Blog Moving...

I just want to thank all of my readers for supporting me and reading my posts.  This blog, Atlanta Hawks: On the Court, and my Atlanta Dream blog, It's not just a dream!, will both be moving to Basketball Atlanta, my new blog about the Hawks and Dream.  I hope you make the move with me to this new site.  I look forward to keeping you informed about Atlanta basketball.

Hawks vs. Celtics - Game 5 Recap

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 87-86 at home at Philips Arena. With the win, the Hawks cut the Celtics' lead in this best-of-seven first round playoffs series to 3-2. The starters for the Hawks were Jeff Teague and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith at the two forward positions, and Al Horford at center. The leading scorer for the Hawks was Al Horford, with a game-high 19 points. He also grabbed 11 boards, giving him a double-double. Jeff Teague added 16 points and five assists. Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams scored 15 points apiece. Josh Smith contributed a double-double, with 13 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists. The Celtics were lead by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who each scored 16 points. In the first quarter, the Celtics outscored the Hawks 21-15. In the second quarter, the Hawks came back, outscoring the Celtics 25-19 to tie the game at 40 at the break. The Hawks went on a 10-0 run in the third, but the Celtics responded with a 10-0 run of their own to close out the quarter, and cut the Hawks' lead to 66-64 heading into the final frame. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics went on a 7-0 run, but the Hawks persevered, and two clutch baskets by Horford and a clutch defensive stop gave the Hawks a one-point victory. I think the key to the game was rebounds. The returns of Josh Smith and Al Horford has really had an impact in this statistical category. The Hawks outrebounded the Celtics 41-33. Great win for the Hawks to stave off elimination.

Hawks vs. Celtics Game 5 Preview

The Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics tonight at home at Philips Arena.  With a win tonight, the Hawks would cut their deficit in this best-of-seven first round playoffs series to 3-2.  The probable starters for the Hawks tonight are Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, and Josh Smith and Jason Collins in the frontcourt.  Zaza Pachulia (sprained left foot) is day-to-day.  I think the key to a win tonight for the Hawks is energy.  The Hawks didn't play with energy and intensity in Game 4, and it resulted in a 22 point blowout.  If the Hawks can play with energy and intensity from the opening tip to the final buzzer tonight, I think they can get a W.

Game Time: 8pm E.T.
TV: FSSO, TNT
Radio: 99X

Hawks vs. Celtics - Game 4 Recap

The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Boston Celtics 101-79 on the road.  With the loss, the Hawks dropped to 1-3 to the Celtics in this best-of-seven first round playoffs series.  The starters for the Hawks were Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, and Josh Smith and Jason Collins in the frontcourt.  The leading scorer for the Hawks was Josh Smith, with 15 points.  He also grabbed 13 boards and dished out five assists, giving him a double-double.  Al Horford added 12 points and five rebounds in his first game back since suffering a torn left pectoral in January.  Despite the loss, it was good to see Al back out on the court.  Jannero Pargo contributed 11 points off the bench.  The leading scorer for the Celtics was Paul Pierce, with a game-high 24 points.  In the first quarter, the Celtics took a 32-19 lead over the Hawks.  In the second, the Celtics went on an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 51-27 with 6:14 to go before halftime.  The Celtics lead 64-41 at the half.  In the third quarter, the Celtics went on a 15-2 run, but the Hawks responded with a 13-0 run to cut their deficit to 21 points.  The Celtics ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 90-63 lead over the Hawks heading into the final frame.  In the fourth quarter, the Hawks cut the Celtics' lead to 20, but that was as close as they would get, and they lost by 21.  I think the key to why the Hawks lost was field-goal percentage.  The Hawks shot 40.8% from the field, compared to 51.2% from the field for the Celtics.  It was just a matter of who was making shots, and the Hawks weren't.  Tough loss for the Hawks.

Hawks vs. Celtics Game 4 Preview

The Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics tonight on the road.  With a win tonight, the Hawks would tie this best-of-seven first round playoffs series at 2-2.  The probable starters for the Hawks are Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, and Josh Smith and Jason Collins in the frontcourt.  Zaza Pachulia (sprained left foot) and Josh Smith (strained tendon, left knee) are day-to-day.  Al Horford (torn left pectoral) is out.  I think the key to a win for the Hawks tonight is rebounding.  The Celtics were second-to-last this season in the NBA in rebounding.  The Hawks need to take advantage of this and crash the boards.  If the Hawks can win the rebounding battle, I think they can get the W tonight.

Game Time: 7pm E.T.
TV: SPSO, TNT
Radio: 680 The Fan, 99X

Hawks vs. Celtics - Game 3 Recap

The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Boston Celtics 90-84 in overtime on the road.  With the loss, the Hawks dropped to 2-1 in this best-of-seven first round playoffs series.  The starters for the Hawks were Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, and Marvin Williams and Jason Collins in the frontcourt.  The leading scorer for the Hawks was Joe Johnson, with a game-high 29 points.  He also grabbed eight boards.  Jeff Teague added 23 points and six assists.  Tracy McGrady contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, nearly a double-double.  The leading scorer for the Celtics was Paul Pierce, with 21 points.  In the first quarter, the Hawks outscored the Celtics by two, 19-17.  In the second quarter, McGrady scored 10 of his 12 points for the Hawks, before briefly leaving the game due to a sprained ankle (he returned after halftime).  Despite a very good third quarter from McGrady, the Hawks were outscored 23-19 in the second, and the Hawks trailed the Celtics 40-38 at the half.  In the third quarter, the Hawks saw the Celtics take what was their biggest lead of the game, at eight, before the Hawks came back to cut the Celtics' lead back to two heading into the fourth, at 60-58.  In the fourth quarter, the Celtics went on an 11-1 run, to extend their lead to 11 (their biggest lead of the game).  Then, the Hawks responded with a 15-4 run over the final six minutes or a 8-0 run over the final four minutes, and tied the game at 80 with 1:23 to play in regulation.  Over the final 1:23, the Hawks and Celtics combined to miss their final five shot attempts of regulation, and therefore, the game went into overtime. Halfway through overtime, the Celtics had already scored more points than they had over the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.  The Hawks ran out of gas in OT, and the Celtics outscored the Hawks 10-4 in the extra period, as the Hawks lost by six.  It is hard to really find a stat that shows a way the Hawks lost this one.  The Hawks lead in fastbreak points, points in the paint, and bench points.  The statistical categories they did not lead in, their deficit was very slim.  So, I think the reason the Hawks lost was that they didn't play with the same energy and intensity in OT as they did in regulation.  When I said in my game preview that the Hawks had to play with this energy and intensity until the final buzzer, I didn't just mean after the 48 minutes of regulation.  The Hawks really fought just about as hard as I have seen a team fight, but they just couldn't get a W in the end.  Tough loss for the Hawks in a close one like that, but they showed how much perseverance they have.

Hawks vs. Celtics Game 3 Preview

The Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics tonight on the road.  With a win tonight, the Hawks would take a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven first round playoffs series.  The probable starters for the Hawks tonight are Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson in the backcourt, and Josh Smith and Jason Collins in the frontcourt.  Zaza Pachulia (sprained left foot) and Josh Smith (strained tendon, left knee) are day-to-day.  Al Horford (torn left pectoral) is out.  I think the key to a win tonight for the Hawks is energy.  In Game 2, with Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen out for the Celtics, the Hawks underestimated a short-handed Celtics team, and didn't play with enough energy or intensity.  Now Rondo will be back, and Allen might be back, so the Hawks really need to play hard tonight.  Also, the Hawks' energy has to last from tip-off until the final buzzer sounds.  If the Hawks can do so, I think they can get a W tonight on the road.

Game Time: 7:30pm E.T.
TV: SPSO, ESPN
Radio: 99X