Hawks-Celtic Game 1 Notes
April 20, 2008
More 3rd Quarter Notes:
-Joe Johnson buries a long distance two to make it 67-55. The Hawks are slowly starting to make a run here.
-Rondo airballs an 18-footer. Osh Smith approves.
-Rondo makes it up by hitting a 17-footer on the next play. 69-55. So much for making the run. Things is looking bleak.
-Rondo hits another 17-footer. Announcer: “he’s great at the 17-footers”. Indeed, as we saw earlier the 18-footer is out of his range. There must be an invisible fence starting at the 18-foot range….
-Boston’s TD Center… where Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” still gets heavy play in the rotation.
-The PG comparison shows Rondo is just dominating Bibby tonight. The irony is that they should be on the other’s team. Seriously, which team do you think the 6′7 point with long arms fits in with, and which team do you think the battle-tested veteran still searching for the elusive ring belongs on?!?
-Rondo’s just showing off now. 73-55 after he hits a runner. That’s it, I’m calling a game unless the Hawks make a run in the fourth. Good night, ya’ll.
********
3rd Quarter Notes:
-Okay, so another averted disaster for the Hawks to start the half - a 3 on 2 fast break gets out of control thanks to terrible spacing, and a poorly thrown lob to Childress goes over his reach. Luckily, he was pushed in the back, so the foul keeps the ball in Atlanta’s hands.
-Why guard Mike Bibby behind the arc?
-Actually, why guard any Hawk behind the arc? Or anywhere outside the paint?
-20-second timeout called by the Celtics, as Kevin Garnett starts to implode, feet-first.
-Josh Smith’s airballs from the three-point line are so predictable to the Hawks by now that Joe Johnson just knew to stand under the rim to grab the “board” to put it back.
-Kevin Garnett with a couple of baskets now, and he is starting to take over.
-And Ray Allen’s big three has the Celtics up 60-44. Timeout Hawks.
-Soon after the timeout, Ray Allen nails another three to make it 65-48. Atlanta turns it over on the other side, and Allen hits another jumper to make it 67-48. Allen has a dozen points this half already, including the last 10 Celtic points.
-Bibby nails a three. 67-51.
-The Hawks’ defense is swarming again. There is still some hope.
-Childress “pretty move” (per the announcer) is a spin move, with a pause in the middle of the spin to stop and retrieve control of his lost dribble, then finally completing the layup. He looks like a development-disabled Iverson.
********
First Half Notes:
Okay, I got home a bit late, and the game was 24-10 Celtics with about four minutes to go. Turns out I got home right in time for the game to begin. The Hawks showed a bit of first game jitters, as one should expect from a young team (only Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are not on rookie contracts) in it’s first playoff game.
-Josh Smith sets it off with a great block on a Powe layup, then goes full court for the reverse twisting layup, just averting disaster.
-Paul Pierce misses a three for the Celts, Josh Smith grabs the board, and throws a 65-foot outlet pass that Josh Childress just snags. He gets fouled to prevent the easy layup. Once again, disaster was just averted. Get the theme yet?
-Geographically-challenged Announcer on Zaza Pachulia: “…out of the Russia (pause) area (pause) known as Georgia…”. It’s a country, yo. Catch an atlas, yo. I got boys from Brighton Beach that would beat you with a f*cking globe for messing that up (”Here’s some Latvia in your effing eye!”)
-The first quarter is almost over, and the TD North Center is still looking like an early 90’s SF/NYC bar. Ventilate. Crack a window. This is suppose to be an NBA-playoff game, not the Yugoslavian Championships.
-Another Hawk steal leads to a Hawk breakaway dunk. Lead down to 26-15. Things are starting to shift a bit.
-And another steal followed by a Bibby layup has it 26-17.
-Loose ball foul on Celtics. It’s veeeery quiet now. I would call it “back to reality, it’s not going to be that easy after all” quiet.
-Another block, another layup. 26-21. 11-2 run for the Hawks.
-Zaza has mad collegen in his lips. Note: I don’t know how to spell collegen. Let me slide, spelling nerds.
-Your typical Osh Smith moment: misses a 12-footer, then on the next play straight charges into James “I stand in one place trying to draw charges” Posey. Typical Smith recklessness. He is like the rich man’s Renaldo Balkman.
-Typical Atlanta ending to the first quarter: they foul Rondo with two seconds to go, and Rondo behind the backboard. Then, on the inboards pass (after Rondo sinks his free throws), they throw the ball away, giving the Celtics one more shot.
2nd Quarter Notes:
-Sometimes you play a team that’s so sloppy, they actually drag you down to their level. That’s the Atlanta Hawks style. Yeah!
-Marvin Williams cuts it to 29-27. We Believe.
-If the Hawks keep this up, by the fourth quarter Kevin Garnett is going to have a Peter Petrillo moment (anyone digging the outdated Heroes references?).
-Salim Stoudemire in the house. Please have an impact tonight. I’ve been crossing my fingers for three years now.
-Ray Allen tries every move in his arsenal, plus the sink, on Joe Johnson. He fails, but Tony Allen with a well timed read on the rebound puts it back in.
-Ray Allen then misses a layup short on the next possession, but grabs his own rebound and puts it back. I think… oh no… the Celtics are adapting to the sloppiness. That’s much quicker than I anticipated.
-Childress swats a Garnett shot, then Horford hits on the offensive side to cut it to a 35-31 deficit.
-Cassell blows a layup. The Celtics miss layups because they’re old; the Hawks miss layups (in this case Horford) because the degree of difficulty is too hard. By choice (or lack of forethought), of course.
-A list of oldest players in the NBA reveals who the Celtics are missing from their roster: Robert Horry. Seriously, that’s who should be here. Him or Steve Kerr.
It’s 49-40 at the half.
Comments
3 Responses to “Hawks-Celtic Game 1 Notes”
Got something to say?
“Boston’s TD Center… where Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” still gets heavy play in the rotation.”
Boy they really can’t let go of the 80’s can they? Greg Kite isn’t walking through that door. Scott Wedman isn’t walking through that door.
” Sometimes you play a team that’s so sloppy, they actually drag you down to their level. That’s the Atlanta Hawks style. Yeah!”
HAHA you ain’t never lied.
Good point about guarding the Hawks outside the arc–exactly, what’s the purpose of it all, anyway?