Damn, They don't believe in the Hawks. lol #ESPN

[lethalweapon3]

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

No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks

Season series: Celtics 2-1

Projected starting lineups: Celtics — PG Rajon Rondo, SG Avery Bradley, SF Paul Pierce, PF Brandon Bass, C Kevin Garnett; Hawks — PG Jeff Teague, SG Kirk Hinrich, SF Joe Johnson, PF Josh Smith, C Jason Collins

Key injuries: Celtics — Rondo (back spasms), Garnett (hip flexor), G Ray Allen (right ankle bone spurs); Hawks — F Al Horford (left chest muscle tear), C Zaza Pachulia (left foot sprain)

Outlook: Both teams have been hit by injuries, but the Celtics have been here and done it. Their lack of a true starting center won't hurt as much against Atlanta. In the second half of the season, Boston's defense has been superb, which is why it should win out in a low-scoring series.

Prediction: Celtics in six

~lw3

[benhillboy]

I wouldn't mind too much what Wilbon or Tirico says. Marginal basketball analysts at best. Wilbon drove the T-Mac and Ming bandwagon, expecting them to win it all, and Tirico is better suited to call the XGames than NBA Basketball. This series could go either way, I'll just sit back, enjoy it, and analyze what happened afterwards. Someone on their team could go down, we could go crazy from three, Rondo could be held to single digits in a few games, Joe could shoot lights out, Paul could average 30, both teams will struggle to rebound with every game going to the winner of that margin, etc. As I get older and wiser, it's pretty useless to try and predict any sports contest between two equally talented, good teams. The only ones I would predict and bet on is OKC running over Dallas, the Bulls taking care of Philly fairly easily, and Indy over Orlando in 5. The Lakers should handle Denver, but the Laker front line without Artest is extremely soft. The Manimal could dominte up front with McGee adding length and Galinari stretching, but I never bet against Bean no matter how much I hate his supporting casts, so let the games begin.

Edited April 27, 2012 by benhillboy

[capstone21]

The amazing thing is that it was CHad Ford who picked us to win

[lethalweapon3]

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

[lethalweapon3]

Fox Sports' Sam Amico:

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/04/27/12/Eastern-Conference-playoff-preview/landing.html

If the regular season told us anything, it's that nearly anything is possible. Honestly. Who could have possibly picked Indiana to finish with the No. 3 seed?

Or that Atlanta would have home-court advantage in its first-round series vs. Boston?...

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Boston

This is the story of two teams that may never be the same after this season. The Hawks if they don't win a couple of rounds, the aging Celtics even if they do. The Hawks have been (somewhat) more reliable than in seasons past, marching forward with the same cast, headed by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.

Then there's the Celtics, who were one of the league's best teams after the All-Star break following a rickety start. And with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, the Celtics are obviously even more seasoned than the Hawks. The key will be whether the Hawks can win one in Boston, because you just know the Celtics will capture at least one in Atlanta. Should be a goodie.

Prediction:

Celtics in seven.

~lw3

[Plainview1981]

They need to rebound and for Teague to have as good as or nearly as good as a series he had against Chicago last year. With Al and Zaza both being out Josh Smith really has to stay out of foul trouble. For some reason or another this teams athletic advantage hasn't been as important as it was a few years ago.

Edited April 27, 2012 by Hotlanta1981

[lethalweapon3]

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/

SEASON RECORDS

Hawks: 40-26 (No. 4 seed)

Celtics: 39-27 (No. 5 seed)

SEASON SERIES

Boston won the first two games of a three-game regular season series by a total of five points. The Hawks’ victory came when the most was on the line, however, as Atlanta upended a short-handed Celtics team last Friday to give themselves a lead for the East’s No. 4 seed that they’d never relinquish.

KEY INJURIES

Hawks: Al Horford played just 11 games for Atlanta this season since suffering a torn pectoral muscle in early January. There was some speculation that he might be able to play against the Celtics, but the latest reports say that he’s definitely going to miss the first round … Fellow big man Zaza Pachulia is day-to-day with a sprained left foot, but he’ll likely be available to start the series against the Celtics.

Celtics: The Celtics took the last few games of the regular season to heal up, costing themselves homecourt advantage while trying to ensure they’d be healthy against Atlanta. It worked for the most part, too, considering Ray Allen is the only player expected to be listed on the injury report when the season starts Sunday, and even then he’ll be listed as “probable” due to a right ankle injury.

OFFENSE/DEFENSE RANKING (points per 100 possession)

Hawks: Off. 104.9 (16th in NBA); Def. 101.2 (6th in NBA)

Celtics: Off. 101.0 (27th in NBA); Def. 98.2 (1st in NBA)

THREE KEY HAWKS:

Joe Johnson: It’s incredibly difficult to believe that Johnson won’t be a huge part of this series considering he’ll likely be counted on to shoulder the majority of the scoring load for Atlanta throughout the playoffs. The swingman went through a bit of a slump through the first few weeks of April, but ended the season on a high note — and, for the history buffs among us, Johnson began his NBA career as a member of the Celtics in 2001 before being traded midseason for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers (whoops!).

Josh Smith: The enigmatic forward hasn’t made a lot of fans over his career due to a lot of people focusing on what he doesn’t do well on the basketball court. When one pays attention to what Smith does do well, however, they see that he’s a solid defender, a good rebounder (when he concentrates on that part of the game, of course) and is actually passing the ball better than every other big when looking at his 20.6 percent assist rate.

Jeff Teague: The quick-footed point guard broke out around this time last year when he was inserted into the starting lineup against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls during the second round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Teague will need to step his game up in the postseason again this year, too, as his matchup againstRajon Rondo could easily be the deciding factor if he’s unable to step up in the playoffs once again.

THREE KEY CELTICS

Rajon Rondo: It was almost a given this season that when the Celtics were on national television, their point guard was going to have a magnificent game. The Celtics-Hawks series will be nationally broadcast in its entirety, however, meaning Rondo will be counted on to carry quite a bit of the load — if not scoring, certainly distributing — while trying to move his team to the second round as injury-free as possible.

Kevin Garnett: The Celtics struggled early this season, but things seemed to undergo a huge change when head coach Doc Rivers decided to move Garnett to the center position. He might not be as good as he once was, but considering the Hawks have had dealt with massive center issues, he should have at least one more series in which he’s able to showcase his game-changing talent.

Paul Pierce: Way to go out on a limb and pick the three healthy Celtics starters as the three Boston players key to the first round, our lovely readers are probably saying upon seeing Pierce’s name in this slot. The longtime Celtic will certainly be important for Boston’s chances in the first round, however, as the Celtics could use some scoring until Ray Allen returns to full health.

OUTLOOK

This series probably isn’t the sexiest of the eight matchups in the first round of the postseason, but it should be one of the best. The veteran-laden Celtics are likely making one of their last runs in the postseason and, fortunately for them, they got better as the season rolled on. The Hawks are trying to get a monkey off of their back this year, too, considering they enter the playoffs with the memory of losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals the last three years. With both teams likely playing with a sense of urgency, it’ll be interesting to watch whether the Celtics are able to excel after starting the series on the road.

PREDICTION

These games could easily be very boring considering two of their three meetings during the regular season resulted in the winner scoring less than 90 points. Low-scoring basketball could also mean playoff-physical basketball, though, and both teams have two former D-League call-ups capable of delivering in those types of circumstances (say hello, Ivan Johnson and Greg Stiemsma). Hopefully it isn’t ugly basketball filled with missed perimeter jumpers, but it wouldn’t be so bad to see a sort of throwback game when the series starts on Sunday night.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the veteran savvy of the Celtics should prove to be key.

Celtics in 6.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Ian Thomsen (SI.com)

http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/ian_thomsen/04/26/celtics.hawks/index.html

The Celtics were guaranteed a No. 4 seed as champion of the Atlantic division, but the No. 5 Hawks' superior record provides them with home-court advantage -- and with it, they believe they have a chance to earn what could be their most satisfying postseason victory of the Joe Johnson era. The Hawks have reached the conference semifinals each of the last three years, but they've never knocked off a title contender like Boston, which won the 2008 title after surviving a Game 7 against Atlanta in the opening round of the playoffs. This will be Atlanta's last shot at Boston before Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen enter free agency this summer. But injuries threaten both teams.

KEY MATCHUP

Rajon Rondo vs. Jeff Teague. Both of these young point guards were lottery afterthoughts in the draft, and both are small and explosively unguardable in the open floor. Rondo will be expected to dominate this matchup, as no quarterback in the playoffs can rival his ability to create shots for teammates. But Teague won't surrender: He can attack in transition and penetrate the lane in order to create baskets for himself and others while inflicting foul trouble on Boston's thin front line. The Hawks can't win unless Teague is aggressive without being reckless.

X-FACTORS

Hawks: Josh Smith. The versatile 6-foot-9 power forward was Atlanta's best player this season while keeping his team in contention after All-Star center Al Horford was sidelined for all but 11 games this season. Horford has been uncertain about playing in this series, and replacement Zaza Pachulia is expected to miss the opening games against Boston That puts enormous pressure on Smith, who has the athletic talent and skills -- he can play inside or in the perimeter, he is tremendous in the open floor and he has been a dominant defender. He has yet to be named an All-Star, and a big performance here will help him and his team break through.

Celtics: Ray Allen. Boston's home-run hitter from the three-point line has been sidelined by an ankle injury for weeks, though the impact has been lessened by Avery Bradley's success in the starting lineup as an on-ball defender and off-guard. There will be critical times in this series when the Celtics are going to need Allen's shooting as well as his size, as 6-8 All-Star Joe Johnson is sure to have stretches of dominance against 6-2 Bradley or 6-1 Rondo. The Celtics won't go far in the playoffs without Allen, and they're going to need him sooner than later.

BOTTOM LINE

Boston has proved over the years that its best recitals are better than Atlanta's, but do the Celtics have one last peaking performance in them? As much as they'll need Allen, the Hawks would be hurt more by the absences of Horford and Pachulia, which would prevent them from exploiting the lack of depth in Boston's front line. The Celtics' defense and the playmaking of Rondo should be the dominant forces in this series. Barring an across-the-board breakout effort from Smith, the Celtics will move on.Celtics in six.

[High5]

Without Zaza and Horford, if you were being paid to make expert predictions, why would you pick the Hawks? I love the Hawks as much as anyone, but the Celtics should be favored given the circumstances. Josh has been a total disaster against Boston the last couple of years. That can't continue.

[Randy]

Its interesting that just a few months ago, these same people were saying the Celtics were washed up, the big 3 too old. Then there was all the talk that Rondo would be traded, or that we would send Smith and Teague to Boston for a Bob Cousy/Bill Russell poster (I mean a Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen deal - basically the same thing.) Kind of pointless to make predictions. That's why they play games.

[Supporter]

Without Zaza and Horford, if you were being paid to make expert predictions, why would you pick the Hawks? I love the Hawks as much as anyone, but the Celtics should be favored given the circumstances. Josh has been a total disaster against Boston the last couple of years. That can't continue.

The one guy I'm afraid of isn't even on the opposing team: it's Josh Smith. Either this guy can play the right way and be the force that we need him to be or he will try to prove the haters wrong. If he doesn't give the ball to Teague like he has in the regular season, I will be extremely pissed.

[ag82]

I like it. I think we are being set up perfectly to surprise a lot of people. This team is playing with more heart than I've seen in recent years.

[AJtheGreat]

Now we see why