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Well, this is it…kind of. I don’t see this Hawks team which has won a whopping total of 12 road games all season winning a game 7 in Boston, but it’s going to be pretty pathetic should this series head back to Boston (again). The Celtics need to move the ball better tonight, show some aggressiveness on defense, and step up when the Hawks punch…

6:30 1st Quarter: Celtics hit their 1st 3 shots before going 3 for 9 over the next few minutes.

6:01 1st: Mike Bibby shoots the 5th and 6th FTs for the Hawks already, Celtics haven’t been to the line, this Hawks team just plays a different style, they shoot fewer jump shots and get inside more, it’s not an officiating problem, it’s a different style of play, but it could pay big dividends for the Hawks. On a side note, must this PA guy call out “defense” when the Hawks go on D and the two beat defense music starts? Atlanta fans clearly aren’t dumb enough to not know what to say here.

1:50 1st: An episode of Everybody Loves Raymond that I haven’t seen is on over on TBS, it’s pretty distracting because I’m trying to follow both the plot line of the episode and the game. Now I find out it’s a two parter, and of course the game goes to a time out at the same time the show goes to commercial. 25-20 Celtics.

1:48 1st: very tight shot of Greg Dickerson coming out of the time out, I’m not saying he is a terrible looking guy, but you should only be so close if your third announcer isn’t Stacy Dales or Erin Andrews. Both teams have come out shooting the ball well, 60+% FG both ways. It looks like defensive stops might be at a premium and even more important for the Celtics who had trouble getting defensive stops (and defensive rebounds) and the end of game 4.

1:48 1st: Pierce hits 1 of 2 from the line, Donny Marshall points out Paul is taking longer at the line, seems odd to get out of routine now

0:47 1st: Great work by Leon Powe off a miss by Cassell, again Sam pulls the trigger very quickly, he is frustrating the hell out of me, but Powe had a big time box out on Horford who wasn’t even watching where Leon was…by the by the Celtics have evened the FT attempts at 6 each, and I am trying to bring back the saying “by the by”

0:09 1st: Powe is giving Horford all sorts of trouble, Powe is getting better position and it results in another foul on Horford to try to keep Leon from pulling down the rebound. Pierce was big through the 1st quarter, 11 points, took all good shots except for the last jumper at the top of the key which was forced just a bit. 32-20 Celtics at the end of 1 and now we get more fisticuffs. Sam Cassell had a couple words for Joe Johnson getting physical after the play and the ref banged ‘em both with T’s. Great officiating here, Sam needs to keep his mouth shut.

Post 1st Quarter: now that I think of it, I have seen this two parter of Everybody Loves Raymond and it’s not especially funny…back to the game we go…switching over to ESPN for the 2nd quarter…by the by, 11 technical fouls in this series

11:45 2nd: PJ Brown is into the game and immediately looks old, gets beat, and has to foul…Sam Cassell has a wide open look and misses in the opening seconds, why are these guys good pick-ups?

10:50 2nd: nice turnaround J for Sam on the left baseline, I’ll give credit where it’s due, 34-22 Celtics

10:05 2nd: great defensive possession for the Hawks, were active and pressuring the guards, the result a last second shot by Cassell that rims out, Atlanta turns it into a bucket by Pachulia on the other end and force Doc into a time out, cannot continue to be out-hustled by this team, getting pressure on the guards is huge for Atlanta, if they can keep the Celtics from getting inside, it’s huge advantage Hawks…34-26 Celtics

Cavs up 15 on the Wizards, LeBron on the verge of a triple double, the one 1st round series I predicted correctly, I didn’t give the Hornets enough credit and gave the Suns way too much credit, but Cavs-Wiz…alllll over it

9:15 2nd: Celtics get a hoop on a hook by Leon Powe, but again Cassell doesn’t make an extra pass when the C’s are working the perimeter, instead of swinging it to KG who dumped down to Powe, Sam took a few dribbles and then passed it, luckily the interior D for the Hawks was slow in sliding, or it might have cost the C’s a hoop

8:26 2nd: I LOVE LEON!!…takes a charge, he is the unsung hero thus far, he’s providing help defense and double teams, and making the hustle and intensity plays that are huge against a team like Atlanta..36-26 Cs

6:22 2nd: Pierce took it right at Bibby and drew a foul, good work Paul, play physical, that’s one area the Hawks can’t match up in…Atlanta getting closer, however, 38-32 C’s

4:03 2nd: Pierce draws a lot of contact inside but no foul, back down the other end Mike Bibby does a great job keeping the possession alive off a miss and puts it back up and in…getting close…41-38 Cs…Bibby just had a sweet pass to Pachulia to set up the previous hoop, great couple of plays for him

3:08 2nd: more Mike Bibby, another hoops off an offensive rebound, Pachulia pulled it down this time

2:34 2nd: time out on the floor, wow is this crowd phenomenal…OK, so the Hawks have punched, here is the situation I’ve been talking about, the Celtics needs a firm punch back, don’t let the inferior team believe it can win

Am I a horrible person for saying I really don’t give a rats’ ass what Al Horford’s mom has to say? Wait a second…she has a sports talk radio show?! Maybe I misjudged this chick, she can’t be all bad.

1:03 2nd: again some great ball movement for the C’s, Cassell feeds KG who sends it to a cutting Ray Allen, good to see the Cs go back door…48-45 good guys

Bibby and Horford were tremendous additions to this Hawks team for a lot of reasons, they aren’t going to win this series, but they’ve generated a ton of excitement in Atlanta around this team…already more season ticket sales for next year and 3 packed crowds, including an arena record crowd tonight, in this play-off series

2 free throws and a great 2nd quarter for the Hawks. So much for stepping up the same way the Cs did from 1st to 2nd quarter in game 5, the transition defense broke down in the 2nd and led to too many situations where the Celtics had to foul…Pierce is talking about it now, the Cs need to force more half court possessions…50-49 Celtics at half, 28-19 Hawks in the 2nd quarter…Pierce held to a whopping 1 2nd quarter point.

So I clearly have a short attention span, I got sucked in by that random game show on ABC with Mike Greenberg called Duel…some interesting questions and a cool game concept, it’s a combination of smarts and strategy…anyway 2nd half…

9:15 3rd: big block by Smith inside on KG, he had really get to the ball, 7 straight points for the Cs out of the shoot helps the Cs to a 59-53 lead…”DE-FENSE” said the PA announcer

Duel has a set that’s exactly the same as Who Wants to be a Millionaire?…ABC couldn’t afford a new set? This one guy is playing for half a million bucks against this chick who is trying to deny him the big bucks. The next question is which Stone was a student at the London School of Economics…it’s Mick Jagger, but the chick doesn’t seem to know it…and there’s actually some trash talking going back and forth. Mick is a thinking man, just watch him sing, he thinks on stage. The girl said the answer could be Keith Richards, you have to be kidding me, he would have been the only student at that school banging lines between classes on 3rd world economic theory. The dude wins half a million bucks, and he’s unemployed, gotta love America..so back to the Cs we go…

6:10 3rd: Joe Johnson scores inside, only his 2nd field goal but he is making his impact by taking up a ton of attention and drawing double teams…the Celtics have done well to make him stop his dribble whenever possible on the perimeter and rough him up on his way to the basket…time out on the floor…65-57 Cs

4:57 3rd: announcers ripping the invention of the thunderstick, I couldn’t disagree more, sure people are able to make their own noise, but any loud obnoxious device that can add to the overall wackiness of a crowd is a plus in my mind…not to mention they look like giant hot dogs…good point made on the Songalia foul, had it been LeBron fouling Darius, I doubt there would have been a suspension

4:08 3rd: big dunk off Horford off a nice feed from Bibby…who is dribble driving well and dishing it off…Pierce answers with a 3 back on the other end, can’t give Paul Pierce a look like that…quick 2 for Johnson back the other way…73-67 Celtics

Big throw by Brandon Moss to nail a runner at the plate in this rain delayed Sox affair, but they aren’t the story tonight…77-70 Boston with 1;51 to play in the 3rd

0:55 3rd: KG gets blocked again for about the 3rd time this half, Hawks are trying to make him shoot from mid-range…alley-oop to Josh Childress the other way makes it 79-75 Cs

0:21 3rd: sweet drive by Allen to respond to a Bibby hoop…Josh Childress has a tip in that hits every part of the iron before dropping home…82-79 Celtics after 3…we got a ball game sports fans

11:00 4th: has Doc given up?…what the hell kind of line-up is this…PJ Brown and Cassell on the floor to start the 4th quarter, this is the play-offs, not the time for keeping the same subsitution patterns…PJ Brown commits a foul as I type this…hoop and harm for Al Horford who just flat out beat him on a spin move…PJ Brown cannot play anymore, period…get him out of the game…by the by Hawks lead by 4…88-84

9:31 4th: lay-in for Leon Powe, he’s had a great game off the bench, and the C’s follow that with a good defensive stop

As we get a timeout here, I want to reemphasize my disgust for PJ Brown and Sam Cassell being in the game, Doc is treating this like a mid-March game where the C’s are running out the clock on the regular season. PJ Brown wasn’t a bad addition because he didn’t cost anything, but he just cannot play anymore.

8:25 4th: rise and fire 3 for Bibby, 89-88 Celtics…Bibby has been awesome…WHY IS SAM CASSELL STILL IN THIS F*#$ING GAME!!!!

7:52 4th: Al Horford gets away with a travel and gets fouled so he’s going to the line…again we have to see his mom, I’m really starting to not like his mom…90-89 Hawks

7:07 4th: Hawks are doing a great job defensively, Celtics just had their 3rd possession in the last 4 that ran down to the final seconds on the shot clock and resulted in a bad shot…time out Celtics…down 4…I’m not feeling good about this at all

6:49 4th: seems Marvin Williams shant be playing the rest of this game, he’s got 18 points so that’s a help for the Celtics…I’m sorry but I can’t stand this talk about how Atlanta is a better team than their record indicates…they won 12 road games all season…they are a little better than their record because they got Bibby halfway through the season and Horford improved from early on in the year…but the Hawks aren’t winning this series, the Celtics are losing it

5:55 4th: what an awful possession that was, KG is clueless with the basketball tonight…got an offensive board then threw it away

5:10 4th: action is happening too quickly to type…KG looks horrid tonight…hoop and harm the other way for Childress…Pierce fouls out and then gets a T…so his 7th personal I suppose, way to keep your cool Paul…this is as angry as this team has made me all season

3:42 4th: KG ends a 5 minute scoreless streak for Boston, he can barely get by Pechulia…this is awful, I don’t even want to type anymore…96-93 Hawks…

And the Hawks win 103-100…Ray Allen shooting a 3 at the end there couldn’t have been the shot Doc wanted, KG was terrible tonight, Pierce fouling out hurt, PJ Brown can’t play basketball anymore, and Sam Cassell shouldn’t be in the game in clutch situations, and how does Doc not have something ready to go in case of Bibby hitting 1 of 2 (which he did), that’s the shot the Celtics want? Rajon Rondo taking a contested 27 footer?…are you kidding me?…maybe this team just isn’t ready to win…

All October and November we heard about the problems the Celtics would have: they don’t have a point guard, they’re thin inside, they don’t have experience playing together, no bench…

All regular season, the Celts proved all those unbelievers wrong. Rondo was learning, improving and becoming one of the best young PG in the East, if not the game. Cassell added some depth and House was there for threes…Perkins was a serviceable Center and rarely dominated…the team played like old friends and rarely had jitters while passing the ball with eyes behind their heads and intensity in every regular season game…the bench ruled many games as Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Posey, House and others contributed every game.

So here we are after game four and let’s look:

Point Guard: Rondo was pretty good, not great…shooting 6-16 with 12 dimes and just two turnovers. On offense no complaints at all but defense lacked a bit as his intensity in guarding Mike Bibby stepped down a notch as did his success. In the first half, Cassell was not only not good but made the team worse. Several times he took the ball up the court, didn’t pass and then threw up a brick or turnover. In fact, Doc didn’t even give him much of a chance in the second half instead going with House who, like Sam, didn’t score.

Center: Perkins had his typical 24 minutes on the floor and also was OK, but didn’t control the inside against Al Horford - this was more of an issue in game three. The C’s had plenty of 2nd chances and just couldn’t finish too many times in game four.

Bench: OK so the C’s bench outscored Atlanta’s 13-4. But it was only 13 points…Where’s Tony Allen? Eddie House only 6 minutes and 0 points…Leon Powe just three and Posey had the other ten. There was no boost when these guys came in. In fact the biggest chances were early in quarter one and quarter three when the starters were in.  It’s actually really surprised me we haven’t seen much of TA (about 12 mins in the series) and the way Doc managed this team for like the last 30 games this different rotation may be tough to adjust to.

Jitters: The Celtics did not look like themselves today, especially in the second quarter. One of the Hawks assistants said they had lost their composure. Wow. I think the home crowd should get them going again but this certainly hasn’t been as easy as first thought (and I still think should have been). Once this was close down the stretch, Joe Johnson took over and in a LeBron type of a way wouldn’t be stopped…the key was keeping the ten point lead and that didn’t happen…One loss is OK, two is a concern.

Sit tight folks - Chris and I have some good plans for our big-time playoff preview show that we’ll be putting together tomorrow (Friday). Look for it tomorrow evening and it should be up and ready for the NBA playoffs to kick off. We’ll spend a bunch of time on the Celtics/Hawks matchup and draw in some guests from the Boston and Atlanta Media. And of course we’ll peruse the other Eastern and exciting Western Conference first round matchups.

In the meantime, let’s go Bruins! And Red Sox cast is up and running - you can reach it by the drop down menu at the top of our page. For those interested in the NBA or NHL playoffs, our network has podcasts for the Spurs (saspurscast.com), Pistons (pistonscast.com), Rangers (nyrangerscast.com) and Devils (devilscast.com).

Cheers

If you missed Tuesday’s game the Pistons played at Minnesota, check this out. Could you see Doc Rivers doing this against a woeful team like the T’wolves? I don’t think so and I can’t remember a team doing this so obviously so as to deactivate three starters but hey what the heck? That being said, I don’t want to see KG, Pierce and Allen or whoever on the bench for entire games. What’s a bigger risk - getting out of a shooting groove or severe injury? It seems every injury the Celts have had this year, Doc has said ‘if it were the playoffs, he probably would have played’. Give my vote to play 20-25 minutes a game regardless of clinching or the opponent.

27

27-4 in the first quarter, 20 point lead at halftime, Heat held to fewest field goals in a game in the shot clock era. And importantly look at the picture and see who you can find: all the three big guys getting plenty of rest in a game they probably didn’t need to play at all. Doc gave them all minutes in the 20’s and this game was as dull as it should have been - just crush the Heat. The embarrassing for the league level Heat. Chris and I had a discussion about tanking a week back on his radio show in Boston about bad NBA teams tanking and how it doesn’t really happen as much in other sports as it does in basketball. But Miami’s just taking it to another level with a few weeks to go. The Heat should give fans refunds everywhere they go. Anyways, on to the next one. I guess this is playing out the string in a good way.

Cheers!

Hey Guys - well I’ve got nothing to do on a Wednesday evening besides watching the C’s so I guess I’ll do some live thinking and see what you think. Feel free to post a comment at the base of this post or send an email to hosts@celticscast.com and I’ll make a shot to respond in a timely manner.

Our starting lineups no surprises: Celtics: PG Rondo, SG R. Allen, SF Pierce, PF Garnett, C Perkins

       Suns: PG Nash, SG Raja Bell, SF Grant Hill, PF Amare Stoudamire, C Shaq. It’s the same deal as the team’s first meeting which obviously didn’t go well. Leon only played 4+ minutes in that game - I’d expect more tonight despite the tough matchups inside.

7:03: I’ll be sticking with the ESPN broadcast today after Mike & Tommy vs. the Sixers didn’t really work out. We’re reminded that the C’s have lost two straight and two straight at home…I guess it’s a good time to turn that around. Also Steve Nash is shooting 67% from three over the last six games…yes change go change… The studio crew says Chris Webber will be remembered as one of the “best forwards of his time”. Personally, Duncan, Pippen, Kobe, even Pierce are ahead of CWebb - no way Webber’s a hall of famer.

7:10 Apparently Stephon Marbury is to blame for KG being so physical with Stoudamire (which has gone on for more than just that game in PHX)…Ric Bucher strong start from the sidelines.

7:15 6-4 C’s 2 minutes in; C’s first three possessions were all quick shots, pushing the ball ahead to leave Shaq behind - it’s worked. Meanwhile, Stoudamire has “blown by” (Hubie Davis’ words, not mine) Garnett twice for 4 points, 2 from the line after a Perk foul.

17-10, 5:33 left 1st qtr; Well KG’s already out because of two fouls. The Suns are going to Amare and Shaq almost every possession and it’s working somewhat. Shaq’s had killer position twice for easy buckets. Meanwhile, KG was dominant on the offensive end with 8 points in 6 minutes. Alas, he won’t be in for awhile. Leon Powe replaced him…Rondo’s holding his own agains Nash a good sign…Side note: if you had a “sven” as your alarm clock, wouldn’t you end up throwing something at him at least once a week? Also, don’t they already have “svens?” They’re called butlers - have they been replaced?

25-16 C’s, under 3 mins left 1st qtr; Celts are killing on the glass (10-4) as Amare isn’t trying as hard to rebound as Perk, KG and Powe…Amare’s got 10 points - they’re legit…”the first home game after a road trip is another road game” - Hubie Davis said it, Tommy disagreed the other day (not directly, just happened to broach same topic). I’ll weigh in and agree with Davis. When you arrive at 3 or 4 AM home and have a game the next day (or in the NBA even the following day), it’s the road routine. Your sleep schedule is on the road schedule, your practice schedule likely is too and in that respect it is, the people cheering for you is not as big of a deal…Doc had some great sound talking with a ref about a Perk foul “let me hit you in the stomach and we’ll see if your hands go down” - in a smiling joking manner but that argument could sway the refs the rest of the way.

30-16, under 2 mins left 1st qtr; C’s have 12 buckets in the paint! (of 13 FG)…clearly not afraid to go at Shaq (who’s been out of the game) or Amare (who plays little D)

33-20 after 1: LEON! After a Rondo off. rebound, miss, Phx rebound, Leon went to the floor to steal the ball then while still on his knees underhanded the ball toward the bucket and got slapped on the forearm for 2 free throws. Hubie’s got 35 years in basketball and never seen that, especially the foul. Rebounding edge is 15-6 and basically everyone in white is going to the basket on offense - scoring, rebounding and it’s working. Now the intensity needs to stay…all four quarters…

33-26, 9:14 to go in 2nd; That means 6-0 Suns in 2nd qtr. Sam Cassell is not doing well - missed two 10 foot jumpers and has a turnover on a forced pass. Phoenix is playing in zone (they have been most of the game). Usually against the zone, a team shoots over it to beat it. The Celtics have the zone extended (with the longer NBA 3-point line) several feet and have been tearing apart the middle of the zone but Cassell is not doing so. Meanwhile, Phoenix hit a couple of shots but that’ll happen. C’s need to get offense working again…By the way another gem from Ric Bucher: Big Baby once body-slammed Shaq - all 300+ pounds of him. Body-slammed him! I’m never getting Davis mad…

41-38 C’s, under 6 mins 2nd qtr; Amare is killing the Celtics - so much so double teaming him every time he gets the ball seems like the thing to do. Only what’re you gonna do? Leave Nash? Shaq? Grant Hill or Raja Bell are the only options and they’ll kill you from 3…so instead Amare is to the tune of 18 points already. This is a real tough matchup defensively for the Celtics with two big guys that can do so many things.

53-50 Suns, 1:04 to go 1st half; Phoenix just isn’t missing…Giricek, Nash, Raja Bell everybody. 33 points already in the secon quarter. The ball movement has been good so they have open shots most of the time (a rarity for a Celtics defense this year). 18 assists for PHX in the first half…Nash picked up a T just before the break for taking a charge but getting called for a block. The comical part is one ref came to block Nash from going at the ref that called the block and but the original ref T’d him up anyway.

57-57 at the half: Rondo goes right at Nash and wins to tie it before buzzer. One good quarter, one bad - no harm done I guess, Doc’s got to find a solution for Stoudamire or else this one isn’t going for Boston. Some halftime stats: Amare 22 pts, 3 reb., Nash 8 dimes, Phoenix 62% FG, 18 assts on 23 FG…Pierce 15 pts (7-7FT), KG 14 pts, Celts 11 offensive rebounds, shooting 47% FG. I’ll be back for the 2nd half all you hinging on my words…

71-67, 5:45 left in 3rd; Phoenix has gone away from Amare but he had a nice hand off to Nash for an easy bucket…Grant Hill’s got a couple buckets for his first points of the game (3 fouls, 9 mins in first half)…Perk with back to back beautiful defensive trips against Shaq after the big guy had two easy buckets prior…Shaq came right back the next trip and stationed himself at the basket for a layup…the defense is where this game will be decided and likely it’s on Perk/KG/Powe or Davis to separate themselves. By the way, where’s PJ Brown? not in the game…I’m surprised he hasn’t been a bigger part of this team (and disappointed).

79-69 C’s, under 3 mins 3rd qtr; Rondo just left Nash in the dust with a sick crossover (did i just write ’sick’? I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that) and that Nash charged over Posey which of course was a block…Doc made a daring move - he replaced Perk with Posey and it’s working. Posey bodied up Stoudamire, stuck with him and then KG came over with help at the last second…Amare in the 3rd qtr: 0-2, 2 reb wow…meanwhile a Nets fan walked into the room (they had a 42 pt. first quarter today and Josh Boone has 21 points in the first half…Josh Boone! how?)

84-73 C’s after 3: Turnovers are coming fast and furious for the Suns (they had more TO’s than assists in the third) and the Celts are taking advantage of the extra chances. My chinese is here and this that’s it for this update…

93-79 C’s under 9 to go: Phoenix is getting “manhandled” in all aspects of the game (Hubie Davis one word quote) - C’s have 18 more field goal attempts than PHX - that’s where offensive rebounds and turnovers play in. So despite the Suns at 56% from the field and Celts at 49% the somewhat big lead for Boston. Mike D’antoni tried to go small (no Shaq or Amare) and it didn’t close the gap at all.

110-88 under 5 to go: C’s are in control so I have three points to finish with.

First - ESPN switched to the Cavs/Hornets game so I got to see the end live and it was a great one. LeBron drives to the hoop to go ahead by one with 7 seconds left. After a TO, LeBron defends Chris Paul. Paul drives to the hoop and the much taller LeBron was nearby so smartly Paul found David West wideopen and the Xavier alum hits the free throw line jumper for the win. Great play, great finish - Hornets great team.

Second, Paul Pierce was so quiet in the first three quarters (even with 15 first half points) I was all set to diatribe about how he’ll disappear sometimes. Then he scores 10 points and drops a few dimes in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. But the point remains: Pierce has become a role player of sorts - maybe the best role player in the league but still Garnett is becoming the face and the go-to guy throughout games.

Third, Celts fans were chanting MVP for Garnett in the fourth quarter. Chris and I are in agreement that KG should not be the MVP of the entire league and I think it’s foolish to have fans chanting this compared to Kobe, LeBron and even Chris Paul. KG is 4th at best unless something radical happens…It’s still a 20 point game and we’re under 3 minutes to go so we’re safely in hand. Most likely you’re reading this after the game is over so I’ll talk to you later.

Cheers!

I don’t know if I came up with the phrase of “Texas three-step” for the road the C’s just traveled (I sincerely doubt it) but I came up with it before this guy did. The Sporting News writer actually has positive things to say about the Celtics after they you know beat the Spurs, Rockets and Mavs on the road in four days…Remember this is the guy that challenged the C’s every step of the way (especially after that first loss to Detroit) saying they weren’t the best, etc, etc. Now he’s taking my terminology…

How’s your bracket? Mine’s alive but not necessarily doing well. Xavier winning was a boon to my cause - Duke losing too. Now if only Louisville, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA can win their regions and I think I’ll be in good shape…By the way, my Gus Johnson theory of upsets happening there busted completely. He wasn’t in Tampa - in fact all his games (Wash St., Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Michigan State) weren’t close or upsets.

Let’s go C’s