Boston Sports Then and Now

Pierce's offense allowed the Celtics starters to rest much of the second half.

There was no need for overtime in this one.

Despite Al Horford’s much anticipated return to the Hawks lineup, Atlanta was virtually outmatched from the beginning and now will prepare to travel back home for Game 5, where they hope to protect their home court.

Other than trading baskets for the first two and a half minutes of the contest, Sunday night was a “statement game” of sorts for the veteran Celtics. Boston led by as many as 37 and took a dominant 3-1  series lead with the 101-79 victory.

How it happened:

When Rajon Rondo is penetrating the paint and his counterparts are knocking down their shots, the Celtics are a tough team to beat. When they’re also playing stifling defense, it’s nearly impossible to beat them.

Click here to read more

Boston Celtics forward Brandon Bass must become a force on the offensive end in Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks.

There will be one matchup to watch in Friday night’s Game 3 of the first round series between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. This isn’t Paul Pierce versus Joe Johnson or who will have the upper hand in the point guard showdown of Rajon Rondo and Jeff Teague.

The battle will be Brandon Bass against either Josh Smith or Marvin Williams, depending on whether Smith will be able to get on the parquet. Smith suffered a knee injury at the 4:20 mark in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 87-80 victory over the Hawks. There are differing reports on the diagnosis of his injury, but he is questionable for the Game 3 encounter that will swing the pendulum of the series.

Bass, other than a few jumpers in the first half of Game 2, has yet to check himself into the first two games in Atlanta. Bass’s stat lines are similar after shooting 6-14 from the field with a combined 11 rebounds in both games. He did not even attempt a shot in the first half of Game 1.  Rondo’s absence from suspension did not help Bass in the Celtics’ win to even the series and steal home court advantage from the Hawks because Bass cannot create his own shot. This is one of the biggest reasons Bass was not on the court in the final frame during Game 2 when Doc Rivers went with a small lineup of Kevin Garnett, Pierce, Mickael Pietrus, Marquis Daniels, and Avery Bradley. Also, Rivers knew he needed the team to get consistent stops on the defensive end. Daniels and Pietrus could lock down on Johnson while Pierce could be the playmaker on the offensive side.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Boston Celtics will need a healthy Mickael Pietrus to defend the Atlanta Hawks' leading scorer Joe Johnson.

The Boston Celtics will begin their opening playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta on Sunday. Even though the Celtics finished with the 4th seed courtesy of winning the Atlantic Division, the Hawks (40-26) gained home court advantage with a better record than the Celtics (39-27) despite having a lower seed.

Meanwhile, the Hawks will not be getting their center, Al Horford, back from a torn pectoral muscle he suffered early in the season. Zaza Pachulia will be out for the early portion of the series. The Hawks have gotten center Jason Collins back and they have won four of their last six games.

There is some bad blood between these two opponents in recent seasons starting with their surprisingly close postseason series in 2008. Kevin Garnett and Pachulia have engaged in after the whistle shoving for the past few seasons. When Kirk Hinrich was with the Chicago Bulls, he got into a skirmish with Rondo when the Celtics topped the Bulls in their 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. In the teams’ first meeting this year on March 19th, Jeff Teague taunted Allen after a dunk early in the second half. The officials handed Teague a technical foul and the Celtics woke up to turn a double-digit deficit into a 79-76 victory. After the game, Garnett called Teague “a nobody.”

This should be an intriguing first round series, especially since all three games in the regular season were decided by five points or less.

Here are the key factors:

1. Avery Bradley/Pietrus/Allen or Sasha Pavlovic versus Joe Johnson.

Johnson is the leading scorer for the Hawks and he has come on late in the season with his hot shooting. The former first round pick of the Celtics is averaging 18.9 points per game and he is hitting 39% from beyond the arc. The Celtics don’t want to send Johnson to the charity stripe because he is nailing 84% of his free throws. Bradley has emerged into one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league with his ball pressure and ability to stay with his man off of picks. His size (6’2’’) is a disadvantage for the 6-7 Johnson who likes to shoot over the top of smaller defenders and come off screens for treys. The Celtics could use Pietrus more in his matchup on Johnson, especially in the final minutes. Pietrus’s length could provide problems for Johnson, but Pietrus has been battling a flare up in his surgically repaired knee over the past week after he had suffered a concussion on March 23^rd in the 99-86 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen may not be available to play with bone spurs in his ankle. Allen has missed 15 of the past 20 games with this ankle injury. If Allen isn’t available even though Doc Rivers believes Allen will return, expect  Pavolvic to fill in for Allen. Pavlovic is the same height as Johnson, but he isn’t as long or quick as Pietrus. Pavlovic will need to be physical against Johnson.  Meanwhile Bradley has improved his three point shooting and he is knocking down outside jumpers consistently while displaying the ability to make quick cuts to the basket. Pietrus can stretch the opposing defenses if he is on from behind the three point line, which he seemed to be on a hot streak before he received the concussion. I

Read the rest of this entry →