Author Topic: First Round Game 7: Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics 5/4/08 (1:00pm, ABC)  (Read 75397 times)

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Offline FLCeltsFan

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Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics
Series tied 3-3
Round 1 Game #7
ABC TV  1:00 PM ET
TD Banknorth Garden




Probable Starting Lineup
PG   Rajon Rondo PPG 12.6 RPG 4.20 APG 8.0 EFF + 19.60
SG        Ray Allen PPG 17.2 RPG 3.00 APG 3.6 EFF + 16.00 
SF    Paul Pierce PPG 17.4 RPG 4.60 APG 4.8 EFF + 17.40
PF         Kevin Garnett PPG 21.4 RPG 8.80 APG 3.6 EFF + 24.80
C        Kendrick Perkins PPG 5.8 RPG 6.00 APG 0.4 EFF + 10.80


Off the Bench
Eddie House, James Posey,  Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis,  Tony Allen,  PJ Brown, Sam Cassell,  Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt

Injury Report
Scot Pollard,  ankle, out




Probable Starting Lineup
PG Mike Bibby PPG 10.6 RPG 2.40 APG 2.6 EFF + 6.60 
SG Joe Johnson PPG 21.8 RPG 4.00 APG 4.4 EFF + 18.40
SF Marvin Williams PPG 11.0 RPG 3.40 APG 0.6 EFF + 8.40 **
PF Josh Smith PPG 18.4 RPG 7.00 APG 3.2 EFF + 21.80
C Al Horford PPG 12.8 RPG 11.20 APG 3.6 EFF + 20.60
** Marvin Williams sprained his knee in game 6 and so may not be able to play.  His status is questionable but the coach has said he believes that he will play.   Childress will probably get the start if he can't go. 

Off the Bench:
Josh Childress, Zaza Pachulia, Salim Stoudamire, Mario West, Jeremy Richardson, Solomon Jones, Acie Law

Injuries
Speedy Claxton, knee, out
Marvin Williams, knee, questionable

Key Matchups
 
Rajon Rondo  vs  Mike Bibby 
Rondo played just 28 minutes in game 6 in Atlanta and seemed to struggle at times.  The Celtics need him to have a strong game because they are a better team when he is on the court. 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett  vs  Josh Smith
The Celtics have missed a large number of layups because they rush them since  they are so concerned with Smith's shot blocking.  KG has to keep Smith off the glass and he must make Smith work on the defensive end by being aggressive offensively. 

Honorable Mention
Doc Rivers vs Mike Woodson
Doc's decisions in game 6 have been called into question and if the Celtics should do the unthinkable and lose this game, Doc may be gone.  Mike Woodson has been on the hot seat all season and has also been questioned about some of his decisions.   Rotations and coaching decisions may come into play in this game and the coach who makes the wrong ones may be out of a job when the series is over. 

Keys to the Game
Rebounding  When the celtics out rebound the Hawks they win and when they don't, they lose.  Once again, they were out rebounded in game 6, allowing the Hawks to get second and third chance shots.    Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when both of those are there, they get the rebounds and they out play the Hawks.     

Defense   The Celtics can't try to outscore the Hawks because they found out in games 3 and 4  and 6 that doesn't work.  They have to play the tough defense that they played all season and in games 1,2 and 5 in order to win.  No defense = no win. 

Be Aggressive  The Celtics need to continue to be aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and in diving for loose balls and crashing the boards. In game 6 they once again became tentative and settled for jumpers instead of taking the ball to the hoop.   By being more aggressive and driving to the hoop rather than settling for quick jumpers, they will either get a high percentage shot or draw the foul and getting the Hawks into foul trouble pays dividends because they have a limited bench. 

Officiating  In the first 6 games, the Hawks have had 204 free throws to 133 free throws for the Celtics .  That is 71 more free throws for the Hawks.  This is ridiculous.  Granted the Celtics haven't driven to the hoop as much as the Hawks, but there has also been a lot of touch fouls called on the Celtics while the Hawks have gotten away with a lot of contact that wasn't called.  Two of the offensive fouls called on Pierce in game 6 were terrible calls and the 6th foul on him was worse than terrible.  In that sense, the officiating influenced the results of that game.   We can only hope that the officials will call game 7 fairly.   

X-Factor

Bench Play.  The Hawks basically have two players off their bench in Pachulia and Childress and they out played the Celtics entire bench in game 6.  The Celtics need the bench to step up and produce when the starters get a rest. 

Game Notes  The Hawks have a link on their website to purchase round 2 tickets.   That may be the equivalent of Tommy's story about the Lakers having the champagne and balloons ready to celebrate on their court and the Celtics determined to win because of it.

The Celtics must get their team defense back.  How the Celtics could be the best defensive team in the league during the regular season, winning big games both on the road and at home with their defense and then completely forget how to play defense on the road in the playoffs is beyond me.

The Celtics are the only team to have to go to a game 7.  Every other top seed closed their series out in 4, 5 or 6 games.  If the Celtics do get past the Hawks (which I expect them to do), their struggles with the Hawks have to give their future opponents more confidence that they can beat the Celtics since they have shown decided weaknesses so far in the playoffs. 

Offline ma11l

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I truly love all of you, this will not be the end of this season's journey together.  I believe in this team, this city, and these fans.  Alright I'm done being emotional for now, until tomorrow at 1.  Let's do it Celts.
"Take this down," said O'Neal. "My name is Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce is the (expletive) truth. Quote me on that and don't take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn't know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth."

Offline dark_lord

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i will be there. i am already prepared to come home without a voice ;D

Offline BASSTHUMPER

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ride or die...celtic's for life...ya heard me...?..

Offline bstnsportsfan3

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i have to work  :( i can't believe that its not at like 8et which would be 7 here in dallas....i work 9-6 and this game starts at 12 local time...which means no celtics game for me :(
"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals"-Larry Bird

Offline ma11l

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3:30 in the morning.  I can't sleep and all I have to do is watch.  I hope our boys are snug in their beds, while the Hawks are tossing and turning in that hotel worrying about the wrath of the crowd they're going to have to face tomorrow. 
"Take this down," said O'Neal. "My name is Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce is the (expletive) truth. Quote me on that and don't take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn't know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth."

Offline Scott

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i have to work  :( i can't believe that its not at like 8et which would be 7 here in dallas....i work 9-6 and this game starts at 12 local time...which means no celtics game for me :(

I feel your pain, I missed the last two games because I had to work.  Fortunately enough I happen to have tomorrow off.

Offline DutchHoops

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i have to work  :( i can't believe that its not at like 8et which would be 7 here in dallas....i work 9-6 and this game starts at 12 local time...which means no celtics game for me :(

Feel lucky as hell, over here in Holland, Europe. For years all i had was AFN radio on AM to listen to games. Only a few years since payperview allows me to watch live games, but no all the C's games. Now the only game 7 to be aired and 9pm local so i don't have to get up at 2 am and sit thru 2.5 frustrating hours like game 6, which was the FIRST Celtics game off the playoffs they bothered to show. Been hanging on like most here since 86, following every single season, so they best not give up until they hold the title.

Offline Scott

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Quote
For years all i had was AFN radio

You gotta love AFN.  I will be using that again here fairly soon.   

Offline Hrvoje

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Who's gonna go fishin' tonight?

Offline Hrvoje

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Yesterday at TNT Inside they were discussing about Garnett -> how can you be a superstar and not have a at least one big game with 40 pts?

Offline fan33

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Who is going to have a great game

Who is going to meet the challenge

Who wants to win the most

Who loves this game

I love the drama

-Lets GO Get It, Celtics-
"Indefatigable on Defense, defines these Celtics"

Offline Redz

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Yesterday at TNT Inside they were discussing about Garnett -> how can you be a superstar and not have a at least one big game with 40 pts?

I'd rather see the big rebounds than the big points.  Give me 20 boards from KG and I'll guarantee a Celtics victory. Then again they'd probably do OK if he scored 40 too.  Just to be safe maybe he should do both ;D
Yup

Offline Bankshot

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Yesterday at TNT Inside they were discussing about Garnett -> how can you be a superstar and not have a at least one big game with 40 pts?

I don't think he needs to score 40 pts, but he does need to lead his team to victory against the worst team in the playoffs. 
"If somebody would have told you when he was playing with the Knicks that Nate Robinson was going to change a big time game and he was going to do it mostly because of his defense, somebody would have got slapped."  Mark Jackson

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Redz, I agree.  Rebounding and defense are going to be key in this game, not offense.