Decent Win

The Celtics put up a good game, but the ending was what we all expected. Joe Johnson had a typical game, scoring 42 consecutive times in the 4th quarter on his way to 200 points. Josh Smith blocked a dozen 3 pointers, and decapitated Rajon Rondo at least twice by my count. The classic Hotlanta crowd was in attendance, cheering their butts off for the best team in the NBA.

You think Josh Smith cares that the Celtics are the best team in the NBA? Josh Smith doesn't give a rat's ass. He's at home right now eating ice cream and watching Judge Judy.

You think Al Horford cares about the Celtics? He's doing pushups right now, thinking about grabbing his own rebound and stuffing it in Paul Pierce's face.

You think Joe Johnson cares about the Celtics? He's hustling at a pool hall right now, sipping on bourbon while wearing a smoking jacket and talking to your mom on his cell phone.

You think Mike Woodson cares about the Celtics? He doesn't even know what team the Hawks are playing next. He can't believe the "let Joe Johnson dribble past everybody and score by himself" play worked 10 times in a row.

Above all else, last night was a really good game. I haven't had that much fun watching a Hawks game in years. The fact that they won was just bonus. I was a little embarrassed by the streamers coming down at the end of the game- I was hoping that the rules had changed, and that the underdog only needs to win 2 games in order to win the best-of-7 series, but apparently somebody still needs to win 2 more games. I'd like to see the Hawks hold their own again in game 6, but as always, we will see.

No matter what happens, the shine and swagger are gone from the Celtics. They may be the best team in the league, but they are going to have to earn the championship.

CelticsBlog.com Pays Up

Read 300 words about the glory that is the Atlanta Hawks

I'm not holding my breath for another 300 words, but here's hoping. No draft picks this year, so there is literally nothing to lose.

300

Jeff- to paraphrase Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon (caught it on TCM last night), if you don't got my 300 words, then get 'em.

Ridiculous game last night from Josh Smith and the Hawks. The team was fired up and could do no wrong, it seemed. The Celtics were terrible on offense and the Hawks finally made some shots- although I think every shot that didn't go in was either an air ball or clanged off the side of the rim. Seriously, shots were either fantastic or horrendous.

Does anybody else get a weird vibe from the Joe Johnson - Mike Bibby relationship? It looks like Joe didn't want to give it up to Bibby, and didn't want him taking the ball up the court, either. Consequently, Bibby ended up having to force some shots to try and stay in the rhythm- it was weird.

Let's be honest- Josh Smith isn't going to play like that every night. And every Hawks fan out there knows he's going to keep hoisting those shots, though.

I thought the biggest key to last night was the Hawks best 5 guys playing for a long stretch in the third quarter, and they finished with the most number of minutes- Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Mike Bibby (they were each over +13). Bring in Marvin (-9) to rest any player on that squad, with the occasional Pachulia or Law sighting, and you've got a decent team that can compete.

Hoopinion must have been happy to see Solomon Jones get on the court at the end of the 3rd quarter to give up an easy bucket at the buzzer. You can take the Woodson out of the something or other, but you can't take the something or other out of the Woodson.

BREAKING NEWS

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=mavshorntetsgame2_080422

There is a rumor going around that the Celtics have a new strategy centered around containing Marvin Williams- on defense they will single-team him and let him shoot 22-foot fadeaway jumpers, and offense they will post up and dunk on him. Clever!

Game 1 Breakdown

So, that kind of sucks. That's about the best the Hawks could play, I think. Their defense was the best it's been all year, but their shots weren't falling. Part of that could be jitters- it looks like Joe Johnson was pressing last night. Bibby was apparently dealing with a thigh injury, so he gets a pass. Josh Smith and Marvin Williams were their usual selves, shooting a combined 5-17. The Hawks held KG, Paul Pierce and Jesus to 18-43, so give credit where it's due.

Here is the post I expect to read on Hoopinion:
Josh Smith gets some credit for being yanked with 2 fouls in the first quarter and not returning until the second half. Does Mike Woodson ever learn? One of the best players on your team plays 24 minutes and finishes with 4 fouls? Inexcusable. He should be fired for sitting Smith for a quarter. Even if he was chucking up 22 footers. It was also great to see Mario West play the final 30 seconds of the first half, so that he could completely miss a wide open 12 footer at the buzzer. As we all know, the final 30 seconds don't actually count, though.

The Wager / 5 Questions

I have a small wager going with Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog.com. If (when) the Celtics win the series, this site is going "green" for a week. If the Hawks win, Jeff will write a 500 word essay about each player on the Hawks, extolling their greatness. He has even thrown in an offer to write 300 words about the greatness of the team for every win they get. Here's hoping.

We also exchanged 5 questions and answered them for each other. Here are his answers to my questions:

Hotlanta Matt: During or after last season, did you ever, in your wildest dreams, imagine that the Celtics would be the favorites to win the NBA championship this year?

Jeff: Short answer: No. However, as longtime CelticsBlog readers can attest, I've been angling for a Kevin Garnett for a couple seasons before it happened. It was about the only scenario I could imagine anything like this happening. It is, quite litterally a dream come true for me and many fans.

Hotlanta Matt: Other than the Pistons, what team in the Eastern Conference do you think has the best chance of knocking off the Celtics?

Jeff: Right now I have to say the Wizards, only because they took 3 out of 4 games against us. For some reason, they seem to match up well against us and they've just played great against the C's this year. I still think that in a 7 game playoff series the Celtics would win, but the Wiz would be a tough out.

Hotlanta Matt: Despite what Vegas might say, do you think the Celtics should be favored to win a 7 game series against every team in the Western Conference playoffs?

Jeff: There's something to be said about the fact that all those teams have become battle tested against each other. On the other hand, come June whoever comes out of there is going to be battle weary as well. So you could make a case that whoever comes out of the East (hopefully the Celtics) will have an edge. Besides, I consider the Celtics the best team in the NBA, so they should be favored over anyone in any series. I hope I worded that in a way that is confident yet won't anger the jinx police.

Hotlanta Matt: Did you know the Hawks could have drafted Glen Davis instead of renting Anthony Johnson?

Jeff: Anthony who? A lot of teams passed on Big Baby, no shame there. In fact, the Celtics had two second rounders and waited till the second pick to select him. Gotta give him credit. He shed a lot of weight and kept enough beef to bang down low. He's a great energy guy, but I think Doc plans on using PJ Brown in the playoffs because of his experience. Regardless, Baby will be a fun guy to root for in the years to come.

Hotlanta Matt: Will the Celtics be this good next year, or is their one best shot at the title with KG, Allen, and Pierce?
Jeff: I don't see why they can't be as good if all three remain healthy. If they don't win the title, there's a chance they could come back even hungrier. You can't count on a team repeating 66 wins but they could win fewer games and win the title and nobody would complain around here. I've said all along that this team has 3 legit shots at a title with this nucleus. In fact, give Danny another offseason where he can pick up additional free agents and find a player in the draft and the team could be even deeper next year. Still, you never know what can happen tomorrow, so I'm focused on the here and now. We've got lightning in a bottle. We just need to follow through.

My answers to Jeff's questions:

Jeff: What effect has Mike Bibby had on the Hawks this year?
Hotlanta Matt: Mike Bibby created an offense where none previously existed. If

nothing else, we have 2 more plays besides "Joe Johnson tries to beat
his man off the dribble and make a fadeaway jumper". We now have
"Bibby fakes a dribble drive and throws an alleyoop to Josh Smith" and
"Joe Johnson fakes play #1 and kicks it to Bibby for the open 3". If
Bibby had been here from day 1 (although I realize he wasn't healthy
until right before the Hawks traded for him) this would be a solid
playoff team with maybe 45 wins to their credit.

Jeff: What's up with Josh Smith? Talented head case or just tired of losing?
Hotlanta Matt: This whole team is tired of losing, but Josh Smith is almost certainly

not a fan of the coach. Privately it is rumored that if Woodson isn't
out then Smith is gone. Not being a fan of the coach isn't a good
excuse for throwing up 20 foot jumpers when you are one of the more
athletic players on the floor at all times, however. I'm convinced
that Josh Smith can be a premier player in the right situation,
although I am sad that it probably won't be in Atlanta. It bears
mentioning that he's only 6 months older than Al Horford and Marvin
Williams, too.

Jeff: What is your opinion of Coach Mike Woodson?
Hotlanta Matt: Just an awful, terrible coach. This team has improved its record every

year, but at no point have they had any kind of identity. I think the
improvement can be directly attributed to the growth of Josh Smith,
Josh Childress and Marvin Williams, rather than coaching. Hoopinion
and Braves & Birds have both chronicled *why* he is terrible- his
minute management is ridiculous, the lack of defensive *and* offensive
strategy is baffling, and I've never heard him speak intelligently or
given me any insight into the team. It says something that Billy
Knight tried to fire him 3 times this year, which is another insane
story of its own.

Jeff: In three years, which player on this Hawks team will be the best of
the bunch?
Hotlanta Matt: Josh Smith. I think we are seeing the ceiling of Joe Johnson, who is a

fantastic shooter and great dribbler with solid defense, but without
the explosiveness that would put him in the same realm as the best of
the best. Josh Smith's ceiling is a more athletic Rasheed Wallace. I
can't believe I just wrote that, but it's true. He could average
26/12/8/4 in 3 years and I would not be at all surprised.

Jeff: Give us 3 good reasons why the Hawks should not be overlooked in
this series.
Hotlanta Matt:

1- The backcourt. If Joe Johnson and Bibby get hot and stay hot, get
ready for a steady diet of crowd silencers.
2- Josh Smith trying. If he wants it (big fat if) he can match up
against Garnett on both ends.
3- Mike Woodson with a shaved head. Do not underestimate how
terrifying and horrible he will look. He has disregarded my request
for a playoff beard, and in fact (probably in response) is going the
opposite direction.

WE GOIN' SIZZLER!

Playoffs!!!!!

Prediction: Kevin Garnett pulls a labia during warmups of game 1, Ray Allen dies of old age in game 2, and Paul Pierce pulls an Artest and goes after a heckling blogger during halftime of game 3. The Hawks still lose in 6 games as Al Horford gets a DNP (Coach's Decision) and Mario West gets to take every shot.

And now your reward:

Playoffs?

T. J. Ford got robbed last night- the clock clearly started early, but from what the NBA explained to Hollinger last night, they can't review that part of the shot. At least this one is on the official, not the bungling Atlanta scoring crew. Ford could have scored on a layup whenever he wanted last night, so I'm not sure how the Raptors lost. Give it up for Atlanta, Mike Bibby seems to be fitting in with the offense and they looked more cohesive than I've seen all season. Granted, if Josh Smith doesn't nail those 2 three pointers I would be talking about what a freaking idiot he is and how much this team stinks.

Update: Al Horford breaks TJ Ford again. Horford claims he tipped the inbounds pass (I believe him, it looked like it might have happened in the replays but we never got a definitive angle), which would mean any protest is moot and the officials started the clock LATE. Ruling the basket good would have been a tragedy of immeasurably proportions.


Playoffs? For those of you who don't know, the Indiana Pacers are about to go on a tear. Here are their remaining games: @Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Atlanta, @Philly, Charlotte, @Washington, NY. They could easily win every single one of those and it wouldn't even be impressive. If the Hawks don't make the playoffs, though, they will deserve the perfect storm of Hatin' that will descend upon them like a plague of locusts.

I love that first round playoff tickets are on sale, though. Get them now so that you don't have to wait behind the 2 other guys in line right before the playoff games start. The announced attendance last night was 14K, but that can't possibly be accurate unless they are also including hot dogs in that count. I would be interested to see a comparison of actual attendance vs. announced attendance. I would also be interested to see a comparison of Sky Hawk's foot on Mike Woodson's ass in a few weeks. Could the man be less excited about his present and future? He needs to stop shaving until the Hawks are officially eliminated from the playoffs- that is the only way I will consider saving him.