Jump to content
  • Hawks at Celtics

       (0 reviews)

    lethalweapon3

    “…but, there are TWO I’s in Isaiah!”

    3-4? Who gives a flip about 3-4? It’s a great time to be a Boston Celtics fan. As fans of the Atlanta Hawks, their visitors tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, CSN New England), if we were to give Celtics fans a nugget of sage advice, it would be this: “Don’t get too smug!”

    The tantalizing inevitability of a playoff appearance coupled with a precious, precocious lottery pick ultimately proved to be a tease for the Hawks in the aftermath of the 2012 Joe Johnson trade to Brooklyn. Nets GM Billy King, however, did not learn a lesson from his mistake, and in the undying quest to “Be Mediocre NOW!” he relieved the Celts of two crumbling pillars from its championship past.

    King gave away an unprotected 1st rounder in 2014 (James Young, eventually, taken 17th), and 2016, and 2018, plus a 2017 right-to-swap. Today, Paul Pierce is two teams removed from Brooklyn, in L.A., while Kevin Garnett has come full circle and is chilling out again in Minnesota. And Jason Terry is looking up “Tattoo Removal” on Google somewhere.

    Meanwhile, as many NBA teams are scratching and clawing with dreams of playing in June, Boston is in it essentially to draft at that time. The Wrath of Danny Ainge begins in earnest with this year’s draft. If The Season Ended Today (sorry for the jinx), Boston would have its own lottery pick, plus Brooklyn’s. And no, they’re not done.

    Thanks to last December’s deal to take ticking timebomb Rajon Rondo off their hands, the first-rounder acquired from Dallas is only protected for slots 1-through-7. If Minnesota continues feeling their oats, their first-rounder, 1-through-12 protected, via last January’s dealing of Jeff Green to Memphis for the disposable Tayshaun Prince (now in Minnesota, coincidentally), will also fall into Ainge’s grubby hands. If you haven’t had occasion to visit Tankathon’s website lately, don’t worry: they’re not hurting for clicks. Celtics, Nuggets, and Sixers fans have plenty of reasons to check it out daily.

    So, is Boston going to return to the postseason after a strong finish to last season (20-11 post-All-Star-break; the first-place Hawks, comparatively, were 17-11)? Who cares? What’s the rush? With Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens going absolutely nowhere (and that’s supposed to be a good thing) and as much as $51 million in salary coming off the books ahead of a free agent bonanza summer, what’s the difference between two, three and four lottery picks?

    So, one night after whupping the Bucks on the road, the Celtics didn’t have a single player capable of going toe-to-toe with rejuvenated star Paul George (26 points, 10 rebounds) in Wednesday night’s 102-91 defeat. So what? You want a supahstar rocking Celtic green, right now? Grab a Sam Adams and cool your jets! There’s a good chance That Man is arriving in another season or two.

    Barring some unfortunate commentary about, like, Manhattan having the best clam chowder bar none, Ainge will be around to see all of these draft picks come to fruition. Soon, the NBA might have to turn its Executive of the Year trophy into a fleece jacket.

    The crew that Stevens fields is not only playing hard for their current NBA employer, but also the next one. That goes especially for stretchy trade-target bigs Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk.  Sully (team-highs of 8.3 RPG and 44.4 3FG%) is in full Show-and-Disprove Mode, after Ainge did not offer the future restricted free agent a contract extension two weeks ago.

    Aside from perhaps swingman Jae Crowder, the starting lineup is wonderfully interchangeable. You can take Avery Bradley (missed Wednesday’s game; lower-leg contusion) out, and put Evan Turner in. Need more defense? Sub out Leading scorer Isaiah Thomas (team-high 20.6 PPG) for Marcus Smart (back after injuring his big toe). Rest Amir Johnson and let David Lee tip off. Or Olynyk. Or Tyler Zeller. Or Jonas Jerebko. Or …

    Crowder and backcourt mates Smart, Thomas, Bradley, James Young and rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter are the closest things Boston has to “mainstays” on the roster, and even they could be had if somebody wants to relinquish another juicy pick or two (put your hand down, Billy, you’re fresh out). But do not be mistaken: the Celtics have no intention of tanking. Ainge is proving to another of his division rivals that you can play Hinkie-ball without resorting to Stinky-ball. And not knowing what cast of characters Stevens will toss out there makes it hard for opposing coaches to effectively gameplan.

    What the Celts have, collectively, are knockout defenders (95.3 opponent points per 100 possessions, 5th-lowest in NBA; 46.7 opponent eFG%, 7th-lowest in NBA) without a seasoned knockdown shooter (28.4 3FG%, 27th in NBA; 7-for-30 3FGs at Milwaukee, 4-for-24 vs. Indy). Their defensive intensity tends to mirror that of the Hawks: defensive rebounding be-damned (opponent O-Reb 27.2% for BOS, 26.5% for ATL) in lieu of pressing and clawing as the ball approaches the paint.

    Only Boston’s opponents (19.6 TOs per 100 possessions) turn over the ball at a rate higher than Atlanta’s (18.2 TOs). Thanks in part to Paul Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kent Bazemore ranking 3rd, 5th, and 7th among NBA forwards, Atlanta has averaged 10.9 steals (2nd in NBA), bettered only by Boston’s 11.4 SPG (Crowder’s 3.4 SPG 1st in NBA), while Atlanta’s 24.5 PPG off turnovers is rivaled only by Boston’s 23.6 PPG. So if things hold true to form, expect a wild slopfest tonight at TD Garden.

    Atlanta (8-2) has only coughed up the ball 15 times or fewer in nine of its ten contests this season, while forcing 18 or more player turnovers from their foes in seven of those ten games. Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory versus the Pelicans was the first where the Hawks (15) committed more turnovers than their opponents (12). Boston will try to make it two games in a row.

    Jae will Crowd the perimeter, seeking to help Smart frustrate Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder while picking off passes intended for the Hawks’ open shooters. The Hawks will have to avoid stationary perimeter positioning, and thrive off cross-court passes and dribble hand-offs; the less the ball touches the floor versus Boston, the better for Atlanta.

    The Celtics’ guards will also drive persistently, and it’s up to the Hawks’ perimeter defenders to goad them into settling for wild shots, not letting Thomas (88.0 FT%) make hay at the the free throw line. Atlanta’s big men have to box out and keep Sullinger (13.2 O-Rebs per 100 possessions, 9th in NBA) and Lee from cherry-picking around the hoop.

    If you need a Career Night Award winner for this evening, place your bets on Hunter. The former Georgia State star has been gaining Stevens’ trust and is getting close to 20 minutes a night lately as his team searches for somebody capable of hitting jumpers with some measure of consistency.

    The Hawks’ motto so far seems to be: “Playing from in front? Run away, while you can. Playing from behind? Catch us, while you can.” Sloppy at the starts of most games, Atlanta ranks 4th in the Association for fourth-quarter PPG, 3rd in fourth-quarter plus-minus, 4th in fourth-quarter net rating, 3rd in fourth-quarter APG, even 6th in fourth-quarter RPG.

    Atlanta fans can be understandably frustrated that while their team, more often than not, have tended to come out on top, games get way more uncomfortable when the Hawks aren’t applying talons-to-neck from the jump, especially versus inferior and/or banged-up competition. With Kenny Atkinson leading the charge tonight (Mike Budenholzer flew back home this morning, to tend to a family matter), we’ll see if he can spark some of that old reliable Sense of Urgency at tipoff. No matter how tonight’s game goes, Boston is going to be just fine either way.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    Edited by lethalweapon3

    • Like 1
      Report Record



    User Feedback

    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest

×
×
  • Create New...