The Celtics have the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. While I would be more nervous if the Celtics were playing the Tennessee Volunteers woman's team, considering the Celtics swept the Hawks 3-0 this year and won every game by 10 points or more, I am contractually obligated to break this series down.
1) We are playing the Hawks.
First of all, sarcasm aside, I am impressed that the Hawks made the playoffs because when the C's played them in the fourth game of the season, the Hawks looked like one of the worst teams in the history of basketball. I couldn't believe how bad they looked. Now, I know that the Eastern Conference supposedly sucks (it doesn't), but the Hawks held it together while other more talented teams completely imploded (Bulls, Pacers) and/or gave up and traded away their best players (Nets, Heat).
That being said, the Hawks are not very good, at all, and the Celtics should win this in four games. It would be the best way to do business because the Wizards and Cavs are going to beat the hell out of each other and the Celtics looooove to take time off mid-season. Anyone who says, "Don't look past the first round" is an idiot. Should the Celtics pull out all the stops and grind this series out in 7 games? Is that a better alternative!?
The Celtics should look to Round 2 and close this one out ASAP.
2) Point guard play.
The Hawks made a big move to get Mike Bibby, a vampire whose best years I can't even remember they were so long ago. This appears to have helped the Hawks against the Celtics, because they only lost their two games with Bibby by 10 points whereas without him they lost by 23. The Eddie House/Bibby matchup should be sort of awkward considering House is sleeping with Bibby's sister, literally, so look for Rondo to get long minutes. This should be an advantage for the C's.
3) Post play.
Al Horford gets destroyed by KG and Perk. His +/- in the three games were -17, -9, -13. He's good, but don't believe the hype. Look for the Celtics to run the offense through the post and get Horford in foul trouble, because his backup is Zaza freaking Pachulia. I'm telling you, the more I read about the Hawks the better I feel.
4) Bench. The Hawks' sixth man is Josh Childress, and then you've got Zaza, then it's straight to Salim Stoudemire. Umm...... I think this is an advantage for the Celtics. Good gravy.
5) Announcers.
I listened to a Hawks radio broadcast two years ago, and Dennis Scott was saying that Gerald Green sucked while he was torching the Hawks. It pissed me off then and it continues to piss me off today because Gerald Green is no longer in the league and it's because of idiots like Scott tat think 6-8 dudes that shoot almost 40% from distance and have 48" verticals are a dime a dozen, while asses like Casey Jacobson can shoot 23% from three and do NOTHING ELSE can have a long and illustrious benchwarming career. They just anger me.
6) The Joe Johnson situation.
This is probably the biggest screw-up in recent Celtic history. History has not been kind to the Celtics' choosing to develop Kedrick Brown instead of Johnson. I still like Johnson a lot and wish the Celtics had held on to him, BUT! I will never understand why Johnson isn't the poster child for me-first money grabbing greediness in the NBA. Everyone (including me) trashed Demon Bird Moth Balls (Shawn Marion) for fleeing a title contender (Suns) for the worst team in the league (Heat), but that's EXACTLY what Johnson did, only he did it for a worse team. Jus sayin'. Also, this is a weird little rumor I heard from a reliable source, but apparently Joe Johnson never dunked in a game until college because his parents said it was unsportsmanlike. I know, that doesn't add anything to the discussion here, but I find it interesting.
The Celtics have a couple options for guarding Johnson, and while he will get his points and contribute well, I don't think he has the ability to take over a game like Lebron, Gilbert, Butler, or Jamison in round 2.
PREDICTION
Celtics in 4 games. Why am I so confident? Because the Celtics are that much better, that's why!Source URL: http://ledger-heath.blogspot.com/2008/04/breaking-down-round-one-atlanta-chair.html
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