Celtics at Atlanta Hawks Game 5: Game thread
- Hawks starters: Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Al Horford. Zaza Pachulia (foot) is out. All Celtics players are available.
- Larry Drew on why he’s using this lineup: “One, just to give it a different look and see if it will kind of jump start us a little bit. It gives us an opportunity to move Joe back to some two. It makes us bigger so we can do a few more things defensively in making some adjustments in Game 5. And I just think its’ time. After you play four games in the playoffs, obviously it’s a game of adjustment, and you try to do things to benefit your team. It’s time to give us a different look and see if it will jump start us with Al back in the starting lineup, Marvin in the staring lineup, bringing Kirk [Hinrich] off the bench.”
- Drew on Horford’s condition: “Physically he feels fine. I wouldn’t say he’s in tip-top shape but he’s in playing shape. He didn’t experience any discomfort with the pec the other day [Game 4]. There was a play early he went for the ball and it was pulled back. I thought that would be kind of the test with him. He said after the play he was fine and he wasn’t sore after that. That was kind of the test. I know coming back he was waiting for that moment to see if he could withstand a collision or pull-back with the injury.”
- Drew on how he’ll use Horford: “He’ll only play a certain amount of minutes. I could have brought him off the bench but instead of letting his shoulder and chest stiffen up while he’s on the bench elected to throw him out there while he’s warm. We want to get off to a fast start and he certainly brings an energy.”
- Drew on the benefits of the lineup for Joe: “He’s had to defend Paul [Pierce] all four games. I kind of want to give it a different look and see if that can generate more offense out of him. He’s been chasing Paul around for four games and that can put a little wear and tear on you. We’ve decided to give it a look.”
- Drew on pushing the pace with this lineup: “When we are at our best is when [Al] and Josh rebound the ball and bring it out on the dribble. We’ve been missing that with him out of the lineup. It makes us a much better running team when we have all five guys involved in the break.”
- Drew on switching defensively: “Whether we start the game with our switching remains to be seen but it does give us a flexibility. The sets we defend we are in more switchable situations. A lot of the things they do run we can play it a little differently now going a little bit bigger at the two spot.”
- Drew on matchups: “They will have to make a decision who they match up with against Joe and Marvin. If they stay with Pierce on Joe, there’s a size advantage with Marvin on [Avery] Bradley.”
- Drew said Josh (knee) won’t be on limited minutes: “This is a do-or-die situation. Al we will definitely keep an eye on, but those other guys probably will play extended minutes given the situation.”
- Josh on his knee: “It’s pretty good. I’m in it to win it. I’m here to play so I can’t worry about my knee.”
- Joe on if the new lineup will help: “I don’t know. Hopefully it works out for the best for us. At this point we really don’t know. I guess it’s just a gut feeling.”
- Joe on if moving to shooting guard will result in more touches: “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
- Josh on Boston’s D: “With the defense they play they tend to over-help at times and we haven’t made them pay yet. We’ve got to be able to take our time and knock down the open shot.”
- Joe on Game 4: “We haven’t had a game like Game 4 in quite some time. It was mind-boggling, honestly. I couldn’t get why we came out and played so poorly after we were so close in Game 3. I’m still puzzled from that. Hopefully Game 5 will be different.”
- Joe on if he thinks Game 5 will be different: “Honestly I’m not sure. I just have to wait until we get between the lines. It’s easy to talk it but it’s different when you get on the court. Hopefully we will take a sense of pride and a sense of desperation and try to make it back to Boston.”
- Josh on Game 4: “To me, to be honest, we played pretty good defense. We was with them on every shot, every catch, and they shot the ball extremely well, especially Paul Pierce in that third quarter when we were trying to make a push. We have got to to try to meet them right before they past halfcourt i guess to give ourselves a chance.”
- Drew on Game 4: “When you lose a game like that, it’s deflating. But like I told our players I think we’ve had a great season in spite of that one game. That game is no reflection on the rest of our season. It happened. We’ve watched film, we’ve learned form it and now it’s time to move on. Yesterday I was still sensing guys were a little down. After our meeting we had yesterday it seemed to kind of rejuvenate them again. And then coming into shootaround today they were back to themselves.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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1,176 comments Add your comment
Rufus1
May 8th, 2012
10:41 pm
FFFFFFFFFFFFFNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Al Haters.
High-sider
May 8th, 2012
10:41 pm
Al Horford has more character than Josh Smith. Josh Smith has more athleticism than Al Horford. Tonight character trumps athleticism.
kwooden
May 8th, 2012
10:41 pm
Terrible pass by Josh, but ends the game with the deflection! Live to Fight another day!!
Tremaine
May 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
Joe Johnson no emotion after the win.
justin
May 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
Where are the Horford haters? There is NO WAY the Hawks win this game without Al.
yodaddybrother
May 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
Larry Drew rode the starters as he’s supposed to.
The scrubs don’t get in the game. No Pargo tonight and SURPRISE!! Rondo doesn’t light us up all night.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
JOSH 19 pts 11 rebs 1 blk
HORF 13 pts 16 rebs 6 assts 3 blks
welikebaseball2
May 8th, 2012
10:43 pm
What were those complaints about Horford again??? I’m sure you guys will find a way to blame the one-point win on him. Ugh.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2012
10:43 pm
“Can we have Tmac pass it in during clutch situations cause Josh is not reliable.”
That would require LD actually putting him in the game.
Walt Frazier
May 8th, 2012
10:43 pm
Losersville reprieve. The Hawks lose at Boston. To anwser my own question-no, Larry Drew cannot coach his way out of a 10.9 second paper bag.
justin
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
There is your Center, guarding one of the most difficult-to-guard pg’s in the league, not letting him even get a shot off.
5150 UOAD
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
OVER PAID chumps.The HAWKS SUCK and will not win the series and WE ALL know it in our heads just maybe not wanting to admit it in our hearts.
Astro Joe
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
Oh and the Hawks needed Horford’s YING to balance out the YANG that Josh had going for 3 quarters.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
“Al Horford has more character than Josh Smith. Josh Smith has more athleticism than Al Horford. Tonight character trumps athleticism.”
Both have more heart and will to win than Joe, and both of their heart carried this team in the 4th quarter.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
Great job DREW!!!
DawgNole
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
Tried to give it to ‘em, right down to the bitter end–which ended SWEETLY!
yodaddybrother
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
Enter your comments here
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
Very Woody-like minutes distribution in this game. 40+ minutes for 4 starters. No bench player with more than 7 minutes played.
Luke Cage
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
A healthy Horford would have been a 3rd seed this season.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
WHat a win! ALmost had like 3 heart attacks on that last play.
1) Someone HAS TO GET OPEN on that inbound. THis was AFTER we called a timeout!!!!!!
2) Josh: SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!! SMART PASSES!!!!!
MistaGamer
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
Al and Josh were the factors tonite. Al’s fresh legs and skill was invaluable. Josh’s team leading and timely assists and team leading rebounds on a bum leg were invaluable.
They both came up big. They showed they do have chemistry together. And for gawd sake, STOP LETTING JOE POUND THE CLOCK OUT!
Harry Hawk
May 8th, 2012
10:46 pm
The Celtics will win Game 6 because they want it more than the Hawks.
Sautee
May 8th, 2012
10:46 pm
“Joe Johnson no emotion after the win.”
He was…”tired”.
Bump
May 8th, 2012
10:46 pm
Where are the Horford Haters!!
We may play better in Boston and actually win it.
The Celts age is gonna catch up with them.
And Marvin showed up a few times as well!
Big Lou
May 8th, 2012
10:46 pm
drmaryb
Josh had 13 points
Al had 19
terrell
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
Why was Mr bad passes inbounding the ball?
Luke Cage
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
AL + JOSH = Great TANDEM!!
Harry Hawk
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
Al gets the game ball tonight. No question. I wish we had a real superstar for him to play off of. It would be fun to watch.
Mike
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
Nope, he was mad that he didn’t get more touches
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!! SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!! SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!! SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!! SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!! SMART PASSES, JOSH!!!!
Rev in Tampa
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
Lol at the TNT Crew saying the elbows were definitely thrown in the Bulls & 76ers game, but denying that Rondo bumped the Ref intentionally.
christopher mehegan
May 8th, 2012
10:47 pm
U GUYS MAY HAVE BEATEN THE CELTICS TONIGHT BUT UNDERSTAND THIS U BUNCH OF REFEREE BIYATCHING DEPENDS SCRATHING PANTS POOPING ATLANTA PLAYOFF FOOTNOTE CHOKERS COME THURSDAY YOUR TEAM’S WET DREAM SEASON WILL END AFTER THE CELTICS WIPE THE FLOOR WITH THE ATLANTA CHOKERS RIGHT OUT OF THE BUILDING U ARESHOLES STILL FACE ELIMINATION COME THURSDAY UR SEASON ENDS CELTICS WIN GAME 6 AND THE SERIES 4-2 GREEN AND WHITE FOREVER BIYATCH GO CELTICS
Rod from College Park
May 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
Big Win Hawks. You never make it easy, but we will take it. Props to Al and Marvin for stepping up. Offense picks up, we win. Hmmm
JSS
May 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
“No scrubs?” Did you miss Willie Green?
Big Lou
May 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
“Very Woody-like minutes distribution in this game. 40+ minutes for 4 starters. No bench player with more than 7 minutes played.”
Better than having the whole bench out there at the same time, right? Lol
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
I am confident that Josh and Al will show up in Game 6. I am pretty confident that Joe will make his catch and shoot jumpers in that game, even if the isos end in bricks. I think Teague will play a solid game, like he did tonight. But the Hawks are not going to win that game without role players stepping up. Tonight, Marvin hit some big shots and finished the game with a team-high +14 plus/minus. The Hawks either need him to step up like that again, or some other role player like Kirk or T-Mac to step up big. Without that, they can’t bring it back home for Game 7.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
Welcome back Al!
May not be as talented as Josh or Smoove, but dude has HEART…Loads and loads of HEART
bigdave
May 8th, 2012
10:49 pm
Hard to reward more touches just because, when you can get production like that from your front court. That said, solid game from Joe… he made some big shots, and his d will be what keeps us alive
HawkEye
May 8th, 2012
10:49 pm
lol. Thought Rondo would get the ball to Paul and let him work. I know Doc is losing his voice in that locker room. Fortuitous win for the Hawks. Game ball Horford.
yodaddybrother
May 8th, 2012
10:49 pm
Don’t act like Josh Smith wasn’t a huge part of this win tonight. 13 Points and what 19 Rebs???
Al was also a big part and both are very injured. Josh can’t even run. The Hawks need both of these guys to play just like they did tonight to win.
Marvin Williams was also sighted tonight…which is the biggest thing to ever happen to this bunch.
But the inevitable will happen in Game 6. It’s unavoidable.
MistaGamer
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
Both Al and Joe showed much heart tonite. And we could not have won this game without either one of those guys. Anyone taking sides in this game is just being a partisan hack!
Hawkfan
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
I have decided LD actually drew up a brilliant play. Let Rondo steal it and the guard him. Genius. Works in the Bizarro Hawks World
justin
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
thanks for stopping by Chris to scream at us after your team lost, with such insightful game analysis
What's gone rondo?
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
Did I hear Joe’s name in the 3rd or nt4th quarter? Does he need more touches? Let’s go through Joe. I want more iso Joe. Iso Joe is almost as exciting as the Falcon’s offense. Turner up the middle. Turner up the middle. Pass. Punt.
welikebaseball2
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
Najeh: I hear you on that. I don’t know though, the bench has given us next to nothing this whole series. All they’ve done is blow leads. I would like to have seen T Mac & Ivan get some minutes. But the other guys…I would’ve left them on the bench too.
Slimjr
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
19-11, beats his playoff avg? Yes..All of his cheerleaders are in da house tonight.. lol!
DawgNole
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
Harry Hawk
May 8th, 2012
10:46 pm
The Celtics will win Game 6 because they want it more than the Hawks.
______________________
They damn sure better–because if it comes back here, they’re in trouble.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 8th, 2012
10:51 pm
Game 6: Marvin, keep it up!
Less Willie!!
Only 2 days off, but Al needs to recover quick. It helps that Pierce won’t have more rest but he still can kill us with just 1 knee
Big Lou
May 8th, 2012
10:51 pm
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 8th, 2012
10:44 pm
“Great job DREW!!!”
You’re kidding, right? His infatuation with Willie Green to gaurd Ray Allen almost cost the game. The only thing he did right was keep the starters in the game to bail out his lack of coaching.
justin
May 8th, 2012
10:52 pm
uhm, Joe only had 15 points on 17 shots. he wasn’t exactly a game changer.