what, the first five or six minutes of the first quarter,” Josh Smith said. “They just went on a run and scored, what, [32] points in the first quarter? That’s giving this team way too many points in one quarter.You catch yourself climbing uphill against a team that’s good like this that knows how to put a team away.” – Jsmoove
EXACTLY!
The hawks were doing fine until Horford entered the game.
AG
May 7th, 2012
7:03 am
Incredible… there is more than enough blame for this loss… yet all the hate on Al. Al is the only player on the team that has won a championship after H.S. Glad you are not running the team.. Marvin over Al.. LOL!!!!
William
May 7th, 2012
7:06 am
I’m not a fan, but I don’t understand what everybody’s that upset about. Were the Hawks supposed to win? Did anyone think that they could beat an old and slow Celtics team? Didn’t the owners try to sell this bunch of losers and had no legitimate takers? They only people showing up to watch this mess are the ones in line to give their money away so my kid can go to pre-school for free…
Thank you from the bottom of my heart .. now I can take a 2 week vacation at Sea Pines .. Go Hawks!
kreedham
May 7th, 2012
7:13 am
Enter your comments here
kreedham
May 7th, 2012
7:15 am
Sorry about that!
It’s easier to say who should stay than who should go……Keep Josh, Teague, Zaza, Ivan…..trade Joe, fire Drew and Sund, cut Marvin……..and ASG please give away, sell, do whatever and let us, most of all, have new owners that care!
RB
May 7th, 2012
7:16 am
Rick Sund has made good moves at times but the one that cancels them all out was signing JJ to a max contract. John Koncak 2.
Bobby
May 7th, 2012
7:17 am
AP Ticker is a clown and doesn’t know sh!t about basketball.
Al had nothing to do with this loss, hell he was out there running harder than everybody, actually trying to score, setting screens and trying to get out on the break. Those #s were on 20mins, half the time of Josh an Joke and the rest. Josh was walking around, making dumb faces and trying to be lebron while turning the bball over every other possession. Joke Johnson, no comment. Marvin, where are the idiots who praised his “improved play”? Still making excuses Billy Knight? What a disgrace. Give me Horford, Pargo, Teague and everyone else can GTFO for all I care.
Bobby
May 7th, 2012
7:19 am
Josh is the best player right? Do any of you think they are winning a championship with that clown leading them? Inconsistent effort every night, whining about trades and all star votes, STFU. Dude didn’t even put up 20-10 and yall idiots act like he’s charles barkley now LMFAO!
Timmy Tooth
May 7th, 2012
7:27 am
How does an NBA team get beat by 30in a playoff game? Bunch of overpaid losers.
Dawg
May 7th, 2012
7:33 am
Someone needs to ask why Alvin got so few minutes. Larry needs to be accountable. Someone needs to ask why Collins 1 rebound and 0 points in 12 minutes is better than Dampier’s 3 rebounds and 8 points in 12 minutes.
Joe is not a superstar and does not deserve superstar money on a cash strapped team.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 7th, 2012
7:33 am
*sigh*
Double Zero Eight
May 7th, 2012
7:33 am
Every occupation has a group of employees that merely
“go through the motions” . The Hawks are no different
from corporate America. They are content with receiving
their paychecks.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 7th, 2012
7:41 am
Series was psychologically over after we blew the 11 point lead in game 2
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 7th, 2012
7:44 am
Enter your comments here
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 7th, 2012
7:46 am
We aren’t mentally strong enough to beat anyone but much inferior teams in a series….MIL, MIA, ORL
We were much more talented than any of those teams.
Thought Pierce may suck like he did in game 1 but he has exploded.
Lookin fwd to the q&a we will see with Sund/Gearon in which they claim you can’t judge this team because there were injuries
D Truth
May 7th, 2012
7:48 am
Yea, Al fck up the chemistry and the team. No need hating on Josh for being the great player that he is. This is Josh’s team and if any one has to go its that sorry rascal they call Houdini Al .
Josh and Al on the same team = bad chemistry and Al doesnt have the type of talent you build around, and spend his summer screwing around. What kind of leadership is that. This team had a great year with out Al and both Ivan and Zaza replaced Al with no problem
Fck that Al Joke hoe guy.
D Truth
May 7th, 2012
7:50 am
This game was lost when they took Josh and JJ out (leading) and put in Al who gave up a 14pt lead, changed momentum and by the time the hawks could catch their breaths they were down 31 pts
Al fck that game up, him and Drew. Should have kept Woodson. His team won last night.
Bobby
May 7th, 2012
7:53 am
Josh never won a dam thing in his life… can’t even get to the all star game because everyone sees through his fake stats. Dude is a joke and his fans are dropouts. Go clean up aisle 3.
Section 303
May 7th, 2012
7:55 am
This series officially ended when Willie Green missed the 12-ft jumper, with 3 or 4 seconds left on Friday. Had the Hawks managed to win that game, last night would not have mattered. But, he missed and last night happened…..series over. Only question that remains now is do the Hawks blow things up? This is a crap way to end the season. Something has to change.
No telling what happens on Tuesday. I tend to think the Hawks will get pasted again. Rolling over is what this organization is all about.
BIG HAWKS FAN
May 7th, 2012
8:06 am
JOE IS YOUR BEST PLAYER PUT HIM ON THE CELTICS BEST PLAYER COME ON COACH MAKE A MOVE TO SAVE YOUR TEAM
Kelvin
May 7th, 2012
8:08 am
What a colossal embarrassment! Joe Johnson is a complimentary player, certainly not worth a max deal. Josh Smith, talented but has a low basketball IQ. Marvin Williams, great kid but totally worthless on the basketball court. There are 50 other guys in the league that can give you what he’s giving you. Jeff Teague and Al Horford are the only pieces worth keeping. Unfortunately, because of the max deal you won’t be able to trade Joe Johnson. So it looks like we will be stuck in mediocrity for the foreseeable future.
terrell
May 7th, 2012
8:13 am
With the 2nd pick in the 2005 draft, the Atlanta Hawks select
Chris Paul
With the 5th pick in the 2006 draft the Atlanta Hawks select
Rudy Gay
Ok, dream over.
terrell
May 7th, 2012
8:14 am
Marvin and Sheldon Williams BK? Really?
Greg Carter
May 7th, 2012
8:15 am
Did I not tell you what would happen? Are you all surprised? The Hawks are far and away the inferior team to the C’s. It’s even worse than the 37-point thumping we were giving you until we graciously let you all come back within 20. Atlanta is doomed to another 5-6 years of being bounced in the first round. Now we (Boston) are essentially circling the air port waiting for the ECF. Thank you all for giving us some rest and rolling over.
The Hawk
May 7th, 2012
8:16 am
Fire Woody….
terrell
May 7th, 2012
8:16 am
I guess BK thought he could turn avg college players into good NBA players? Not!.
Double Zero Eight
May 7th, 2012
8:38 am
Over the years, a lot of the Hawks drafting has been
based on how well players performed in the NCAA
torunament (Marvin Williams. Sheldon Willaims).
Does anyone remember when the Hawks used their
first pick on Givens from Kentucky? What about
Rumeal Robinson?
Melo!
May 7th, 2012
8:40 am
In the offseason, can the hawks dump JJ and Josh and get Melo and Amare from the Knicks? NY is ready to get rid of these attitudes, but they would light it up in ATL.
jim
May 7th, 2012
8:43 am
Franchise will never get better with the current owners (draft picks for cash?) Franchise will never get better with current do nothing GM. Franchise will never get better with Marvin and JJ. Josh Smith may be a loose cannon but he is the only guy that makes a difference in big games against good teams. The Joe Johnson contract was as big a mistake as williams/Chris Paul draft. Embarrasing.
Lou
May 7th, 2012
8:49 am
Not one ounce of heart in these Hawks. There is no excuse to be down over 30 points in a playoff game; none. They are a disgrace. Losing game two changed the whole series. They can never get out of their own way. They are in the worst spot to be in. Not good enough to be great and not bad enough to get draft picks and improve. They are just stuck in the middle. I don’t see how Larry Drew and some of these parts can stay together.
Doom and Gloom
May 7th, 2012
8:50 am
Well, it was better to make a first round exit than to get embarrassed in the second round again ( I guess)… Who knows.. perhaps the Hawks would have actually made it into the eastern conference finals if they had had any mental toughness…. trade Josh for Kevin Love, Trade Joe for Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph and Marvin and the Larry Drew for the best anybody or anything possible…..
KCG
May 7th, 2012
8:50 am
Terrell, I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry at your posts. Funny
KCG
May 7th, 2012
8:53 am
I don’t know why, but I think the Hawks are going to surprise us and show us some heart for the rest of this series. They have worked to hard and have overcome too much this year just to give up. Win game 5, try to steal game 6, and who knows. Anything is possible.
rollow lawson
May 7th, 2012
8:53 am
I’m sick of this Joe Johnson this Johnson that B.S. !! The problem with this team is Larry Drew. Why did he have Joe guarding Pierce, chasing him around screens all night? Then when Allen comes in, he’s asked to guard him doing the same thing. What legs does Joe have on the ofensive end after working so hard on defense. None. And the guy only took eight shoots. Just like Doc runs plays to get Paul the ball in his sweet spots, why won’t Larry do the same for Joe? Nobody out in Hawksville can answer that.
In addition, Jason Collins is a major liability. When he is on the court, the Hawks are playing 4 on 5. There was no excuse for Ivan not to get any minutes in the first half last night. Willie Green, Marvin, and Collins are useless. If anything, I would start Marvin just so he could chase Paul Pierce and allow Joe to go against Bradley.
I got a real problem with Larry Drew. When all the calls were going against the players, he never got off the bench to challenge the officials. But Doc was constantly challenging the referees even while being up by 30 points.
Bump
May 7th, 2012
8:58 am
Im in favor for bringing in Jerry Sloan,putting the amnesty tag on joe,trading josh with marvin for a young big and a 2nd rounder this year,letting twin/tmac/green/pargo/damps walk,trading kirk to the lakers for a 2nd rounder,trading zsa zsa and Al for a 1st rounder this year or a 2nd rounder in 2013,all after firing Sund and Drew!
Keep Teague,try and resign Ivan even though he may not want to come back with this coach and this bunch or the organization itself and get young ufa’s in here with young draft picks,guys from the d-league and undrafted free agents..
We have to rebuild this entire team and get a new identity..
Bobby
May 7th, 2012
8:59 am
“Josh Smith may be a loose cannon but he is the only guy that makes a difference in big games against good teams.”
Oh please they almost won Game 3 WITHOUT him. Hell, all of their bigs. Quit hyping up these overrated clowns!
Tdawg
May 7th, 2012
9:01 am
Don’t understand what the fuss is all about. The hawks quit plane and simple. They are ready to go on summer vacation. If one fan in Atlanta shows up and watches these bunch of pathetic loser’s they are dumb as a rock. If you do attend their last game of the year, please do take some rocks. I would tell you what to do with them, but you probably already know.