Author Topic: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18  (Read 20540 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« on: February 01, 2018, 10:32:52 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11831
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
  at 
Atlanta Hawks (15-36) at Boston Celtics (37-15)
Friday, February 2, 2018
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #53, Home Game #28
TV: NBCSB,  FSSE-ATL, NBA-LP 753 (DTV)/752 (xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.9 FM The Game
TD Garden



Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard

vs
Terry Rozier vs Dennis Schroder

Shooting Guard

vs
Jaylen Brown vs Kent Bazemore

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Taurean Prince

Power Forward
vs
Al Horford vs Ersan Ilyasova

Center
vs
Aron Baynes vs Miles Plumlee


Celtics Reserves
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Daniel Theis
Guerschon Yabusele
Terry Rozier
Marcus Morris
Jarell Eddie
Kadeem Allen

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle)  out
Marcus Smart (hand)  out
Shane Larkin (knee) game time decision
Kyrie Irving (quad)  game time decision
Marcus Morris (hip) questionable

Two Way Players

Jabari Bird
Kadeem Allen

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Hawks Reserves
Luke Babbitt
Marco Belinelli
DeAndre Bembry
Tyler Cavanaugh
John Collins
Dewayne Dedmon
Malcolm Delaney
Tyler Dorsey
Mike Muscala
Isaiah Taylor

Injuries

DeAndre Bembry (groin)  out
Dennis Schroder (shoulder) questionable

Two Way Players

Josh Magette
Andrew White III

Head Coach
Mike Budenholzer

Game Notes

The Celtics continue their home stand as they host the Hawks for the 3rd of 4 regular season games.  The Celtics won a close one in Atlanta on November 6 by just 110-107. They also won 110-99 in Atlanta on November 18.  They will face off once more in Boston on April 8. 

The Hawks have the worst record in the league with just 15 wins.  They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and lost their last game.  They are 4-20 on the road.  The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 games and have won their last 2 games.  They are 19-8 at home. 

Dennis Schroder played on on Wednesday with a sore shoulder and is listed as questionable for this game.  If he can't play, I'm not sure who would get the start in his place.  DeAndre Bembry is out with a groin injury. 

Kyrie Irving missed Wednesday's game with a quad injury and is a game time decision in this one.  Shane Larkin is also a game time decision with a sore knee.  Marcus Morris took a hard fall on Wednesday and is questionable for this one.  Marcus Smart (hand) and Gordon Hayward (ankle) are out. 

Key Matchups
vs
Terry Rozier vs Dennis Schroder
Schroder is playing very well in spite of the Hawks losing record.  He is averaging 19.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.1 steals.  He put up 23 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals vs the Celtics in their first meeting and 23 points and 9 assists in the second meeting. Of course, if Kyrie can play, it would make it easier, but either way,  limiting Schroder will go a long way toward getting a win. 

vs
Jaylen Brown vs Kent Bazemore
Bazemore is averaging 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 steals.  He struggled in the first meeting between these two teams with just 5 points and 5 turnovers.  He did pull down 8 rebounds, though.  Hopefully Brown will play well and win this matchup. 

Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Taurean Prince
Prince is averaging 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists.  Tatum should be able to win this matchup if he continues to play as well as he has been.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense wins games.   The Celtics remain first in the league with a defensive rating of 99.7 while the Hawks are 26th with a defensive rating of 108.4.  The Celtics have to keep making defense a priority and not let up on the effort necessary to get stops.  The Celtics allowed the Hawks to score 107 points in their first meeting and that is not acceptable.  The Hawks are close to the Celtics in scoring and better in some things and so defense will be the difference in this game. 

Take Care of the Ball - The Hawks are 2nd in forcing turnovers, forcing 16.0 per game.  They are first in the league with 18.6 points off turnovers.  The Celtics have to avoid making sloppy passes and they have to be aware when dribbling to avoid turning the ball over as the Hawks will make them pay if they do. 

Rebound -  Rebounding gives the Celtics extra possessions and it also deprives the Hawks of the same.  The Celtics are  averaging 44.4 rebounds per game (9th) while the Hawks are averaging 40.8 rebounds per game (26th).   The Celtics need to continue to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards as the Hawks are 12th with 12.8 second chance points per game and the Celtics need to limit them in that area. 


Be Aggressive
- The Celtics must be the team that plays harder and that wants this win more.  They have to be aggressive in diving for loose balls, in going to the basket, in getting stops on the defensive end, and in going after rebounds.  They have to play harder and be more aggressive from start to finish.  The more aggressive team will usually get the benefit of calls.  It's always easy to let up against losing teams, but if they do, they may end up with a loss as, in spite of their record, the Hawks play hard. 

X-Factors
Trap Game - This has the makings of a trap game.  Atlanta has just 15 wins this season.  The Celtics have won two straight, including a blowout win over the Knicks.  The Celtics have to be careful not to underestimate the Hawks and they have to come out and play hard and respect the Hawks as a team that came close to beating them they first time they met. 

Next Man Up - Against the Knicks, Terry Rozier and others stepped up their game to help the Celtics get a win in spite of missing Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Shane Larkin.  The Celtics may also be missing Marcus Morris in this one and so they will need others to step up also. 
« Last Edit: February 02, 2018, 03:11:22 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2018, 10:33:30 PM »

Offline csfansince60s

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6234
  • Tommy Points: 2238
First the Knicks...

Next victim.....Hawks

TP FLCs!

Exciting time of year this trade deadline/buyout time.

Feel like a little kid at Christmas when I wake up and check for a 'Reke or a Moose left under our shamrock tree.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2018, 10:33:43 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

  • Kendrick Perkins #1 Fan
  • Author
  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5280
  • Tommy Points: 11831
  • Marcus Smart Fan!
TP to  csfansince60s  for being the first to post in the game thread.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!! 

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2018, 10:34:12 PM »

Offline Ogaju

  • Bill Sharman
  • *******************
  • Posts: 19479
  • Tommy Points: 1871
lets go Celtics. TP flCf!!!!
« Last Edit: February 01, 2018, 10:43:38 PM by Ogaju »

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2018, 10:50:17 PM »

Offline libermaniac

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2835
  • Tommy Points: 375
4th.  Starting lineup!  Another short bench.  Hopefully Schroeder won't go so we will be fine.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2018, 11:04:33 PM »

Offline TheisTheisBaby

  • Jaylen Brown
  • Posts: 630
  • Tommy Points: 32
This is the kind of game where we'll play down to our opponent, some scrub like Bazemore will get hot from 3, they'll play with energy, they'll get more calls than they should, and we'll struggle to win by 5 or 6.  I don't like these types of games.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2018, 11:35:33 PM »

Offline Jiri Welsch

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2935
  • Tommy Points: 349
Trap Game!! Let’s win it for the Pats

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2018, 12:35:58 AM »

Offline nickagneta

  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 48120
  • Tommy Points: 8794
  • President of Jaylen Brown Fan Club
Smelling another blowout... Smells a lot like Gino!!!!!

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2018, 02:47:03 AM »

Offline Somebody

  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7816
  • Tommy Points: 560
  • STAND FIRM, SAY NO TO VIBE MEN
LET'S GO CELTICS!
Jaylen Brown for All-NBA

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #9 on: February 02, 2018, 05:23:09 AM »

Offline hodgy03038

  • NCE
  • Ray Allen
  • ***
  • Posts: 3701
  • Tommy Points: 440
  • Marcus Smart #1 Fan
Go Celts! Hope Kyrie is back.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2018, 06:13:35 AM »

Offline azzenfrost

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2063
  • Tommy Points: 177
Let's go C's!
I moved the cheese.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2018, 07:12:20 AM »

Offline mr. dee

  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7828
  • Tommy Points: 597
We got this as long as the starter replacements are playing with intensity for the whole game.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2018, 07:18:07 AM »

Offline Surferdad

  • Cedric Maxwell
  • **************
  • Posts: 14456
  • Tommy Points: 972
  • "He fiddles...and diddles..."
12th man, two-way player.

Beat the teams you are supposed to beat.

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2018, 12:45:22 PM »

Offline celticinorlando

  • Paul Pierce
  • ***************************
  • Posts: 27949
  • Tommy Points: 637
  • MASTER OF PANIC
My guess is they hold Kyrie out again tonight. Have him ready for the Wiz or Raptors

Re: Hawks (15-36) at Celtics (37-15) Game #53 2/2/18
« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2018, 01:59:28 PM »

Offline MattyIce

  • Bailey Howell
  • **
  • Posts: 2202
  • Tommy Points: 740
KI out tonight