lethalweapon3

Ian Thomsen (SI.com) http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/ian_thomsen/04/26/celtics.hawks/index.html

NBCSports (Scott Schröder... #neverheardofhim) doesn't favor us, either, but is more thorough than the ones I've seen thus far: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/27/nba-playoff-preview-boston-vs-atlanta/ ~lw3

Fox Sports' Sam Amico: http://www.foxsportsohio.com/04/27/12/Eastern-Conference-playoff-preview/landing.html ~lw3

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/18853641/nba-expert-picks-first-round-of-2012-playoffs~lw3

USA Today (J. Michael Falgoust... #neverheardofhim): ~lw3

Kind of a mixed-bag over at The Sporting News (Sean Deveney): http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-04-26/nba-playoffs-2012-eastern-conference-preview-knicks-heat-celtics-bulls-magic ? ~lw3

http://www.nba.com/news/features/2012-series-preview-east4/index.html ~lw3

Absolutely. Cagey KG, Prince Paula, and their merry band of jerks love to get guys off of where their focus should be, particularly when things are not going well. Zaza already is savvy enough to tell those busters in at least two languages where they can go with that act. But after their last matchup, Ivan needed to catch himself a different flight out of Logan Airport. There are no timeout chairs going forward. I love Ivan having an edge in the first place, as being alternatively "under the edge" gets you Shelden Williams and Boris Diaw. His anger management challenges over his career have been moderately documented, and his accomplishments to date reflect a certain triumph over them. Find your edge and stay on it, Ivan... don't go over it. We simply can't afford him getting prodded into doing something so embarrassingly stupid that we'd lose him for a playoff game or longer, or something so reckless that he'd have to change his name to Namaste Please Recycle or something like that just to salvage his reputation and short-lived career. The Boston Celtics know this, and as they did with Zaza, they will try something. How he reacts (or not) to their reindeer games may make the difference in this series. ~lw3

Other than Al winning ROTM three times (November, February, March) in 2007-08, Shelden in 2007, and now Ivan, the only other rookie to win the monthly honor was the Plastic Man. Stacey Augmon won it back in April 1992 when they gave out one award (no conference splits).~lw3

First April rookie of the month since... ~lw3

~lw3

Aside #2:TOP FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGES AMONG NBA GUARDS, APRIL 2012:(min. 10 games or 50 FG attempts)(** = in Eastern Conference Playoffs)1. JEFF TEAGUE 54.4%**2. Manu Ginobili 53.0%3. Ty Lawson 52.9%4. Danny Green 52.5%5. Anthony Parker 52.5%6. Gary Neal 52.3%7. Arron Afflalo 52.1%8. Kobe Bryant 52.1%9. Avery Bradley 52.0%**10. Steve Nash 51.2%11. Tony Parker 51.0%12. Sebastian Telfair 50.8%13. JOE JOHNSON 50.3%**14. Tyreke Evans 50.0%15. Delonte West 50.0%TOP FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGES AMONG NBA FORWARDS, APRIL 2012:(min. 10 games or 50 FG attempts)(** = in Eastern Conference Playoffs)1. Tiago Splitter 67.1%2. Boris Diaw 62.5%3. Brandan Wright 60.0%4. Tim Duncan 59.2%5. Blake Griffin 59.1%6. Kenneth Faried 58.4%7. IVAN JOHNSON 58.2%**8. Jason Smith 58.1%9. Jason Thompson 57.4%10. Derrick Favors 57.1%~lw3

Aside:2011-12 DEFENSIVE RATINGS (points allowed per 100 possessions):1. Kevin Garnett (Center) 94.22. Carlos Boozer (Forward) 95.23. Dwight Howard (Center) 95.64. Joakim Noah (Center) 95.75. JOSH SMITH (Forward) 95.96. Elton Brand (Center) 96.27. LeBron James (Forward) 97.48. Andre Iguodala (Forward) 97.89. Marcus Camby (Center) 98.110. Serge Ibaka (Forward) 98.32011-12 DEFENSIVE WIN SHARES1. JOSH SMITH (Forward) 4.92. LeBron James (Forward) 4.53. Dwight Howard (Center) 4.44. Kevin Garnett (Center) 4.35. Carlos Boozer (Forward) 4.36. Joakim Noah (Center) 4.27. Andre Iguodala (Forward) 4.28. Marc Gasol (Center) 4.09. Kevin Durant (Forward) 3.710. Paul Pierce (Forward) 3.7~lw3

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuNihdGBu8k ~lw3

Noting that Mavs media indicates Carlisle will likely still rest Kidd tonight, on the DNP-OLD tip.~lw3

The Champ is Here! After flirting with becoming the only team other than the 1999 Chicago Bulls to fail to make the playoffs one season after winning the NBA title, the Dallas Mavericks arrive at the Highlight Factory for its playoff tune-up against the Hawks. Dallas holds the tiebreakers against 8th-seeded Utah and 6th-seeded Denver. So the Mavs will be paired up against either 2nd-seeded Oklahoma City (potentially Harden-less) or the 3rd-seeded Lakers (potentially Peace-less), the latter being the opponents they upset on their way to the NBA Finals in 2011. A former Hawk we wrote off years ago that makes his first return to Philips as a NBA champ is Jason Terry. Soon to be an unrestricted free agent, this might be Jet’s last foray in Atlanta as a Maverick, depending on how things go for Mark Cuban in the Deron Williams cage match/sweepstakes. He’s still doing what he does best – firing away – ranking 2nd in the NBA in threes made and 3rd in threes attempted. Dallas as a team has the highest rate of three point shots (27% of all field goal attempts) in the West, but only hits around a third of them (34%, 19th in the NBA). If you’re a fan of old-heads like 39-year-old Jason Kidd and 35-year-old Vince Carter, this might be their last regular-season appearance as well, with Dallas or perhaps anybody else. Kidd has been resting up for the playoffs but might make a cameo, perhaps as a ceremonial starter ahead of Rodrigue Beaubois. Carter has been a starter for much of the season but has been coming off the bench of late. He hasn’t really shot the ball well (41.5 FG% in his last four games) but has been readily getting to the line and helping with rebounding duties (18.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG). Considering his durability through much of the season, Vince should be able to find a nice, short veteran’s-minimum contract this summer. Dirk Nowitzki still uses his lean-back jumper to devastating effect. He and his old drinking buddy Steve Nash are the only major players nailing at least half of their two-point jumpers from 16 feet out. Nowitzki also gets bunches of his points at the line (almost 6 per game, shooting 89%). If you have to put someone on the line, you don’t want to hack Dirk or any of the guards, almost all of them shooting over 82%. Instead you’ll want bigs like Haywood (47%) and Ian Mahinmi (64%), who get sent to the line plenty in limited minutes but rarely go 2-for-2. Coach Rick Carlisle has transformed the Mavericks from a team that sought to just outscore everybody to one capable of making stops. Its defensive rating (102.1 opponent points per 100 possessions doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the lowest in the franchise’s 32-year history. The Mavs rank 3rd in defensive rebounds per game and 4th in steals per game. Kidd and former Mavs DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler helped turn things around in prior seasons, but these days, it’s Shawn Marion getting the accolades lately. The Matrix has been holding opposing forwards to around 35 percent shooting (according to Carlisle). Don’t count on a productive night offensively from Josh Smith if he’s not posting up Marion on the blocks. Young Golden State castaway Brandan Wright has been something of a revelation, with the team’s lowest defensive rating (100) and the only player other than Brendan Haywood actually blocking shots (1.3 BPG). He leads the team in block percentage (6.4% of opponent field goal attempts) and lowest turnover percentage (7.4% of possessions), the only player in the NBA’s top 20 for both categories. A fellow ex-Warrior, Kelenna Azubuike, once averaged 14 PPG a couple seasons ago, before being beset by injuries that knocked him out of the league. He’ll be playoff eligible after getting acquired from the D-League just before the NBAs deadline. To help shake some of the rust off, he may get some minutes in the event of a large lead/deficit. Delonte West has this annoying habit of sticking appendages in places where they shouldn’t be, but he’s been assessed his fine for wet-willie’ing Gordon Hayward just over a week ago. Happily for Dallas, the one thing he’s been able to put his finger on is how to find the rim. The 6-foot-3 guard is hitting shots at a 60.5% clip over the past eight games, averaging 16.2 PPG over his past six. The Hawks will likely catch a break at the rim, where Dallas takes just 26 percent of their shots (second lowest in the NBA). Instead of Haywood, look for the likes of Citizen Pain (Brian Cardinal) and Yi Jianlian to get some time in tonight. Go Hawks! ~lw3

See you in the second round!~jameer

The Atlanta Hawks: When You're Here, You're Family! :)~lw3

Aside: Top NBA In-Division Records:1. Bulls 11-12. Thunder 10-23. HAWKS 11-34. Spurs 12-45. Pacers 9-3T-6. Heat 9-4T-6. Lakers 9-48. Suns 9-59. Jazz 8-410. Mavericks 8-5This is the first time since 1994 (21-7; tied w/ Bulls in the Central) that the Hawks will finish with the best internal division record among their fellow division opponents.~lw3

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/metta-world-peace-suspended-7-080557977--nba.htmlIn the aftermath of Elbowgate, will Ron Ron's 7-game suspension doom the Lakers' chances of getting out of the first round?I won't rule them out with Andrew Bynum likely to have some advantageous matchups, but Ron's tenderizing act won't help matters at all. Matt Barnes has played well in the past week but has been out for the last few days with an ankle sprain, and yesterday Devin Ebanks bruised his non-shooting hand after dropping a 50-pound dumbbell on it while working out. Both are expected to be ready for Game 1 but still...They either get Denver, winners of 4 of their last 5, or they get most of the team that dispatched them last year (Dallas).~lw3

~lw3

Randy Foye was 17-for-28 in his last five games from three-point land, but just 0-for-2 tonight.Pargo's shot wasn't butter tonight, BUT he came in and made some sweet passes and even slowed CP3's roll in the first half, forcing him into some hero-ball-style tough shots.The five players from the Clips' bench were 7-for-20 combined, including Mo Williams, who was 9-for-18 by himself against the Hawks at Staples Center last month. Meanwhile, Marvin and Willie Green were a combined 9-for-17 tonight, with a few of those misses being blown layups and/or dunks.~lw3

Please post responsibly!LOL #i'llhavesomeofwhathe'shaving~lw3

This thread is brought to you by your friends at RIPPLE! With the screwtop bottle and the brown paper cover. Ask for it by name!~lw3

Josh endured another ridiculous defensive assignment with Blake nailing all those jumpers early, yet still finished +8, with a double-double (18 and 10), 5 assists and ONE turnover.We also had the better M. Williams out there.Ivan turned that ball over here and there, but more than made up for that with the monstrous block off the stolen inbound and the putback dunk.DeAndre Jordan was a virtually negligible factor. The Clips will need much more than he delivered tonight if the Clips want a chance at winning a series.~lw3