Official Playoff Game Thread: Hawks at Celtics -- GAME 5

[REHawksFan]

29 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Tryin to figure out which one of these fan expressions is my favorite...

Can't decide between the kid in the middle in total shock or the grown ass man in the backwards cap lookin like he about to cry.  

Y'all been ICE'D

[JeffS17]

17 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Interesting, the next 4 are creating almost as many points on 9 fewer possessions per game.  To me, this is less a graph to celebrate Trae and more indicative of how reliant our offense is on him right now.  I hope next year he lands somewhere closer to where Booker is and doesn't have to shoulder it all himself.  Quin should help with that.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 hour ago, Final_quest said:

I also see a lot of swallowed whistles on drives to the hoop, and it's not just Trae.  

 

Expect the whistles to be plentiful in Game 6.

But this is how a ref fixes a game.

You call fouls on the Hawks when we supposedly foul their best FT shooters.

You call fouls on the Celtics when they supposedly foul our worst FT shooters.

 

Tatum will get 12 FTs.  Trae will get 4 FTs.  Dre Hunter, who is hit and miss at the line, might get 8 or 9 if he's aggressive.

Total fouls and FTs for both teams will be close to even, but our best shooters will never get the calls.

 

Hawks need to plan to shoot great again from 3 to win.  Or just try to blow them out and take the refs completely out of it.

[sturt]

 

 

[marco102]

The talking heads are not talking about this, but to this point in the series, Trae has been the best player on the floor.   He has cut down on his turnovers AnD he's playing decent defense. 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by marco102

[swanlee]

5 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

Statements like this are infuriating.  Had he passed the ball and Hunter or JC or Bogi miss the 3 he just goes back to being a guy who "you can't win with" and "can't build around".  But he literally puts the team on his shoulders and carries it to a win and he's "selfish?"  WTH?  Complete and utter nonsense.  Ridiculous stupidity.  

He's the Hawks superstar. In an elimination game. Against a better opponent.  Without his backcourt running mate.  He did what was needed to win the F'n game.  Just say thank you and move on. 

Yea the hair splitting going on is pretty tiring, hey maybe if you did not spend years trashing Trae t not ends you would not feel bad about walking it back when he steps up and delivers in clutch.

He is under such a huge and unfair microscope compared to other rising Stars in the league.  

[sturt]

7 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Tryin to figure out which one of these fan expressions is my favorite...

Can't decide between the kid in the middle in total shock or the grown ass man in the backwards cap lookin like he about to cry.  

Y'all been ICE'D

Oh man. I need this one framed.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Someone is finally getting it.

 

[Diesel]

12 minutes ago, marco102 said:

The talking heads are not talking about this, but to this point in the series, Trae has been the best player on the floor.   He has cut down on his turnovers AnD he's playing decent defense. 

 

Yeah they are still running with the Narrative of Most Turnovers and Worst EFG%...

Let them keep on drinking the kool aid.  

I watched a Boston Podcaster admit that the Celtics are not built for these kind of games but still expected that they would win the series because of history. 

 

I was shocked to hear that in the last 5 minutes, Trae had 100% Usage rate...

Damn.

 

[swanlee]

5 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

You do know that almost ALL superstar players are selfish to a point, because they believe in their ability.

What would you have liked to seen?  Bey, who has never been in the playoffs before, take late game winning shots?  How about Hunter?  JC?  Bogi?  All of those players may be capable of making game winning type shots at the end.  But you talk as if Trae has never done this before.  He knows what to do at the end of games.

 

Game winner in Game 5 vs the Knicks to eliminate them.

10 points in the final 5 minutes of Game 7 in Philly, after having a horrible shooting night

Game winner vs Miami in Game 3 last year.

Game winner last night vs Boston in Game 5.

 

LOL . . you talk about he almost threw the game away.  The man had 38 points and 13 assists . . zero turnovers in the 2nd half.  He played above average defense most of the night.  And he made the plays that we needed to make to win games.

And yet you still have mixed feelings about him?  LOL.

All Trae does is win under pressure, I would not want anyone in the NBA taking a last second 30 +footer to win a big game besides Trae taking that shot.

28 and 10 are pretty much HOF numbers which he does consistently in the regular season and then add in his under pressure spotlight time performances and he will probably be considered one of the all time greats when he retires.

People not only seem to expect Trae to be perfect 100% of the time but they also have a fit when he pulls a rabbit out of hit hat like last night.

[REHawksFan]

18 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Interesting, the next 4 are creating almost as many points on 9 fewer possessions per game.  To me, this is less a graph to celebrate Trae and more indicative of how reliant our offense is on him right now.  I hope next year he lands somewhere closer to where Booker is and doesn't have to shoulder it all himself.  Quin should help with that.

I would love for him to become more efficient but he's not exactly been inefficient in the playoffs.  His Points Per Possession is 1.11 which is tied with Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum and right behind guys like Jaylen Brown (1.13), James Harden (1.14), Donovan Mitchell (1.15) and ahead of Tyrese Maxey (1.09), Giannis (1.09), LeBron (1.09), Ja (1.01).

Sure, he gets a lot of those points on assists, but if we are assessing the overall contribution of the player, those count too.  But I do agree it would be nice if he was up in the 1.3 range which is where guys like Booker, Jimmy, and Joker are.  

 

[swanlee]

3 hours ago, FrankWhite said:

That was really beautiful. Trae gave us one purely joyous moment in what has felt like a lost season. Love to see sad Boston fans.

It is truly crazy that Trae didn’t shoot a free throw until the last two minutes of the game. He had multiple drives that should’ve earned him free throws. The TNT guys kept complimenting Boston on how they were able to play defense without fouling, which is hilarious. Just because the refs don’t call them doesn’t mean they’re not fouling. 

As annoying as this season was this win pretty much seals it as a positive for us.

Miami play-in win was awesome, Last night was amazing AND we hired Snyder for 5 years at least.

Being so Mid all year was frustrating but I have 100% confidence in Snyder and from wat I've seen the team has all bought in with him so the skies the limit.

Any playoff where we get clutch Trae stabbing the heart of a rival is good to me.

[shakes]

36 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Tryin to figure out which one of these fan expressions is my favorite...

Can't decide between the kid in the middle in total shock or the grown ass man in the backwards cap lookin like he about to cry.  

Y'all been ICE'D

reminds me of the famous photo from behind of MJ hitting the final shot vs Utah in 98.

[Diesel]

Joel Embiid After Ice Trae's three last night. 

[Diesel]

CAPTION THIS...

 

Fan with the American Flag on his Hat:   Damn, I said if they lose this game I would stop watching the Celtics...

[Diesel]

Caption this...

Little Black Kid:  I am so damn Lost... Has anybody seen my parents?

Black Man at the Bottom:  That is not my Damn Kid!!!  Stop asking...  Now move over so he doesn't see me. 

[Diesel]

Caption This....

 

Guy with his hands on his head:  Damnit, I forgot the Damn Binky!

[sturt]

I don't get the kid with his hands to his ears as-if he just heard a sonic boom, when the exact opposite just happened.

[BrazilianHawk]

6 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

Statements like this are infuriating.  Had he passed the ball and Hunter or JC or Bogi miss the 3 he just goes back to being a guy who "you can't win with" and "can't build around".  But he literally puts the team on his shoulders and carries it to a win and he's "selfish?"  WTH?  Complete and utter nonsense.  Ridiculous stupidity.  

He's the Hawks superstar. In an elimination game. Against a better opponent.  Without his backcourt running mate.  He did what was needed to win the F'n game.  Just say thank you and move on. 

You don't need to be infuriated about my feelings. I respect yours and it's ok. 

Trae took 33 shots and got a few times to the line in 44 minutes. You can't say that's not selfish. There's no other word for that. And yes it somehow worked, when many of us were already accepting defeat. 

Granted it worked VERY well in the 4th, still had a somewhat inefficient FG% but in the end the Hawks won, kudos to Trae (IN THE 4TH) and ALL IS FORGIVEN. We survived, against all odds.  

Honestly, there's absolutely nothing in my post to be infuriated about. Trae just chose to take all of DJ's shots and it worked out in the end, great for the Hawks. Let's just be happy about it and wait for Thursday night. 

 

Geez. It looks like some of you guys are rooting for Trae only, and not for the team. 

 

[marco102]

1 minute ago, BrazilianHawk said:

You don't need to be infuriated about my feelings. I respect yours and it's ok. 

Trae took 33 shots and got a few times to the line in 44 minutes. You can't say that's not selfish. There's no other word for that. And yes it somehow worked, when many of us were already accepting defeat. 

Granted it worked VERY well in the 4th, still had a somewhat inefficient FG% but in the end the Hawks won, kudos to Trae (IN THE 4TH) and ALL IS FORGIVEN. We survived, against all odds.  

Honestly, there's absolutely nothing in my post to be infuriated about. Trae just chose to take all of DJ's shots and it worked out in the end, great for the Hawks. Let's just be happy about it and wait for Thursday night. 

 

Geez. It looks like some of you guys are rooting for Trae only, and not for the team. 

 

Considering Trae is a part of the team, looks like you should be rooting for him instead of pointing out every negative of what was a pretty masterful game going up against the number 2 rated offense and defense in the league. 

You are entitled to your opinion, but stay over there in misery island.