Celtics (4-10) at Hawks (8-5) Game 15 11/23

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (4-10) at Atlanta Hawks (8-5)
Saturday, November 23, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Game #15 Road Game #9
TV: CSNNE, SPSO, NBA-LP 757(DTV), 753/754(Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WQXI, WBZ
Philips Arena


Probable Starting Lineups
Point Guard
vs
Jordan Crawford vs Jeff Teague

Shooting Guard
vs
Avery Bradley vs Kyle Korver

Small Forward
vs
Jeff Green vs Demarre Carroll

Power Forward
vs
Brandon Bass vs Paul Millsap

Center

Vitor Faverani vs Al Horford 




Celtics Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Kris Humphries
Phil Pressey
Courtney Lee
Gerald Wallace

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (ACL)out
Keith Bogans (illness) questionable
Kelly Olynyk (ankle) questionable
Jared Sullinger (under the weather) questionable


Hawks Reserves
John Jenkins
Mike Scott
Cartier Martin
Gustavo Ayon
Shelvin Mack
Pero Antic
Elton Brand
Dennis Shroder
Jared Cunningham
Louis Williams

Injuries
None

Key Matchups
vs
Brandon Bass vs Paul Millsap
It will be strange to see the Hawks without Josh Smith but Paul Millsap is playing very well for them, averaging 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.  With Kelly Olynyk rolling his ankle and Jared Sullinger under the weather, it's not certain who the Celtics will start in the front court.  Either Brandon Bass or Jared Sullinger will have to contain Millsap and also have to make him work on defense.


Vitor Faverani vs Al Horford
Once again, the Celtics front court may be Sullinger/Olynyk or Bass/Faverani, or maybe even another pairing.  Horford is a force inside and is averaging 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and whoever starts at center will have his hands full.

Game Notes
After just one game at home, the Celtics are back on the road to take on the Hawks in Atlanta.  This is the first of 4 games between these two teams.  The Celtics would love to hand the Hawks a loss for more reasons than one. 

First and foremost, the Celtics have lost 6 in a row and they very much need a win.  Second, the Celtics will more than likely get the Hawks pick in the 2014 draft from the Nets trade and handing them another loss may just move them up a spot. 

The Celtics are 2-6 on the road, while the Hawks have been playing well at home with a 4-1 record at Philips Arena.  Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and both teams had to travel to get to this game. The Celtics are in the midst of playing 5 games in 5 cities in 7 nights, which is brutal for a young team just trying to find their way.

The starting front court is up in the air for this one.  Brad Stevens liked the Sullinger/Olynyk combination and went with them two games in a row.  But, Olynyk rolled his ankle in the Pacers game and didn't return for the second half.  Kyle Draper described Sully as "under the weather" and said that he is also questionable for this game. 

Keys to the Game
Take Care of the Ball- The Celtics turned the ball over 21 times vs the Pacers and the turnovers was one of the reasons that the Celtics couldn't hold their lead in the second half.  They must focus on their passes and not give extra possessions to their opponents. 

Rebound the Ball - The Celtics were out rebounded by 10 vs the Pacers.  They must crash the boards to keep the Hawks from getting second chance points and also fast break points.  Much of rebounding is effort and desire and the Celtics must have more of both against the Hawks if they want to win this.

Move the Ball The Celtics had just 11 assists in the loss to the Pacers.  They did great in the first half moving the ball and they went into half time with a lead.  But in the second half, the ball seemed to stick and they stopped moving the ball, and they lost the lead.  They have to move the ball and find the open man.

Run! - The Celtics have to run on made baskets, on missed baskets, every time up the court.  They are not a very good half court team but when they run, they get easy baskets and are able to get into the paint.  They have to run and move the ball up the court quickly.  Again, they ran in the first half and built a lead.  In the second half, they slowed it down and started to walk the ball up the court and over-dribble. 

X-Factors
Fatigue and Focus
Both teams are playing in back to back games, but the Celtics are in the midst of 5 games in 5 different cities in 7 nights, which is a brutal stretch for any team.  Fatigue may be starting to set in. Also, they seem to lose focus as the game goes on.  Can they keep their focus for 48 minutes and get the win?  [/center}

[BudweiserCeltic]

Finally, a game that those that want us to lose will be forced to root for us.

[Who]

I think this is one of those matchups where Faverani won't play much. Millsap and Horford are quick and too skilledaway from the basket. Brad Stevens has seemed reluctant to play Faverani against those types of threats. So it'll probably be one of the others.

I don't if Olynyk is going to be fit but even if he is, I don't think he'll be the best option against either player (Horford or Millsap). Both guys seem too well-equipped to take advantage of Oly's weak man-to-man defense.

Sullinger appears to be the best option against Horford. The best blend of muscle, quickness and defensive discipline. Bass is probably the best against Millsap. I am thinking Humphries gets some more minutes here too.

[beklog]

No KO and Sully...
This will be a FAVilicious game for Hump and Bass

[makaveli]

nice chance for Kris to showcase. I can't see us winning this one, except Green goes for 25+ points

[DesertDweller]

It would seem by the amount of interest generated by last night's Pacer game that we have finally gotten rid of the "fair weather" fans that are only around if the C's are guaranteed to make the finals. they don't even seem interested if the team could make the playoffs, that's even below them!!!
Doesn't take much to see what went wrong with last night's game, one just has to look at the third quarter output of 8 points. that's the same period that crawford decided to show us his Bob Cousy skills while everyone else just stood around doing absolutely nothing. all the good ball movement we had in the first half came to an abrupt stand still and this is the one thing the Celtics have not learned...YOU CAN NOT TAKE EVEN ONE QUARTER OFF  especially against a team like the Pacers!!!
Bradley and Crawford...too many turnovers even though Crawford had a great game, it's those little things that kill us.
Faverani has lost some of his aggresiveness and makes too many mistakes under the basket.
Another tough game tonight versus the Hawks especially if Sully and Kelly are out.

[sed522002]

I finally get a chance to see Dennis Shroder play.

[Celtics18]

I finally get a chance to see Dennis Shroder play.

Unfortunately, maybe not.  He looks to have been dropped from Atlanta's rotation recently. 

[Celtics18]

It would seem by the amount of interest generated by last night's Pacer game that we have finally gotten rid of the "fair weather" fans that are only around if the C's are guaranteed to make the finals. they don't even seem interested if the team could make the playoffs, that's even below them!!!
Doesn't take much to see what went wrong with last night's game, one just has to look at the third quarter output of 8 points. that's the same period that crawford decided to show us his Bob Cousy skills while everyone else just stood around doing absolutely nothing. all the good ball movement we had in the first half came to an abrupt stand still and this is the one thing the Celtics have not learned...YOU CAN NOT TAKE EVEN ONE QUARTER OFF  especially against a team like the Pacers!!!
Bradley and Crawford...too many turnovers even though Crawford had a great game, it's those little things that kill us.
Faverani has lost some of his aggresiveness and makes too many mistakes under the basket.
Another tough game tonight versus the Hawks especially if Sully and Kelly are out.

No need for the "fair weather fans" nonsense. 

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

LET'S GO CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Finally, a game that those that want us to lose will be forced to root for us.

I have only seen one guy openly root for us to lose in the in-game threads.

But carry on!

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

It would seem by the amount of interest generated by last night's Pacer game that we have finally gotten rid of the "fair weather" fans that are only around if the C's are guaranteed to make the finals. they don't even seem interested if the team could make the playoffs, that's even below them!!!
Doesn't take much to see what went wrong with last night's game, one just has to look at the third quarter output of 8 points. that's the same period that crawford decided to show us his Bob Cousy skills while everyone else just stood around doing absolutely nothing. all the good ball movement we had in the first half came to an abrupt stand still and this is the one thing the Celtics have not learned...YOU CAN NOT TAKE EVEN ONE QUARTER OFF  especially against a team like the Pacers!!!
Bradley and Crawford...too many turnovers even though Crawford had a great game, it's those little things that kill us.
Faverani has lost some of his aggresiveness and makes too many mistakes under the basket.
Another tough game tonight versus the Hawks especially if Sully and Kelly are out.

I just had a couple exchanges in last night's thread concerning this. Some seem to feel that only the pro-wantustolose people show up in the threads now(which is preposterous) when it is quite the opposite in my opinion as you have stated. Sure there are exceptions but the number of posters in the game threads has gone down considerably and I stated as much last night.

I have only seen one guy openly state he wants us to lose in any game thread here. ONE!

[hpantazo]

Attack Kyle Korver all night long!!

[timobusa]

Rondo finally sees his twin tonight. lol

[hwangjini_1]

No sully?!? What the heck does "under the weather" mean? Was he out late and partying? Does warm weather bother him?

No Olly either! Geez, this game is going to be a tough one to watch. I was hoping to beat Atlanta and help the celtics' draft selection. 

But in any case, as always.....

Gooooo celtics!