Atlanta 97, Boston 92 (2-2)
Exactly what in the name of Lil’ Jon is going on?
Ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not….we have ourselves a series. Boston/Atlanta, 1 vs. 8, 2-2. The only series where a team has not lost on their home court. The intrigue of this series comes thanks to the young Hawks who apparently didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to go down without a fight.
Fight. That’s the same word that has made this series interesting. The Hawks fought in both of their home games. In Game 3 the fought off an Celtics rally. In Game 4, they literally fought the Celtics. Zaza Pachulia stepping up to KG’s mug sent a message: we’re not backing down at all. A young team like Atlanta with confidence is positively dangerous. And that’s what they had tonight. The will to fight and the confidence to win.
The Hawks fought off the Celtics initial onslaught. Down 21-9 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter…who would have blamed the young Hawks for feeling intimidated, for dropping a game to a superior team. Not tonight. At the end of the first quarter it was 29-24 Atlanta. That’s a 20-3 run in the last 4 minutes for those not gifted in arithmetics.
After watching their lead evaporate and turn into a 10-point deficit at the end of 3…who would have blamed the Hawks for throwing in the towel? Not too many people. The C’s were in complete control in 3, it looked as if they had finally gone on the run to shut the Hawks up. But they didn’t. They instead held the C’s to one field goal in the first 9:20 seconds of the final period. That’s 5 points in that span total and the Hawks are far from a defensive juggernaut.
Combine the offensive woes with the brillance of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and you have a recipe for disaster. Chris Webber made a point on Inside wondering how the C’s could let two players score all of the points without making an adjustment. All of the adjustments in the world weren’t going to stop Joe Johnson tonight. This was his coming out party, he might make the All-Star team next year solely based off this performance. He was insanely good, and if this is his ceiling and he grows into this…watch out for the Hawks. There’s nothing you could have done except watch in awe of his performance. He was just that good. He almost ended poor Leon Powe’s career. 20 points in the 4th quarter….yikes.
One thing that definitely showed tonight: Boston needs a half-court game and they shoot a lot of jumpers. Who would think a team with Paul Pierce and KG would only get to the line 18 times? 4 free throws KG? Really? That’s 4 less than Bibby shot and exactly as many as Marvin Williams. That’s not going to get it done. The C’s are dominant in a half-court game because of their half-court defense and their half-court offense. Unfortunately when they miss jumpers (which they take a lot of) it allows other teams to get out and run which negates anything Thibodeau can come up with. One half of the book says make some shots, the other half says attack the basket.
For Boston there is no need to panic one bit. There is a need to worry. Atlanta would feel a lot better if the same argument I used against the Mavericks last year could apply to the C’s this year. That argument being ‘What will they do when they face adversity?’ Except the C’s handled adversity when KG went down midseason and they just kept winning. Things are still tilting far in the C’s favor, but they must find a way to regroup as a team and send a message in Game 5. What many thought was impossible coming in has turned into a pivotal game. Game 5.
Boston will need their bench to show up. After the strong contributions in the first two games, the bench has disappeared in games 3 and 4. Especially tonight. The road does do a number on role players so hopefully the comforts of the Garden will awaken their souls. Atlanta needs major league performances from Smith and Johnson on the road. Boston has to re-find their defense and key in on those two. Marvin Williams, Childress and co. are not going to beat you. Smith and Johnson will. If the Hawks carry that same swagger, attitude and confidence into the Garden…watch out Beantown.
By the way what is this the 80s?? Who have thought Boston/Atlanta would ever give us a classic playoff series again? Nique and Bird must be rolling around in their beds at night.
Wait….I feel like we’ve seen this before though. 1 vs. 8. Young, athletic, high-flying, fun to watch team ending a playoff drought. Raucous, appreciative fans carrying them through. Sounds a little familiar.
Orlando 102, Toronto 92 (ORL wins 4-1)
This is a game where the Raptors really needed Chris Bosh to dominate. They were up 50-49 at half, Bosh only had 4 points at that point and was scoreless in the second quarter. A quarter the Raps lost 27-24.
Unfortunately, for all the carrying he did in Toronto, he had nothing left. He scored 4 early in the third to keep the Raptors close but that was all he would score in that quarter. By the time he had his next bucket the Raptors were down 78-72 with 10 minutes left in the 4th. He missed a couple free throws that made a big difference in the long run.
The Raptors played their hearts out but just couldn’t figure out a way to stop the Magic. They couldn’t stop Dwight from having another 20/20 performance and making the leap into the legendary big man sphere. They couldn’t stop Jameer Nelson who had another 19 point effort. They couldn’t stop Bogans and Evans from hitting timely threes.
So now the Magic move on in the playoffs for the first time since they rocked the pinstripes, Shaq was still in town and Penny was still Penny, not Anfernee.
All Magic fans should thank Billy Donovan, ASAP.
Lakers 107, Denver 101 (LAL 4-0)
All of the fight in the world doesn’t matter when you have to face Kobe in the 4th quarter. Denver gave it everything they had to come back, only to watch Kobe Bryant erase that hard work in a matter of minutes. JR Smith’s and one put the Nuggets up one…and just like that they were down 4. Mainly because Kobe hit a shot seconds later to remind everyone just who they were dealing with. Disgusting. 14 points in the final 5 and 1/2 minutes of the game. The Lakers are sick if you really, really think about it.