Celtics (3-2) at Hawks (2-3) Round 1 Game #6 4/27/23

[RJ87]

Young is not overrated. He gained even more respect from me as that series went on.

Trae was Curry-esque in their two victories. He’s a legit star.

Don't get me wrong, Trae's a great offensive talent (his defense is trash), but it's interesting to me how we can be so quick to give props to opposing players in losses. Trae had a few good games this series, but he went 1 for 12 in the second half of an elimination game. Imagine if Jayson went 1 for 12 in an elimination game that we lost. People would be questioning his heart and fire and killer instinct. This place would burn to the ground.

But he also basically single-handedly kept their season alive the game before. He’s a good player. Is he a number 1 on a contender? Probably not. But he’s got a great attitude (he was smiling all game long, even when the game was decided… and gushing over Quin Snyder) and seems to genuinely love playing for the city of Atlanta.

He’s already made an importable run to the ECF and just beat the almighty Butler last week. Then extended the Celtics further than anyone really expected. He’s not perfect, but he’s a good player and easy to root for.

He's got a great attitude? There's been talk for years about his lack of leadership and approach in the locker room. Just a few weeks ago, Shams was talking about sources saying the Hawks want to monitor how he approaches this offseason before making a decision on his future with the franchise (https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-monitoring-trae-youngs-behavior-uncertain-future). He also left during a shootaround before a game because he had disagreement with Coach McMillan, left the arena, and missed the game that night. Because he was mad at his coach. That was just this season.

It's just amazing to me how easy this fanbase falls and swoons over other teams' stars while holding ours to completely different standards.

[ozgod]

Winning cures everything guise

At least for tonight 

At least till the next loss 

But we deserve to celebrate this win [dang it] 

[ozgod]

if this team would play like they did the final 2.5 minutes, they’d be unstoppable. more of this, please.

Amen!

It's probably statistically impossible to do that...but all we can hope is we have more periods where we play at max intensity and performance than the other team, and that our bad periods are shorter and not as bad as the other team's, and they don't happen at critical times (e.g. the end of the game)...if we can do that I think we will win more often than not 

[ozgod]

Young is not overrated. He gained even more respect from me as that series went on.

Trae was Curry-esque in their two victories. He’s a legit star.

Don't get me wrong, Trae's a great offensive talent (his defense is trash), but it's interesting to me how we can be so quick to give props to opposing players in losses. Trae had a few good games this series, but he went 1 for 12 in the second half of an elimination game. Imagine if Jayson went 1 for 12 in an elimination game that we lost. People would be questioning his heart and fire and killer instinct. This place would burn to the ground.

But he also basically single-handedly kept their season alive the game before. He’s a good player. Is he a number 1 on a contender? Probably not. But he’s got a great attitude (he was smiling all game long, even when the game was decided… and gushing over Quin Snyder) and seems to genuinely love playing for the city of Atlanta.

He’s already made an importable run to the ECF and just beat the almighty Butler last week. Then extended the Celtics further than anyone really expected. He’s not perfect, but he’s a good player and easy to root for.

He's got a great attitude? There's been talk for years about his lack of leadership and approach in the locker room. Just a few weeks ago, Shams was talking about sources saying the Hawks want to monitor how he approaches this offseason before making a decision on his future with the franchise (https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-monitoring-trae-youngs-behavior-uncertain-future). He also left during a shootaround before a game because he had disagreement with Coach McMillan, left the arena, and missed the game that night. Because he was mad at his coach. That was just this season.

It's just amazing to me how easy this fanbase falls and swoons over other teams' stars while holding ours to completely different standards.

I think that's all fanbases though RJ...if you go to every team's Reddit or forums you will find posts slagging off their players and wishing they had a JT or a JB or a Smart. Grass is always greener syndrome in a way, or put another way, familiarity breeds contempt. We're much more invested in our players than others, so we hold them to a much higher standard I suppose.

[Sophomore]

Shoutout to JB for the series:
26.7 PPG, on 61.4% TS%
5.3 RPG
3.0 APG
1.2 SPG
0.5 BPG

JKJB.

[cman88]

Let's not forget that these hawks beat the Heat team that knocked off the bucks

The emotions in the GDT from when the game was tied until the huge run at the end is pretty funny to watch. Goes from trade everyone! Fire the coach! This season is over! To tommy points for everyone, run to banner 18!

Granted I was nervous as well

[PAOBoston]

They actually tried on defense for 2.5 mins and put the game away.

[Somebody]

I have no idea why Tatum is being compared to Melo - they play nothing alike even though Tatum might not be the most resilient offensive player in the playoffs.

Also not sure why Butler is under the microscope - this is a guy who's had amazing playoff runs in three of the past four years:

'19-'20: made NBA Finals, 21.75 points, 5.9 assists per 75, 61.6% TS (up from 58.5% in the RS)
'20-'21: lost in 1st round, 13.7 points, 6.6 assists per 75, 39.4% TS (down from 60.7% in the RS)
'21-'22: made ECF, 28.3 points (!), 4.7 assists per 75, 60.4% TS (up from 59.2% in the RS)
'22-'23: beat the 1st seed, 35.6 points (!!!), 4.6 assists per 75, 67.1% TS (up from 64.7% in the RS)

His abysmal run in '21 only lasted for four games, so the weighted average of his four runs is far more closer to the runs where he was good in than the one where he crapped the bed. I don't see the need to bring down Butler to protect Tatum by doing mental gymnastics about how he's a 'lunch-pail guy who's aesthetically appealing to the masses even when he's playing poorly' - this is just as bad as the Twitter memes about Tatum 'shrinking when the lights get bright'. Butler is just straight up a better playoff performer and that's fine, it doesn't make Tatum a bad player.

[Kernewek]

I have no idea why Tatum is being compared to Melo - they play nothing alike even though Tatum might not be the most resilient offensive player in the playoffs.

Also not sure why Butler is under the microscope - this is a guy who's had amazing playoff runs in three of the past four years:

'19-'20: made NBA Finals, 21.75 points, 5.9 assists per 75, 61.6% TS (up from 58.5% in the RS)
'20-'21: lost in 1st round, 13.7 points, 6.6 assists per 75, 39.4% TS (down from 60.7% in the RS)
'21-'22: made ECF, 28.3 points (!), 4.7 assists per 75, 60.4% TS (up from 59.2% in the RS)
'22-'23: beat the 1st seed, 35.6 points (!!!), 4.6 assists per 75, 67.1% TS (up from 64.7% in the RS)

His abysmal run in '21 only lasted for four games, so the weighted average of his four runs is far more closer to the runs where he was good in than the one where he crapped the bed. I don't see the need to bring down Butler to protect Tatum by doing mental gymnastics about how he's a 'lunch-pail guy who's aesthetically appealing to the masses even when he's playing poorly' - this is just as bad as the Twitter memes about Tatum 'shrinking when the lights get bright'. Butler is just straight up a better playoff performer and that's fine, it doesn't make Tatum a bad player.

This would be a very good post if it were contextually accurate, or in the right thread.

[Somebody]

I have no idea why Tatum is being compared to Melo - they play nothing alike even though Tatum might not be the most resilient offensive player in the playoffs.

Also not sure why Butler is under the microscope - this is a guy who's had amazing playoff runs in three of the past four years:

'19-'20: made NBA Finals, 21.75 points, 5.9 assists per 75, 61.6% TS (up from 58.5% in the RS)
'20-'21: lost in 1st round, 13.7 points, 6.6 assists per 75, 39.4% TS (down from 60.7% in the RS)
'21-'22: made ECF, 28.3 points (!), 4.7 assists per 75, 60.4% TS (up from 59.2% in the RS)
'22-'23: beat the 1st seed, 35.6 points (!!!), 4.6 assists per 75, 67.1% TS (up from 64.7% in the RS)

His abysmal run in '21 only lasted for four games, so the weighted average of his four runs is far more closer to the runs where he was good in than the one where he crapped the bed. I don't see the need to bring down Butler to protect Tatum by doing mental gymnastics about how he's a 'lunch-pail guy who's aesthetically appealing to the masses even when he's playing poorly' - this is just as bad as the Twitter memes about Tatum 'shrinking when the lights get bright'. Butler is just straight up a better playoff performer and that's fine, it doesn't make Tatum a bad player.

This would be a very good post if it were contextually accurate, or in the right thread.

What being away from the forums for a long time does to you

There's also no need to get snarky about how this post 'misses context', your post was unfair to Butler and I called you out for it . There is no world where a finals and ECF run in three years with the fourth year yielding a strong upset against the #1 seed 'a lack of success' - that's arguably better than what we've had in the same time period!

[Kernewek]

I have no idea why Tatum is being compared to Melo - they play nothing alike even though Tatum might not be the most resilient offensive player in the playoffs.

Also not sure why Butler is under the microscope - this is a guy who's had amazing playoff runs in three of the past four years:

'19-'20: made NBA Finals, 21.75 points, 5.9 assists per 75, 61.6% TS (up from 58.5% in the RS)
'20-'21: lost in 1st round, 13.7 points, 6.6 assists per 75, 39.4% TS (down from 60.7% in the RS)
'21-'22: made ECF, 28.3 points (!), 4.7 assists per 75, 60.4% TS (up from 59.2% in the RS)
'22-'23: beat the 1st seed, 35.6 points (!!!), 4.6 assists per 75, 67.1% TS (up from 64.7% in the RS)

His abysmal run in '21 only lasted for four games, so the weighted average of his four runs is far more closer to the runs where he was good in than the one where he crapped the bed. I don't see the need to bring down Butler to protect Tatum by doing mental gymnastics about how he's a 'lunch-pail guy who's aesthetically appealing to the masses even when he's playing poorly' - this is just as bad as the Twitter memes about Tatum 'shrinking when the lights get bright'. Butler is just straight up a better playoff performer and that's fine, it doesn't make Tatum a bad player.

This would be a very good post if it were contextually accurate, or in the right thread.

What being away from the forums for a long time does to you

There's also no need to get snarky about how this post 'misses context', your post was unfair to Butler and I called you out for it . There is no world where a finals and ECF run in three years with the fourth year yielding a strong upset against the #1 seed 'a lack of success' - that's arguably better than what we've had in the same time period!

Not being snarky, but I really do think you're missing the context of my post re:Butler with regards to the thread in question. He's a fine basketball player. He's had a good run in Miami.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Let's not forget that these hawks beat the Heat team that knocked off the bucks

The emotions in the GDT from when the game was tied until the huge run at the end is pretty funny to watch. Goes from trade everyone! Fire the coach! This season is over! To tommy points for everyone, run to banner 18!

Granted I was nervous as well

we won in spite of this coach. he has huge holes in his game.

[Celtics2021]

That's a really good team we just beat.

Expect them to trade Collins and picks for an upgrade.

Top 4 team next year.

They’re a bit low on picks to trade, having given up 3 + a swap for Murray.  They have a curious off-season ahead of them.  They’re in line to be about $9 million over the tax if all they do is sign minimum salary players, and they clearly had a no-tax goal this past season.  I don’t see them making any major moves.  We’ll see if Quin Snyder is able to get long-term buy-in from the team or if it was a two-month aberration.  We saw this a couple of years ago where McMillan came in mid-season and got them to the conference finals.  He lasted only 2 years, and they’re back in the same place, but this time they lost in the first round.

We’ll see if next year is the year they turn it on for 82 games, but I’m not convinced.  They have a lot of talent — the question has always been how that talent plays on the court.

[SHAQATTACK]

Let's not forget that these hawks beat the Heat team that knocked off the bucks

The emotions in the GDT from when the game was tied until the huge run at the end is pretty funny to watch. Goes from trade everyone! Fire the coach! This season is over! To tommy points for everyone, run to banner 18!

Granted I was nervous as well

we won in spite of this coach. he has huge holes in his game.

I know you miss n ya boy Udoka ,  so do I ,  but we gots whut we got . 

Players need to think for themselves and pull their rears together

We gonna hav to get it done in spite of his small coaching IQ

[Vermont Green]

That's a really good team we just beat.

Expect them to trade Collins and picks for an upgrade.

Top 4 team next year.

They’re a bit low on picks to trade, having given up 3 + a swap for Murray.  They have a curious off-season ahead of them.  They’re in line to be about $9 million over the tax if all they do is sign minimum salary players, and they clearly had a no-tax goal this past season.  I don’t see them making any major moves.  We’ll see if Quin Snyder is able to get long-term buy-in from the team or if it was a two-month aberration.  We saw this a couple of years ago where McMillan came in mid-season and got them to the conference finals.  He lasted only 2 years, and they’re back in the same place, but this time they lost in the first round.

We’ll see if next year is the year they turn it on for 82 games, but I’m not convinced.  They have a lot of talent — the question has always been how that talent plays on the court.

I agree, their big change was a new coach.

They have the ingredients to be a good team.  Collins is their issue.  Is he the 20/10, fringe all star he was just a couple of seasons ago or is he the 13/6, soft on defense guy he has been the last season or so.  If Snyder can figure out Collins, get him back to playing a productive role, ATL should be right in the mix next season.  Not sure trading Collins will help, what can they get back?  Better if they can fix him.