The reasons why Celtics won Game 2

[OsirusCeltics]

-From the opening tip when he first scored, Paul Pierce set the tone for the whole game. Since Rondo and Ray were out, He put the team on his back offensively.

-But the Hawks were dominating basically the first 3 quarters. All the players were shooting 3's and Jeff Teague was playing out of his mind. Not to mention, Paul Pierce has having a horrible 3rd quarter. Just looked tired out there, Doc needed to sit him

-What turned the tide that was underrated was KG's performance in the 3rd quarter. He dominated offensively in the paint either by scoring in the post or drawing fouls. Which was critical because it also gave a rest to Paul Pierce

-The 4th quarter was by far the best defensive quarter in the entire series. Took the Hawks totally out of rhythm. Got all of the defensive rebounds, and contested without fouling. And the Truth capped it off with a dunk on the fast break and that clutch 3 pointer in transition. And scoring a bucket whenever the Celtics needed it

I loved how the Hawks stopped playing defense with less than a minute to go when they were in striking distance. Really symbolic that Celtics have the mental edge in this series

[LeoMoreno]

I said this before and I'm saying it again, the Celtics are the most exciting team to watch because they make you cry sometimes and then bring you out of bed/chair, screaming in joy.

Jump shots don't work, finding open guys doesn't work, posting up doesn't work, so what do we do? Go to the bucket and then to the line. Incredible. The C's haven't done that all season long. Actually I don't remember them doing it last season either. It just goes out to show how incredible this team is, how much intelligence flows through these guys.

[OsirusCeltics]

I said this before and I'm saying it again, the Celtics are the most exciting team to watch because they make you cry sometimes and then bring you out of bed/chair, screaming in joy.

Jump shots don't work, finding open guys doesn't work, posting up doesn't work, so what do we do? Go to the bucket and then to the line. Incredible. The C's haven't done that all season long. Actually I don't remember them doing it last season either. It just goes out to show how incredible this team is, how much intelligence flows through these guys.

That is so true. Celtics put me in anguish everytime they play, whether good or bad. The way they play defense, with that passion and team work. Its so inspiring. They got that dog in them. Even when their backs were against the wall, they found a way to win

[mctyson]

I have one reason:  Doc

A lot is being made of Pierce's play last night, and his here-he-goes-again clutch 4th quarter performance.  He deserves praise for that.  But Pierce was AWFUL in the 3rd quarter.  Truly terrible, and that was one of the reasons we got down 11 in the first place (the guy nearly had 3 straight TOs to start the half.)

I thought the play of the game, or the move of the game, went to Doc, who thoroughly schooled Larry Drew.  His benching of Bass and playing of Quise was as shrewd of a move as it gets.  Bass has sucked in this series so far.  He's hit a couple open jumpers, that's it, and without Rondo on the floor his offensive game is worthless.  His strength is also negated by the Atlanta bigs who suck but are not pushovers physically.  Bass couldn't get anything easy in the post.  Since he is not an amazing defender or rebounder, without the O he becomes expendable.

The lineup of Bradley, Pietrus, Quise, Pierce, and KG won us the game.  I think Pierce was technically playing the 4 here.  Drew had no answer.  Doc called him out with this lineup.  There was plenty of time for Atlanta to figure out how to attack this group but they could not get it done.  They could not.  Their coach simply had nothing.

Now Doc could put Quise on the floor in lieu of Bass because we have Pierce (and KG) in the 4th quarter.  Doc basically said:  we are finishing and winning this game with defense, so Paul you have to win it on offense for us.  And of course he did, as he has so many times.
 
Really just a great move by Doc, on a day he doesn't finish in the top 4 for Coach of the Year.

[2short]

I have one reason:  Doc

A lot is being made of Pierce's play last night, and his here-he-goes-again clutch 4th quarter performance.  He deserves praise for that.  But Pierce was AWFUL in the 3rd quarter.  Truly terrible, and that was one of the reasons we got down 11 in the first place (the guy nearly had 3 straight TOs to start the half.)

I thought the play of the game, or the move of the game, went to Doc, who thoroughly schooled Larry Drew.  His benching of Bass and playing of Quise was as shrewd of a move as it gets.  Bass has sucked in this series so far.  He's hit a couple open jumpers, that's it, and without Rondo on the floor his offensive game is worthless.  His strength is also negated by the Atlanta bigs who suck but are not pushovers physically.  Bass couldn't get anything easy in the post.  Since he is not an amazing defender or rebounder, without the O he becomes expendable.

The lineup of Bradley, Pietrus, Quise, Pierce, and KG won us the game.  I think Pierce was technically playing the 4 here.  Drew had no answer.  Doc called him out with this lineup.  There was plenty of time for Atlanta to figure out how to attack this group but they could not get it done.  They could not.  Their coach simply had nothing.

Now Doc could put Quise on the floor in lieu of Bass because we have Pierce (and KG) in the 4th quarter.  Doc basically said:  we are finishing and winning this game with defense, so Paul you have to win it on offense for us.  And of course he did, as he has so many times.
 
Really just a great move by Doc, on a day he doesn't finish in the top 4 for Coach of the Year.

tp  this is one of the more thoughtful posts i've read in a bit!  of course compared to the trade rondo, ray sucks threads ahhhh
right on about bass, he isn't at 100% but really needs to do more for us, hollins (yes hollins) comes in and is boxing his man out really well, maybe he isn't getting the rebounds but his man isn't either, bass needs to do better work on defense and rebounding, as you put without rondo getting him really open looks he is pretty average so he needs to put high effort into rebounding and defending, its the little things that win series
tip of the hat to doc

[hpantazo]

Doc is the reason, and he got robbed of the coach of the year award yesterday.

[RyNye]

Doc is the reason, and he got robbed of the coach of the year award yesterday.

Meh, Popovich definitely deserved it more, because he pulled season-long sustained success out of his ass, while Doc only pulled post-All Star break success out of his ass.

Doc definitely should have been second, though, tied with Thibby. Hollins and Vogel getting more votes is just criminal.

[CelticG1]

KG was absolutely huge on defense too which allowed for Docs move. He was basically helping every guy on the court while guarding his man. He played it to perfection. Didn't over help and just kept clogging up the paint in the 4th.

[Fafnir]

KG was absolutely huge on defense too which allowed for Docs move. He was basically helping every guy on the court while guarding his man. He played it to perfection. Didn't over help and just kept clogging up the paint in the 4th.

Bass also did a good job of checking Josh Smith, allowing KG to play the less thread defensively and help more.

[jdz101]

We made shots?

[Celtics18]

Defense.

[Chris]

Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Defense.

[SHAQATTACK]

Defense.

  The best teams in the NBA are the ones that play the best Defense.  ie... Celtics, Heat, Lakers, Spurs and Bulls

 

[Fafnir]

Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Defense.

In otherwords
KG
Pierce
KG/Pierce
Pierce
KG
KG/Pierce

[Celtics18]

Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Pierce.
Defense.
Defense.

In otherwords
KG
Pierce
KG/Pierce
Pierce
KG
KG/Pierce

Don't forget to throw in a little Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic, Keyon Dooling, Marquis Daniels, Avery Bradley, Ryan Hollins, Greg Stiemsma, and Brandon Bass.