Official Game Thread: Celtics at Hawks (Thursday)

[lethalweapon3]

“Svi, NO! Look here. You hold the hookah hose like THIS.”

 

On Monday night, The Hottest Team in the East showed up to Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. For about a quarter-and-a-half, they played like they were.

Today, the venue will host The Hottest Team in the East once more. To beat them, this time, it’s the visiting Boston Celtics who will have their work cut out.

The Celtics now know it will take more than one quarter of offensive perfection to fend off the pesky Atlanta Hawks, tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Boston), or any postseason-bound team on any night.

After blowing a 68-38 lead in the space of 19 basketball minutes on Monday, the team with the NBA’s best record then failed to score field goals on consecutive possessions over the final five minutes, the Hawks staving them off for the thrilling 120-118 victory that nipped Boston’s nine-game win streak in the bud. As the Celts dropped to 26-2 versus sub-.500 foes, now it’s Atlanta with a little streak of their own, at three games to match the Knicks’ current run, following last night’s stiff-arming of prepubescent Portland.

Hawks fill-in starter Vit Krejci was the most surprising hero in Monday’s comeback victory. It took Nashville’s Battle of The Boulevard brethren, Garrison Mathews and Dylan Windler (8-for-14 combined 3FGs off the bench; Mathews 6-for-6 FTs before fouling out with 8 minutes to spare, while POR went just 6-for-10 as a team), to keep Wednesday’s Blazers at bay.

Amid the Celts’ four-night stay at the luxurious Four Seasons in Midtown, the oft-sullen Joe Mazzulla chose to look on the bright side of the spilt milk from Monday’s loss. “I thought we responded better this game,” the coach said the next day to Boston sports radio hosts. Mazzulla was referring to the 20-point fourth quarter lead Boston squandered just weeks before in Cleveland, that loss to the Donovan Mitchell-less Cavs ending the Celts’ 11-game win streak.

“There’s a lot of possessions that we can learn from,” Mazzulla told 98.5 SportsHub on Tuesday, “and we’re able to get on the court today and kind of work through some of that stuff.” Ah, the beauty of a stay in Atlanta, with two off-days plus 48 extra minutes of opponent game tape, to work through stuff.

One To Grow On included Cobb County native Jaylen Brown’s 23-dribble soliloquy (with both hands, though, so there’s that) in the final minute of Monday’s play, leading to a missed and well-contested fadeaway three-point shot.

Brown had just dribbled his way into a tough middy he made to retrieve his Celtics’ lead the minute prior, only to be trumped by a nifty scoop to the hoop by his fellow Conference Player of the Month finalist, Dejounte Murray (top-5 in March PPG and APG, 1^st in SPG among NBA Easterners), that seized the Hawks’ late lead back. My turn, your turn, Brown surely thought. But with nowhere to drive, and with teammates that have gone cold shooting threes, what to do? What to do?

“He was trying to run a play, and I was trying to empower him to drive the ball,” Coach Mazz explained, “because I think it’s one of the best things he does… He’s got to know that, and that’s on me to tell him.”

Coach Quin Snyder’s team is learning, slowly but surely, how good things can happen when you commit to collectively deny paths into the paint for opposing ballhandlers. Teams like Portland (NBA-low 45.1 FG% off-drives, per Second Spectrum; 7.3 TO% off-drives, 2^nd-worst), the Hawks, and Charlotte have not been proficient in creating good shots off drives. But the Celtics (53.3 FG% off-drives), and forthcoming Hawks foes Milwaukee (NBA-best 54.0 FG% off-drives) and Chicago certainly have.

Whether it’s Scoot Henderson (6 assists, 6 TOs, minus-12 yesterday) and Dalano Blanton (31 points and 8 assists but minus-15 last night w/ 4 TOs), or Brown and Jayson Tatum (25 combined second-half points on 24 FGAs and 5 FTAs on Monday; BOS 1-for-15 on second-half 3FGs), opposing Hawk forwards and wings can use their footwork and/or wingspan to deter penetration and force ballhandlers into tough mid-range decisions.

Monday’s defeat was the Celtics’ third game in four nights, and fourth in six. So it is reasonable to expect Al Horford’s club to be fresher in the back end of tonight’s contest, although Mid-Sized Al joins Jrue Holiday (sprained AC joint, participated in AM shootaround today and yesterday) as questionable for tonight, with a sprained toe. Atlanta’s challenge will be to keep this contest closer to the vest (these days, that’s within 15 points) in the early going.

A more competitive affair from the jump with the Celts (57-15, but 4-7 when margin is within one point during final minute, as per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning) could pay dividends for Atlanta (33-39), and all fans in attendance, when we get to see whether Boston can adhere to their optimal inside-out offensive gameplans, or if instead we get treated to even more 1-on-5 play from the Iso Jays.

If it’s the latter that transpires, Murray and the Hawks will be presented with one more opportunity to have Boston leave the Farm, possibly not for the last time this spring, feeling more Blue than a Flame. Young Jaden Springer, I am sure, has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Boston Sports fans are feeling a bit better today in the aftermath of Monday's blown lead, and for good reason.

While Trae continues attacking his pinkie rehab, Dejounte (questionable, sore back) hopefully will be able to play significant minutes today, lest we question his considerable energies being spent just for Atlanta to offset Dalano and Scoot last night. Jaden Springer (lap dance knee tendinopathy) and Xavier Tillman (lap dance knee swelling) joins Horford and Holiday among the Celtics' Questionables.

In between Celtics-Hawks games, I did rather enjoy Defector's Chris Thompson's musings on Joekembe Mazzombo. I mean, come on Al, you're supposed to contest! No seconds off!

https://defector.com/joe-mazzulla-must-disobey-the-nba-and-continue-to-block-meaningless-shot-attempts

 

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

10 more games to go.

[JayBirdHawk]

Al caught what OO and Kobe has - sprained big toe.

Boston Celtics

 

@celtics

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13m

 

#NEBHInjuryReport update:

Jrue Holiday (right AC Joint sprain) - QUESTIONABLE

Al Horford (left big toe sprain) - OUT

Jaden Springer (left knee tendinopathy) - OUT

Xavier Tillman - AVAILABLE

[kg01]

Hope we sit everybody, deny their revenge(sic). 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

will he or won't he play?

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Dejounte Murray (lower back soreness): Available

[terrell]

Good qtr Hawks....

[terrell]

Bruno ain't scared.........

[JayBirdHawk]

Bru

[JayBirdHawk]

Trent Forrest's ball handling has been very suspect recently.

[terrell]

Trent Forrest is lucky as hell to be in the NBA

Pretty sure theyre plenty of players better than him overseas Gleague etc...... lol

[JayBirdHawk]

Bogi with the defense.

[JayBirdHawk]

Meth Bogi collects the charge.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Good job Quin for challenging the reversal.

[JayBirdHawk]

C'mon Dr3...look alive.

[JayBirdHawk]

Refs miss Trae - he gets a tech from the bench (walking on the court after the DJ 3ptr)