Atlanta Hawks at Celtics Game 4: Game thread
Boston–Josh Smith is testing his left knee pregame but said he will play tonight after no setbacks during this morning’s shootaround. He plans to wear a brace during the game. “When the adrenalin kicks in I probably won’t feel it,” he said. “I’ve just got to go out there and not even think about it. Play hard, play the way I’m capable of playing and not worry about re-injuring it.”
- Josh said if the Hawks were up 2-1 instead of down “I would probably be more cautious with the decision. But this is a must-win game for us tonight.”
- Larry Drew on Smith’s movement at shootaround: “Once he loosened up he looked pretty good.”
- Tracy McGrady (ankle) said he’s fine: “I feel great. I’m not worried about it.”
- Al Horford (pectoral) warmed up before the game and decided he feels good enough to be put on the active list. The Hawks say he’s a game-time decision.
- Drew said he would monitor Josh and T-Mac’s minutes: “I will certainly try to keep an eye on their minutes and we will use them accordingly depending on what the matchups are. If we get into a situation where we have to play one or two gys extra minutes, then so be it. We are in the fourth game of the playoffs and we want to put our best foot forward and play as well as we can and put ourselves in position to win.”
- Drew on playing without Josh: “Without him, we lose a big part of what we’ve been. He’s a guy that, now, down in the low block he commands double teams. He plays out of double teams really well, he’s an extremely good passer, he gives us stability defensively. We just miss his leadership out on the court.”
- Jeff Teague has been the most efficient shooter for the Hawks in this series, (non-Erick Dampier category) but he’s fourth in usage percentage. Teague’s 16.5 points per 36 minutes are second to Josh Smith (17.1).
- Drew wants Teague to be more aggressive offensively late in games even if his number isn’t called. Teague’s chances in the halfcourt still will have to come by playing off of Joe and Josh. Drew said Teague is the No. 2 option in those situations when Josh is not on the court; with Josh in the lineup tonight, Teague presumably slides back down to third in the pecking order.
- “When we get into that stretch run, particularly not having Josh, obviously we are gong to go through Joe a lot and I know they are going to keep a couple guys around him at all time with double teams and making sure he can’t get away,” Drew said. “But when Joe does give that basketball up, and that ball is swung out to Jeff, we need him to be in aggressive mode. You can’t be passive at that point because the shot clock is winding down and he is probably the only one on the floor that has that break-the-defense-down type speed. We just need him to be aggressive and be smart with his decisions.”
- Drew on Teague playing off Joe and Josh: “He’s growing. You can definitely see where he’s starting to understand how to play off those guys and how to get those guys involved. He’s not going to be perfect at it because he’s a scoring point guard. But he has gotten so much better in that area. The one thing is I want him to continue to be himself and stay aggressive and staying in that attack mode and just allow his natural instincts to come out.”
- Avery Bradley (shoulder) is a go for the Celtics.
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870 comments Add your comment
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:11 pm
And mo-fos got the nerve to talk about JJ . . . tell OTHERS to stop tossing up bricks and throwing the ball away, and maybe JJ can get up some shots.
But offense isn;t the problem. DEFENSE is
BIG DOG
May 6th, 2012
8:11 pm
Hawks must fine them a new coach, LD IS JUST LOST OUT THERE.
DR River argue every call and LD JUST WATCH AND NOT SAY NOTHING, SMH.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
terrell
May 6th, 2012
8:11 pm
Marvin and Joe are just happy to get a check. No heart or will whatsoever. Josh is a dummy sometimes, but at least he shows passion.
Rev in Tampa
May 6th, 2012
8:11 pm
Only thing left to do in this game is wait for Rusty and Phil to show up on the blog.
Blast
May 6th, 2012
8:11 pm
Now, let’s hear it from our esteemed, knowledgeable TNT crew.
Fan of T.S.
May 6th, 2012
8:12 pm
Putting Al back on the team disrupted the chemistry. That put us in a hole that we may not crawl out. Absolutely the Dumbest Move Drew could have made.
Tank
May 6th, 2012
8:12 pm
so what should the Hawks do with their roster next year?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:12 pm
Defense sux tonight but so does offense. And offense was the issue games 2 and 3
These soft guys thought we’d be fine just because Josh returned
honest_abe
May 6th, 2012
8:12 pm
they’re only going to state the obvious.
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:13 pm
Hawks literally have to hold Boston to about 15 points in the 3rd quarter, and hope they can post a 30 point quarter of their own via hot shooting, or baskets in transition.
A damn shame.
Now we gotta hear this garbage halftime crew clown us.
Bump
May 6th, 2012
8:14 pm
Hey MC!
Is Hawks PR Guy Triche or however you spell his name,ever contribute to this blog?
I know you know. Just give us a yes or a no.You don’t have to give us his name on here.
jcwfalcon
May 6th, 2012
8:14 pm
Is there a program to donate my tickets to an inner city kid who has never been to an NBA game before? Seriously. If there is someone please tell me what it is. Thanks!
Canary
May 6th, 2012
8:14 pm
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how the Hawks approach defense or offense.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:14 pm
I think Smooe tripped PP
Geno
May 6th, 2012
8:14 pm
Speechless… No ivan… Tracy didnt demand the ball…. Josh brought back all the turnovers…..ld lookn stupid….joe who?….marvin joke williams… what the hell is this…. Pargo bball iq is 2..stackhouse in his gucci outfit…. Tracy had his head down the entire time he was in there…. I keep waiting for theannouncers to keep it real…. I dont wanna hear the good out the bad …. I wanna hear the thrashing talk…only from the hawks announcers not tnt
SCG4675
May 6th, 2012
8:15 pm
There needs to be drastic changes made to this team in the off season. This is getting embarrassing.
Fan of T.S.
May 6th, 2012
8:15 pm
YES FIRE DREW. THIS TEAM IS GOING BACKWARDS. WOODSON HAD US IN THE SECOND ROUND DREW AND AL HORFORD WILL HAVE US OUT IN THE 1ST ROUND.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:15 pm
This team is going to lay down in game 5
Same ole Hawks
Bump
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
northcyde,
But offense isn;t the problem. DEFENSE is
=========================================
Agreed!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
Shaq is useless on TNT
soullrenaissance
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
wtf is Ivan, Dampier? – Horf came back too soon.
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
My bad . . . JJ is the 2nd option now. So it’s not his responsibility to carry the team.
He needs to defend better though, as do the entire team. Maybe Pierce won’t come back though.
Bump
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
My bad,its Defense,and Offensive turnovers.
Big Lou
May 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
Since I don’t have the time for the ignorance on this board… let’s break down the points:
Pierce has 18.
Ray Allen has 8.
Fooling has 6.
Bradley has 5.
Greg and Garnett only came together for 11 points.
How does Ivan change that?
Al has the best plus/minus. The problem is the Gaurds and substitutions. Ray Allen guarded by Joe? Rondo guarded by Pargo? Only thing I see wrong is LD’s stupidity and lack of guard play.
welikebaseball2
May 6th, 2012
8:17 pm
Najeh: I’ve always respected your entries, but I flat out disagree with you here. Ivan’s “done a good job on the boards”? Seriously? So, averaging 4 boards a game for the series is doing a “good job on the boards”? Look, I like Ivan’s game & what’s he’s contributed this season, but how can you deny that h’e’s been no match for Garnett? How can you deny that he’s given us nothing this series? If I’m Drew & Al says he’s ready, I’ll take my chances on bringing in a guy that I’m sure will give me the 4 rebounds per game I got from Ivan & likely more points all day. I guarantee Al will give us more than Ivan’s 4 boards & 4 points tonight.
Admirable SnAckBar
May 6th, 2012
8:18 pm
Ouch. Ok, plan B is to win at home then win the next 6 and we’re in the ECF!
justin
May 6th, 2012
8:18 pm
Look folks, 41 points is par for the course for the hawks in this series. Giving up 64 points is the problem. It’s the defense and the turnovers that was the big problem.
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:18 pm
Hawks have 11 turnovers, but is shooting 46% FG. That’s about as high as they’ve shot in a half since the first half of Game 1.
Fan of T.S.
May 6th, 2012
8:18 pm
To a team we could have beat tonight if Al horford hadnt put us in the hole.
Tank
May 6th, 2012
8:19 pm
Next year sign Steve Nash and start alongside Teague for one last run at this thing. New coach, new owner, and new general manager
DHunt
May 6th, 2012
8:19 pm
I thought it couldn’t get any worse than Woody’s coaching in the playoffs. I was wrong. Doc is outcoaching LD without even trying. Celtics defense is too simple. All five guys keep a foot in the paint, double Joe hard, run hard at shooters. Hawks have had absolutely zero answer for it. Nobody can hit a jump shot, and they are scoring less than 20 points a qtr since the Celts started doing this in Game 2. Hawks haven’t run a coherent pick and roll, pick and pop, back screen, or for that matter anything else recognizable as an organized offensive set. It’s all one on ones, and even if a Hawk player does get penetration, there is never anybody trailing, the other four just stand a watch.
Hawks defense is even worse, because on top of having no answer for the pick and roll, or for Celtics screen game, they also are playing with what appears to be very little effort. And the effort guys off the bench, like Ivan, haven’t even gotten off the bench.
I’m beyond disgusted right now, because this is one of the most talented Hawks teams in the history of the franchise, and they are squandering this series.
justin
May 6th, 2012
8:19 pm
On the bright side, there’s no way that Boston duplicates this effort in any half the rest of this series. They will regress to the mean.
tyger
May 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
Both Al and Josh cost us this one…
And LD is the biggest fool for going for it…
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
Hawks need to go on an immediate 8 – 0 or 14 – 4 run to start this 3rd quarter. If not, a big time blowout could occur, which will cause a lot of Hawk fans won’t show up on Tuesday night, and Philips will be flooded with Boston fans . . . which will be sickening.
Michael G.
May 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
We know what the problem is. The question is why did this team come out and give such a lackluster effort in a game they all said beforehand was a “must-win”?
High-sider
May 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
If LD was going to Al, then Collins should have been the odd man out. LD should’ve played Al @ center and Ivan @ PF but still let Collins start and play just a few minutes.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2012
8:22 pm
“So, averaging 4 boards a game for the series is doing a “good job on the boards”? ”
When he’s only playing 15 minutes per game, yes.
Obviously Al at full strength is much, much better than Ivan at full strength. I am not even saying Al has been that bad in this game, although he hasn’t been anywhere near his best. What I am saying is that Al isn’t going to help the Hawks win this game any more than Ivan would. The Hawks have problems in this game that go way beyond who plays backup PF.
If Al is 100%, no complaints from me (although Ivan still should be getting minutes alongside him). But if Al is not 100% — and he almost certainly is not — why the hell are they risking injury to him in a game where he isn’t and can’t help them win?
My beef is about Al risking reinjury, not Al’s quality of play. If they are going to play him, they need to ease him into the rotation. He’s on pace to play 22 minutes this game, which is way too much for his first game back.
justin
May 6th, 2012
8:22 pm
Celtics made 10 jumpers of 17 feet or longer in second quarter. It’s a case of hot shooting as much as anything. These things happen. Not time to panic.
DHunt
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
Of course you have to play Al Horford. But only an idiot coach does that at the expense of the biggest energy guy we’ve had on the team all year in Ivan Johnson. That man has earned his rotation minutes and to DNP-CD him for a whole half is unforgivable. Someone earlier asked, “How might he have affected the game?” One word. Hustle.
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
And why are people blaming Horford? Like Ivan has done anything this series. I’m surprise that Horford can even get his arm above the goal. He’s played much better than I expected, and he’s only ( -6 ) +/- in the game.
We might be down 30 without Al.
bbfan
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
Took a nap before the game; woke up refreshed and the score was 4 to 6. Then came the tsunami.
justin
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
Najeh, he needs the game experience to play at 100%. How is he supposed to play at peak performance without ever entering a basketball game and getting the rust off?
Clarification
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
LOL @ the Horford haters. Dude has the best +/- on the team but it’s all his fault.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 6th, 2012
8:24 pm
I mean, it’s one thing if the Hawks had started the game playing like they did the first three games, in a grind it out, close game. Maybe in a game like that, you can do a little experimenting by bringing Al in, see what he’s got, and if he is playing well the upside with him is higher than the upside with Ivan. But in a game that is slipping away even in the first quarter, why complicate things by screwing up the rotation and risking reinjury? Makes no sense.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:25 pm
LD postgame: “we just didn’t play with a sense of urgency”
northcyde
May 6th, 2012
8:25 pm
One thing is for sure . . . Jason Collins should NOT start the 2nd half. No time for that right now.
Hawks need to get out, defend, secure defensive rebounds, and run this ball down their throats . . . and get the ball to the right people that can make ball decisions and score.
Brian
May 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
Like I always say……..it’s part of the sports script in the city of Atlanta!
Atl teams = CHOKE
May 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
What else did you guys expect from an Atl team?
This was the perfect opportunity for a Choke Job.
Lets see:
Is if the playoffs? Check.
Is it a nationally televised primetime game? Check.
Is it a must win situation? Check.
Typical
May 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
4 shots from Joe in a first half where we desperately needed someone to step up. We’re the laughing stock of the NBA.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
Is Bibby the only healthy true pg on NYK now?
3 days off so hopefully Lin will be ready??