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

[boscel33]

Health Health Health!

Why can't this team find it?  Is it cursed?  Bird, McHale, Bias, Lewis, Romeo, Brown, etc.

For some reason, this team can't find long term health to save it's life and yes, once again, Brown goes down.  They're not going anywhere unless they are healthy.  Hopefully, his ankle sprain isn't severe and he misses too much time, heck playoffs start in just over a month!

[LilRip]

Just watched the game on league pass. Really sad to see JB get hurt. But what a defensive stand! Holding Trae and the Hawks below 100!

Despite being down the first half, I actually thought the defense wasn’t the worst (I’d even say a little better than average). The problem was 1) the Hawks made a few tough shots, 2) the C’s live ball turnovers were really bad, and 3) once you give a team layups, it snowballs as they get comfy out there and start to make shots, even contested ones.

C’s took it to another level in the 2nd half though. Tatum was the best player out there, clearly

[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.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

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?

[Wretch]

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.

[Celtics2021]

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.

[Celtics2021]

Didn't mean to post twice, but I'll fix that and say I really liked how resilient the team was after getting down early when Jaylen got hurt.  They could have just said "Oh no, another injury, we're cursed," but they really regrouped in the second half.  Glad I didn't turn it off at the break.

[wdleehi]

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.

He looks like a guy who doesn't play much that is way to excited when he does play.   


He provided good energy and defense.  He attacked the lane and passed out.   


IF his shots start to fall, he does have value out there. 

[nickagneta]

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.

[Celtics2021]

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 +/-.

[Neurotic Guy]

The Atlanta game showed me how tenuous my belief in this team still is.  The first half (especially after the struggles with Detroit and the embarrassment at Indy) had me pretty convinced that the win streak was an extended fluke -- as the C's were getting healthy their opponents were either not very good or lacking key players.  Excited as I was before the ASG, I can see that I am ready to become a non-believer pretty quickly.   

Thank goodness for that 2nd half.  The fact that they simply crushed it in the first 4 minutes and then maintained intensity and ultimately extended the lead -- what a relief.  The Atlanta/Memphis/Nets games are yet another barometer for this team, and having got by the Hawks with that display in the 2nd half I feel much better going forward.  Hoping for but not expecting a win v. Memphis - especially without JB.  This team still has room to grow over the next 18 games.  Hope they can stay healthy and make a statement in the playoffs.

[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.

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.

[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

[Atzar]

The Hawks are below .500 this season, and their defense is why. 

I felt like the second Grant Williams three with 3:15 left was the dagger.  They sent a double at Tatum... Hunter and Bogdanovic.  The double isn't nearly aggressive enough, but at least Hunter is making an effort.  Trae Young was sagging way off of Pritchard in the weakside corner... that's fine, that's a difficult pass to make.  Huerter is similarly sagging off of Smart, one pass away at the top of the key.  Less fine, but Hunter covers him by disrupting the passing lane.  After Grant occupies the playside corner, Gallinari is forced to pull double-duty - he has to cover Rob in the paint while also being ready to close out to Grant, and he just doesn't have the footspeed to do that.  He winds up in no-man's-land between the two, not taking either away.  Still, I want to highlight one thing - this might have still worked out for them had Bogdanovic been doing his job, defending Tatum aggressively and disrupting passing lanes.  Instead, he's just sort of... standing there, not doing anything.  The pass to the corner is easier than it should have been and Grant turns the lights out. 

Part of this is personnel, and part of this is effort.  No amount of voodoo magic is turning Gallinari into a good defender at this point in his career.  But watching Bogdanovic do nothing on the double team was actually painful.  That just isn't the effort a team needs out of its guys in crunch time.

[Celtics2021]

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).