C's and Hawks So far

1) There should be some surprise, but not shock that the series is tied
2-2. I said it before that while I don't think the C's will lose to the
Hawks, Atlanta is a young fast team and that will cause the C's some
problem.

2) So what has been the problem in Atlanta? From a purely basketball
sense, a couple of things. First off, the Hawks have no pressure on them
and they are playing like it. They're supposed to lose and so they can do
what they want.

Second, in Atlanta the C's have strayed away from what works against the
Hawks. They need to take care of the boards at both ends so that the Hawks
can't run and don't get second chances. The young Hawks make a LOT of
mistakes. They take a LOT of bad shots. Giving them a second chance is the
worst thing the C's can do.

The C's also need to play to their advantage. They DO have the better
BASKETBALL players. Simplify the game. Make it a game of basketball
fundamentals. Their advantage is KG against anyone Atlanta can throw at
him. That is where the C's offense should start.

3) While I don't think the C's will lose, I also think it is very important
that Boston sends that message LOUD and CLEAR to the Hawks tonight. Get on
them early, stay on them, and do not let up. And for Gods sake, just play!
I don't know if they were lethargic or tight in the 4th Q the other night.
Whatever it was, to me, it didn't look like they were happy to be in the
playoffs.

More than anything, this bothers me the most. I think the C's should be
ecstatic about being in the playoffs. This is EXACTLY where KG, Pierce and
Allen wanted and needed to be. This is how they were going to rehab all of
their reputations and redefine their bball legacies. They should be
annihilating the Hawks and laughing about it.

I'm worried that maybe Doc got into their heads the wrong way. Or maybe
they're feeling pressure. Love him or hate him (as I do), no matter what,
Kobe is Kobe. The pressure doesn't get to him. He RELISHES the attention.
However, we've seen in the past that Pierce doesn't handle it well. KG
doesn't want any attention. Ray is Ray.

4) I agree with most of the posters here that say TA needs to get some time
on Joe Johnson. The C's need to deny him the ball and then make him work a
lot harder when he does get it than he did in Game 4. TA is capable of
doing both.

Of course, if the C's still had Joe J., they wouldn't be having these
problems. DAMN YOU WALLACE and O'BRIEN!!!

Robert Chin wrote:
> 1) There should be some surprise, but not shock that the series is
> tied 2-2. I said it before that while I don't think the C's will
> lose to the Hawks, Atlanta is a young fast team and that will cause
> the C's some problem.
>
> 2) So what has been the problem in Atlanta? From a purely basketball
> sense, a couple of things. First off, the Hawks have no pressure on
> them and they are playing like it. They're supposed to lose and so
> they can do what they want.
>
> Second, in Atlanta the C's have strayed away from what works against
> the Hawks. They need to take care of the boards at both ends so that
> the Hawks can't run and don't get second chances. The young Hawks
> make a LOT of mistakes. They take a LOT of bad shots. Giving them a
> second chance is the worst thing the C's can do.
>
> The C's also need to play to their advantage. They DO have the better
> BASKETBALL players. Simplify the game. Make it a game of basketball
> fundamentals. Their advantage is KG against anyone Atlanta can throw
> at him. That is where the C's offense should start.
>
> 3) While I don't think the C's will lose, I also think it is very
> important that Boston sends that message LOUD and CLEAR to the Hawks
> tonight. Get on them early, stay on them, and do not let up. And
> for Gods sake, just play! I don't know if they were lethargic or
> tight in the 4th Q the other night. Whatever it was, to me, it didn't
> look like they were happy to be in the playoffs.
>
> More than anything, this bothers me the most. I think the C's should
> be ecstatic about being in the playoffs. This is EXACTLY where KG,
> Pierce and Allen wanted and needed to be. This is how they were
> going to rehab all of their reputations and redefine their bball
> legacies. They should be annihilating the Hawks and laughing about
> it.
> I'm worried that maybe Doc got into their heads the wrong way. Or
> maybe they're feeling pressure. Love him or hate him (as I do), no
> matter what, Kobe is Kobe. The pressure doesn't get to him. He
> RELISHES the attention. However, we've seen in the past that Pierce
> doesn't handle it well. KG doesn't want any attention. Ray is Ray.
>
> 4) I agree with most of the posters here that say TA needs to get
> some time on Joe Johnson. The C's need to deny him the ball and then
> make him work a lot harder when he does get it than he did in Game 4.
> TA is capable of doing both.
>
> Of course, if the C's still had Joe J., they wouldn't be having these
> problems. DAMN YOU WALLACE and O'BRIEN!!!

Count me among the very worried (although you won't see me posting that in
the cross-posted troll threads). I'm worried for all the reasons you just
mentioned about the "Big Three" in particular...but also by the lack of
playoff esperience. I don't like what I've seen from the bench. So
far...I'm really disappointed in Powe and Big Baby...but maybe I shouldn't
be surprised. The playoffs are almost another sport, they're so different.
Many if not most of our guys haven't had a taste yet.

I was amazed at how well this team maintained their intensity and how hard
they worked during the regular season. Especially defensively. They may be
having trouble raising it to the next level...maybe because they already
*were* at that level while the rest of their opponents weren't...making the
Celts look a bit better than they actually were. The fact is, they still
have a lot to learn...and they better do it fast.

The last thing is...and I'm opening a can of worms again...but I just don't
feel any confidence in Doc to coach them up in the close battles. He
doesn't adjust well during games to my eye...though I don't pretend to know
half what he must about the game. It's really just a gut feeling. I may be
mistaken, but they don't seem to fare well in close, hard fought battles.
It might be more about the inexperience of the younger players...and I
realize what I'm saying may not be entirely fair. But Doc has a lot to
prove, as do the "Big Three". This team may not be championship ready quite
yet after all...but they damn well better progress to the next round at
least, or this year can't be considered a success to me.

On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:47:01 -0400, "Robert Chin" <bchin_us@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>More than anything, this bothers me the most. I think the C's should be
>ecstatic about being in the playoffs. This is EXACTLY where KG, Pierce and
>Allen wanted and needed to be.

I agree with all of your post except this part. I don't think they
should be ecstatic simply to be in the playoffs. KG, Pierce and Allen
have all been there before. With 66 wins, simply being in the
playoffs isn't enough. They've pretty much been in the playoffs for
months now. It's understandable that any luster of simply being there
has long since worn off, and rightfully so. For the C's it's a long
ways until they reach their goal. They'll be ecstatic when they reach
the Finals... and win it. Until then, it's all business. As for the
Hawks, however, their goal has already been met. It's understandable
that they're ecstatic right now.

It's not uncommon for #1/#8 matchups to go to 6 or even 7 games.