Hawks (29-31) at Celtics (36-27) Game #64 3/1/22

[Vermont Green]

Nice game.  They didn't have Collins, we didn't have Brown.

Grant Williams was productive.  18 points, 7 rebs in 28 minutes, that is impressive.  But he was -7 for plus/minus.  Doesn't seem to match up.  He looked good on both ends.  Similar for White, good numbers but -4 for plus/minus.

I understand that +/- can be very situational, especially if you are looking at 1 specific game but I thought that these two in particular were unusual.

All good though, just keep banking these wins.

Grant was out there at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, most of the time without Tatum (and obviously Brown) when there was a 10-point swing.  He was in part responsible (fouled a jump shooter twice).  I think both Grant and White were on the court every minute Tatum sat, and with no Brown that meant they were going to be at a relative disadvantage on +/-.

I don't know how it corresponds to the game time line but the worst times for White and GWill were when they were on the court with Smart, Tatum, Horford (4 min, -8) and with Smart, Tatum, RWill (3 min, -3).

I am not disagreeing that the +/- for a specific game is going to be erratic.  But in this game, I don't think it was solely about being with the starters or not.

White and GWill were +6 in 4 min with Nesmith, RWill, and Smart so it wasn't just about Tatum or not.

[LilRip]

Just back from the game. They were dead in the first half as was the crowd but you could see the defensive effort picking up immediately in the 2nd half. Also they got Atlanta into the bonus just 4 minutes into the 3Q and took advantage.

I thought it might be a struggle tonight. They had been playing really well, then had a clunker Sunday and sometimes that can carry over. It did in the first half - Atlanta had 65 pts at the half, but they turned the screws right out of the locker room in the 2nd half.  For that reason I was pretty confident they were winning as soon as they got it even.

On the negative side, Nesmith was given a chance tonight and missed every single shot he took. You can't give him minutes in a playoff series. Pritchard only made one shot yet it was interesting that Ime played him over White for most of crunch time even though White was having a heck of a night.

Also Ime has an assistant who makes the calls on challenges. On Pritchard's foul he turned around immediately to ask, the assistant said yes, so he challenged.  Didn't work.

I couldn't watch the game but there is more to having a good game than shooting.  His other counting stats were good, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal, zero turnovers and his +/- was +10.

Can anyone comment on his defense and overall play?  I'm not worried about his shooting because he showed during his rookie season, and has had flashes this season, that he can do that at an NBA level. He just needs consistent minutes.

I’m not a believer of Nesmith but contrary to what others are saying, I thought he provided good minutes. When you’re down Brown, no individual player on the C’s is going to cover up his offense. But that said, the starting lineup did well with Nesmith out there because he’s quick-footed enough and brings enough length at the 2-guard spot to not be a liability. I’m glad Ime went with him to start the 2nd half (instead of Pritchard) because he brings enough versatility/switchability on defense. At least for tonight.

As an aside, this game highlighted for me (again) though how overqualified I think Brown is for his role. JB is a really good player but Tatum can really carry quite the load. Doesn’t mean I’m willing to dump JB for a bunch of nothing but swap in a similarly talented player in another position (like a Dejounte Murray or a KAT) and I think this team gets better.

[liam]

Just back from the game. They were dead in the first half as was the crowd but you could see the defensive effort picking up immediately in the 2nd half. Also they got Atlanta into the bonus just 4 minutes into the 3Q and took advantage.

I thought it might be a struggle tonight. They had been playing really well, then had a clunker Sunday and sometimes that can carry over. It did in the first half - Atlanta had 65 pts at the half, but they turned the screws right out of the locker room in the 2nd half.  For that reason I was pretty confident they were winning as soon as they got it even.

On the negative side, Nesmith was given a chance tonight and missed every single shot he took. You can't give him minutes in a playoff series. Pritchard only made one shot yet it was interesting that Ime played him over White for most of crunch time even though White was having a heck of a night.

Also Ime has an assistant who makes the calls on challenges. On Pritchard's foul he turned around immediately to ask, the assistant said yes, so he challenged.  Didn't work.

I couldn't watch the game but there is more to having a good game than shooting.  His other counting stats were good, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal, zero turnovers and his +/- was +10.

Can anyone comment on his defense and overall play?  I'm not worried about his shooting because he showed during his rookie season, and has had flashes this season, that he can do that at an NBA level. He just needs consistent minutes.

I’m not a believer of Nesmith but contrary to what others are saying, I thought he provided good minutes. When you’re down Brown, no individual player on the C’s is going to cover up his offense. But that said, the starting lineup did well with Nesmith out there because he’s quick-footed enough and brings enough length at the 2-guard spot to not be a liability. I’m glad Ime went with him to start the 2nd half (instead of Pritchard) because he brings enough versatility/switchability on defense. At least for tonight.

As an aside, this game highlighted for me (again) though how overqualified I think Brown is for his role. JB is a really good player but Tatum can really carry quite the load. Doesn’t mean I’m willing to dump JB for a bunch of nothing but swap in a similarly talented player in another position (like a Dejounte Murray or a KAT) and I think this team gets better.

I thought Nesmith's energy changed the game. He needs to start hitting those open shots... A bunch wide open.

[slamtheking]

Just back from the game. They were dead in the first half as was the crowd but you could see the defensive effort picking up immediately in the 2nd half. Also they got Atlanta into the bonus just 4 minutes into the 3Q and took advantage.

I thought it might be a struggle tonight. They had been playing really well, then had a clunker Sunday and sometimes that can carry over. It did in the first half - Atlanta had 65 pts at the half, but they turned the screws right out of the locker room in the 2nd half.  For that reason I was pretty confident they were winning as soon as they got it even.

On the negative side, Nesmith was given a chance tonight and missed every single shot he took. You can't give him minutes in a playoff series. Pritchard only made one shot yet it was interesting that Ime played him over White for most of crunch time even though White was having a heck of a night.

Also Ime has an assistant who makes the calls on challenges. On Pritchard's foul he turned around immediately to ask, the assistant said yes, so he challenged.  Didn't work.

I couldn't watch the game but there is more to having a good game than shooting.  His other counting stats were good, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal, zero turnovers and his +/- was +10.

Can anyone comment on his defense and overall play?  I'm not worried about his shooting because he showed during his rookie season, and has had flashes this season, that he can do that at an NBA level. He just needs consistent minutes.

He wasn't good.  At least half of his rebounds came from essentially ripping the ball out of his teammates hands.  I like the energy, but he doesn't have the court awareness to realize when Horford and/or Rob have the position for an easy rebound.  The Hawks weren't crashing the boards at all last night, and he nearly caused rebounds to come loose, in which case he would have been out of position and the Hawks would've had an easy 3 off a loose ball.  On one of them he was millimeters away from giving a teammate an elbow to the face.  And his missed shots were bad -- two of them didn't even hit the iron.

His +/- was a textbook example of why people discount that stat.  He got to take Jaylen's place with the starters to open the second half.  The team went on a run despite him, which led to a nice number, but he was also benched for the rest of the game after that 7-minute stretch.

I though Nesmith's defense and energy in the 2nd half, especially in that 3rd quarter we're excellent. It was the most important stretch in the game and he definitely contributed to it on that defensive end while having two solid rebounds, one offensively that led to two points after getting the ball to Tatum who got fouled.

Nesmith doesn't hurt you defensively. He's a pretty decent defender and he works hard - though Gallinari got him one time on one of his fakes (he'd be a great soccer player - blow on him and he winces). The problem is you need whoever comes in for Jaylen (or Tatum) to be able to knock down some shots. This will cause them to lose a playoff series against a top level team. Can't emphasize that point enough.

Their defense when they turn it on is top level. But their biggest weakness now is a back up wing who can make shots and is good enough defensively where they won't have to cover up for him.  Right now they don't have that guy on the roster.

Nesmith may turn out to be a decent player - just look at Grant Williams in terms of needing to patient with young guys who show some potential - but he's not helping you win anything this season.

we did, his name was Romeo.  much better defense - team and individual, hitting corner 3's as well as able to drive to the basket from the corner, better ball handler and less spastic on the floor.  we don't have him now because we overpaid for White

Just want to point out that Romeo hasn’t played a minute with the Spurs yet (injured again, apparently).

yes, out due to injury.

[Kuberski33]

Just back from the game. They were dead in the first half as was the crowd but you could see the defensive effort picking up immediately in the 2nd half. Also they got Atlanta into the bonus just 4 minutes into the 3Q and took advantage.

I thought it might be a struggle tonight. They had been playing really well, then had a clunker Sunday and sometimes that can carry over. It did in the first half - Atlanta had 65 pts at the half, but they turned the screws right out of the locker room in the 2nd half.  For that reason I was pretty confident they were winning as soon as they got it even.

On the negative side, Nesmith was given a chance tonight and missed every single shot he took. You can't give him minutes in a playoff series. Pritchard only made one shot yet it was interesting that Ime played him over White for most of crunch time even though White was having a heck of a night.

Also Ime has an assistant who makes the calls on challenges. On Pritchard's foul he turned around immediately to ask, the assistant said yes, so he challenged.  Didn't work.

I couldn't watch the game but there is more to having a good game than shooting.  His other counting stats were good, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal, zero turnovers and his +/- was +10.

Can anyone comment on his defense and overall play?  I'm not worried about his shooting because he showed during his rookie season, and has had flashes this season, that he can do that at an NBA level. He just needs consistent minutes.

I’m not a believer of Nesmith but contrary to what others are saying, I thought he provided good minutes. When you’re down Brown, no individual player on the C’s is going to cover up his offense. But that said, the starting lineup did well with Nesmith out there because he’s quick-footed enough and brings enough length at the 2-guard spot to not be a liability. I’m glad Ime went with him to start the 2nd half (instead of Pritchard) because he brings enough versatility/switchability on defense. At least for tonight.

As an aside, this game highlighted for me (again) though how overqualified I think Brown is for his role. JB is a really good player but Tatum can really carry quite the load. Doesn’t mean I’m willing to dump JB for a bunch of nothing but swap in a similarly talented player in another position (like a Dejounte Murray or a KAT) and I think this team gets better.

I thought Nesmith's energy changed the game. He needs to start hitting those open shots... A bunch wide open.

In a playoff game, if Nesmith is on the court, chances are either Tatum or Brown is not. Teams will back off him, and allow him to shoot 3's and instead double Tatum/Brown - and simply dare him to shoot, figuring (correctly) that he's either going to miss or pass the ball.  Having somone who can make that shot is likely the difference between winning and losing a tight game.

His defense is fine - but so was Semi's and Romeo's. None of those 3 helps you beat the Sixers or Brooklyn in a 7 game series.

[dannyboy35]

I didn't get to watch the game, but I watched highlights.

Was the body language for the Hawks as bad as it looked on the highlights? I saw a good amount of finger-pointing and frustration?

   Saw that from Gallinari but he’s a selfish player.