POST GAME ATLANTA - GAME 3

Sorry, do not care what personal stats anyone can quote, or the fact that we won..............We had no intensity for 3 1/2 quarters and we were lucky to win.

1) Check the points going into the 4th quarter we only had 18 points in the paint.
2) Rondo was taking forever to get into their offensive sets leaving little time to be creative......and that caused rushed shots.
3) Too many TO by Rondo and some bone head mistakes by Pierce...especially pushing off late in the game while he had the ball and causing a TO.
4) Gave Atlanta some hope for the series - with 3 of their starters out they took the Celtics with RA back to OT.

PLAYER NOTE......Avery Bradley left the game with a shoulder injury. Let us hope he is ok. We could have used him in the 3rd quarter.

CSNE - Bradley injures shoulder, uncertain for Game 4


BOSTON — The Boston Celtics continue to be ravaged by injuries, with Avery Bradley the latest victim.

The 6-foot-2 guard suffered a left shoulder injury in the third quarter of Boston's Game 2 matchup with the Atlanta Hawks.

After heading back to the trainer's room, the Celtics initially said that Bradley would return.

However, about five minutes later they said that he was done for the night.

This is not the first time Bradley has had a shoulder injury this season.

Bradley suffered a right shoulder injury at Charlotte on Feb. 7, and it sidelined him in Boston's 88-87 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 9.

It is unclear if his current shoulder injury will keep him out of Sunday's Game 4 matchup at the Garden. Bradley finished with five points and four rebounds while playing 25 minutes.

NEXT GAME SUNDAY HOME @ 7PM - CSNE/TNT

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POST GAME RECAP

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid Reaction: C's 90, Hawks 84 (OT)
ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawk 90-84 in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Friday night at TD Garden:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON
Rajon Rondo overcame a sluggish start (0 for 3, 2 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds in first half) to produce his 20th career triple-double (15th on national TV, 7th in postseason) with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. Paul Pierce missed 9 of the 12 shots he took, but made 14 free throws to score a team-high 21 points, while Kevin Garnett added 20 points and 13 rebounds. Joe Johnson paced Atlanta with 29 points on 11 of 28 shooting, while Jeff Teague added 23 points.

BOLD PLAY OF THE GAME
Rondo utilized a little spin move in transition to get into the paint, which drew Tracy McGrady with help defense. It also left Pierce open in the left corner in front of the Atlanta bench and he drilled a 3-pointer -- only his second field goal of the night -- for a 70-64 lead with 8:49 to go. That was Rondo's 10th assist. Coming out of a timeout, McGrady turned the ball over and Rondo went the other way for a switching-hands, reverse layup and his 10th point of the night (the triple-double came soon after with two more rebounds).

TURNING POINT
The Celtics were clinging to a one-point lead (65-64) with 9:20 to go before Rondo delivered a driving layup. The spinning dish to Pierce and his reverse layup followed and Garnett added four more points as part of an 11-1 run overall to put Boston out front 76-65 with 6:58 to go. That should have been enough, but the Celtics weren't out of the woods.

TURNING POINT II
Down eight with 2:31 to go, the Hawks needed little more than a minute to tie the game. Willie Green and Johnson each hit trifectas (a Johnson jumper sandwiched in between) to knot the game at 80 with 1:23 to play. Atlanta actually had a chance to pull ahead, but McGrady's layup attempt was too strong. The Celtics got a final chance, but -- stop if you've heard this before -- Pierce's step-back from his right-elbow sweet spot misfired despite getting Johnson in the air.

TURNING POINT (OT)
Rondo hit a little turnaround hook over Teague and Pierce followed with a step-back free throw-line jumper for a four-point cushion midway through the overtime session. Garnett produced the big bucket, however, putting back a Rondo miss with an emphatic slam with 28.1 seconds remaining that had Boston out front 88-84. The Hawks didn't help their cause by making a mere 2 of 11 shots in the overtime session.

ALLEN RETURNS TO FLOOR
Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen returned to a thunderous ovation with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter. Hiding behind screens from Pierce and Greg Stiemsma, he buried a baseline jumper 33 seconds later. He had a good look at a 3-pointer from the right wing the next trip down, but couldn't knock it down. In all, he finished with 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting (even if he missed 2 of 3 free throws).

SPEAKING OF OLD-TIMERS
McGrady might have been the best player on the floor in the first half. Turning back the clock, he made 5-of-9 shots while chipping in 10 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist over 16:43. He did endure a brief injury scare (right ankle) at the end of the first half, but was back on the court for the second half. He finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.

YAAAAAAAWN! SNOOZE-WORTHY HOOPS EARLY ON
The Celtics shot a mere 28.6 percent in the first quarter and Ray Allen (2 for 4) had as many field goal as his Big Four brethren combined (Pierce, Garnett, and Rondo were 2 for 13). The two teams shot a combined 39.5 percent (45 of 114) through three quarters (C's at 39.2 percent; Hawks at 39.7) and Boston led 60-58 heading to the final frame.

DOUBLE-DOSE OF BEASTIE BOYS
After Beastie Boys co-founder Adam Yauch passed away at age 47 on Friday, the Garden delivered a pair of the bands hits with "Girls" and "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)." Consider how the team shot for much of the game, no surprise they skipped going with "Sure Shot."

BRADLEY DINGED UP IN SECOND HALF
Celtics second-year shooting guard Avery Bradley went to the locker room late in the third quarter with what the team termed a sore left shoulder. The team initially said he would return, but he was ruled out early in the fourth quarter.

WHAT IT MEANS
Keeping with the daily theme of the season, the Celtics made things far harder on themselves than they needed to be. The Hawks were playing without Josh Smith (and previously missing Al Horford and Zaza Puchilia), but Boston let them hang around all night. A win is a win this time of year and you can win 16 ugly ones and still get a trophy. That said, you do have to wonder about the strain Boston is putting on its key guys as Pierce (47:06), Garnett (42:00), Rondo (48:40) and even Allen (36:51 in his return) logged heavy floor time. Alas, the victory will take some of those pains away and Boston owns a 2-1 series edge with Game 4 back in Boston on Sunday evening.

WEEI 850

FAST BREAK: C’S HOLD ON LATE AGAINST HAWKS, TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
By Ryan Hadfield

The Celtics beat the Hawks 90-84 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead..

Rajon Rondo registered his seventh career triple-double with 17 points 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. Paul Pierce scored 21 points even though he only hit 3 of his 12 shots from the field. Kevin Garnett had four blocks and added a double-double of his own with 20 points and 12 rebounds. For the Hawks, Joe Johnson scored 29 points on 11-of-28 shooting.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Wise Man: Pierce’s performance in Game 2 has been dissected and discussed to the point of nausea. That’s OK, of course, it was a clutch. But Friday night, his shot simply wasn’t falling. So what did he do? He manufactured points by getting to the charity stripe. The truth attempted 14 freebees … and converted all of them.

Return of Rajon: Rondo’s return from his one game suspension for bumping official Marc Davis started rather spotty. On one hand, he missed all three of his first half shot attempts and, worse, had five turnovers. He showed signs, however, of his brilliance while dishing out five assists through 24 minutes.

The second half saw Rondo return to form. His shooting numbers were still spotty (he was only 7-of-23 from the field), but he ended up dishing out 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds while registering his seventh career triple-double in the playoffs (and the 20th of his career). Oh yeah, and the floor general only had one turnover in the second half and overtime.

Ray of Sunshine: Ray Allen gave the Celtics everything they could have possibly expected while playing his first competitive basketball game in 24 days. In the first half he was 4-of-6 from the field with eight points. The Celtics continued to struggled offensively, but Rivers went to a three-guard lineup, playing Allen alongside Avery Bradley and Rondo, and Boston’s offense appeared more fluent.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Not Your Average Joe: The former Celtic — well for half his rookie season anyway — is the source of much scrutiny because of the six-year $123 million contract he signed in 2010. It’s a tough bill to live up to. In Games 1 and 2, the scoring guard struggled — shooting a combined 10-of-32 of the field — but with Josh Smith unavailable Friday night, Johnson came out aggressive, and kept the Hawks in contention for much of the night. With just over a minute left, Johnson showed some clutchness himself, knocking down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 80.

Pest Control: An underrated story line this series has been the play of Jeff Jeff Teague. Friday night he continued to flash his dribble penetration ability, slicing through the Celtics’ defense en route to 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Small Ball: It Giveth, and taketh away: The Celtics made a run playing Pierce at power forward and were able to grab a two-point lead by halftime. Offensively, the team had more flow, but to many times the Celtics found themselves stuck in defensive mismatches. Rondo and Bradley were put in bad switches, guarding Tracy McGrady and Johnson in the post, which lead to easy baskets for Atlanta. The Hawks outscored the Celtics 28-6 in points in the paint in the first half.

Late to the Party and Early to Leave: After a dramatic Game 2 victory on the road, a raucous crowd filled the Garden smelling blood: The Celtics had seized momentum, recovered from Bump-Gate, and had Allen and Rondo returning to the lineup. How did they respond? By shooting 28.6 percent from the field and committing four turnovers. The Hawks weren’t exactly playing all-world basketball either, shooting 32 percent, but Boston was unable to step on the Hawks throat early.

Meanwhile, the Celtics held an 80-72 lead with just over four minutes left. They would remain at 80 when regulation, while relenting an 8-0 run to the Hawks to force overtime. The scoreless drought is nothing new for Boston, but was ill-timed as the game appeared to be in hand.

Avery Ailing: Avery Bradley left the game in the second half due to a left shoulder injury. He was initially set to return, but then was ruled out for the rest of the game. This could be a concern going forward.

It's good to be back and once again exchanging opinions with all my board friends. A few observations, as I'm probably suffering a little discontinuity myself since I was away for 17 days (although I did follow the Game On Thread and, of course, media reports for every game).

Speaking of discontinuity (I am so good at smooth segues), I want to reiterate that discontinuity exists when a key player returns to the lineup nearly as much as when he goes out with an injury. In this case, Rondo and Ray returned. Rondo had been out for only one game, but it's not the easiest thing in the world for a team to return flawlessly from the adjustments made without their PG to the return of their PG—even after a one game hiatus. And it becomes even harder when they won the game he missed.

I think it was Heinsohn who observed that Rondo didn't seem to want to get in the way of the team flow during the first half. He may also have been preoccupied with getting Ray back into the flow. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Rondo's standing around and pounding the ball into the floor wouldn't have happened if Ray had been running his curls as usual (which he wasn't doing often). There are just so many aspects of the game affected by discontinuity, and (in my opinion, at least), the PG is at the heart of the implications.

From Doc to the end of the rotation, no one had an idea of what to expect from Ray, which exaggerated impact of the discontinuity created by his return. Even after he started with a flurry of points, the more he played, the greater the concern for his ability to continue contribute positive minutes. And it's obvious that Doc had to roll the dice with Ray after Bradley left the game. I found it interesting that Doc said, after the game, they were using Ray mostly as a decoy in the overtime.

A third discontinuity came about when they lost Bradley during the third quarter. That meant their best on-the-ball defender could not be relied on to bother even bigger 2s as the Celtics tried to put the game away.

Given the sheer amount and effect of so much discontinuity, it does not surprise me at all that the Celtics played as raggedly as they did. And, as long as key players keep entering and exiting the lineup, the raggedness is likely to continue and their grittiness in contesting games could become increasingly pivotal.

As I've said so often that even I'm bored to see it in print once more, professional basketball players are not toy soldiers whom you just put on the floor after an absence and whom you can be expect to attain peak effectiveness immediately. The timing of the returnee usually needs work, which can affect the timing of the entire team. The whole team is likely to be feeling around to alter the roles they had been filling in a player's absence.

Moreover, the discontinuity factor can be more prominent in a primarily finesse team, whereas a team that relies more on athleticism (e.g. running the floor or banging the boards) doesn't usually have to make so many adjustments and to do so much fine tuning in absorbing returning players. Frankly, I was impressed that the defense of the team—obviously the backbone of their playoff hopes—didn't seem to suffer more than it did...especially in crunch time, when Ray played every minute.

Frankly, I believe last night's game may have been just what the team needed, except for one factor that will soon become apparent:

• They made some major adjustments, incurred the lapses and miscues that usually accompany discontinuity, and still pulled out the game.

• They've now gone through the worst part of recovering from discontinuity caused by returning players, and Doc has plenty of video to present them with a very necessary rundown of needed priorities for Game Four. (There will be no practice today, so I bet he'll do it at a walkaround tomorrow.)

• They were soundly reminded of how dangerous the Hawks can be; and that lesson (without the cost of a loss) may be the difference between a Celtics win and the Hawks pulling a shocker in Game Four.

You've probably already figured out that the exception to which I alluded pertains the specter of yet additional discontinuity caused by the health of Avery Bradley and/or Ray Allen. It's possible that either or both could be game time decisions (not something I've read, just something I believe), a possibility that would add to the contingencies in the planning Doc is probably doing at this very moment.

Well done, Celtics. Now put them in a 3-1 hole in Game 4.

Sam

Hi,
You know, there 3 types of games that go to the W column: "What a game!", "Good game" and "Win is a win". Last night Celtics showed me the 4th type - "Pathetic".
For 3 quarters I had strong suspicion that Atl coach employed a team of hypnotizers seated among the public and working on the Celtics. They almost succeeded.
And all that despite RR's 3x2.
Oh well, I hope Doc did/will wake them up for Game 4 and their tune changes from pathetic to Pathetique.

AK

Sam I think he hit it on the head. I dont think that what you implied goes for a team like say the Heat. I think you alluded to that though. Seems like our team is always having to adjust to something new or someone new. A team that doesn't get a lot of fast breaks, etc will suffer from that scenario as well. I have no doubt that even if we play without Ray or AB that we will have someone step up and still do the job. I expect all our games to be tough this year regardless of who we play. We just don't play the type of game to blow out people. The silver lining is we play a lot of close games so we kind of use to it.

Great point, tardust. We may not win every close game just because we're used to such games. But odds are that we have the upper hand through experience. Whereas many other teams try to win close ones by putting the ball in one star's hands, our veterans are pretty good at sharing the pressure; and that experienced diversity makes it harder for other teams to deal with the Celts down the stretch.

These Celtics seem to have a knack for not being blown out. And, in the playoffs, they're not very likely to blow anyone else out. That means most games will be relatively close, and winning close games seems to have become a 2012 Celtics specialty. Pretty much the same thing with the Lakers, which is one thing that makes the Celtics-Lakers rivalry so interesting.

Sam

Couple thoughts

Not enough easy hoops... hard one to fix. Atlanta gets back well on defense.

Did not dig a hole to climb out of... kept waiting for that 4-5 minute spurt, still waiting..... and waiting.

A game that Atlanta could have stolen (obviously) but did not. Think the we are used to tight games idea is smack on.

onward to game 4 and hopefully a 25+ point offensive explosion in the first quarter.

beat

I wonder the same about Steamer. He makes mistakes but he also does positive things, has been rebounding better but yet doesn't get time. He said that he feels better than he has felt in weeks. I worry without force feeding someone like him, Garnett is going to be wore out come next series. Steamer probably would stop some of the taking it to the rim junk that Teague is doing to use. We just have to make sure we have Paul or RR in the game at the same time because they are the only ones that will create off the dribble for others. Just scratching my head on steamer. Without one of them in there Steamer, Bass are generally non existant on the offensive end. Bass is dissapointing me. Have to give credit to the Hawks on that, they aren't leaving him alone much, they know thats how he gets his points.

Steamer is suffering from very bad feet and that is why he is getting limited play. You can also see why he is not moving laterally very well and elevating to a height more consistent with his 6'11" frame.

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Bob, one probably inconsequential correction. I think they substituted for Bass late in the third quarter and he never returned, so he wasn't in there when they blew that late lead. I believe Pierce was playing PF and Pietrus essentially made it a three-guard lineup.

As for the discontinuity thing, I thought I had anticipated your question about the difference between Atlanta and the Celtics by suggesting that discontinuity is more of a factor for a finesse team than for a team that depends more on athleticism (which I believe the Hawks do, as witness their lead in fast break points).

Moreover, in my definition, discontinuity is not caused by players who have been missing from the lineup for a long time; it becomes a factor only when they return to the lineup. It is not the long-term absence of players that defines discontinuity in my book. Over time, if someone like Jeff Green or even Jermaine O'Neal is out, a teams usually adapts to the loss. The team may not be as good without said players as with them, but that's the result of a weakened roster—not of my version of discontinuity. It's the loss or gain of players in the short-term that is the essence of discontinuity.

Last night, I'd say my discontinuity scorecard read Celtics 2.5 and Hawks 1; and it was probably closer to 3 to 1 in actuality because the Celtics rely on finesse more than the Hawks do.

The discontinuity factor may have been one reason why Stiemsma didn't play more. Veterans are relatively more capable of handling discontinuity than rookies are.

And, by the way, I agree with those who are wondering about that's going on with Bass. Lately he has seemed much less aggressive, and his presence should be counted on to help create floor spacing—which Doc feels has been lacking.

Sam

Are triple doubles overated? that was the worst t-double game I've ever seen, especially at crunch time were so many bad plays by Rondo kept thinking if he was just average we could get out with a win, Jeff Teague clearly outplayed him and broke down our defense numerous times going right by Rondo like he was Mike Bibby, is Rondo also injured? so painful to watch him throw up 3 pointers with the shot clock winding down, routine layups are an adventure.....without AB we have no perimeter D, scary I don't want to even think about how were gonna look if AB is out.....it won't be pretty. Peitrus is afraid to drive or do anything other than a 3 since he came back. As ugly as it was, monster effort especially on D by KG.

Good points about small ball, were good at it against other big teams, but Hawks loading up their team with wings at every position suddenly had the speed advantage, thank god Marvin Williams is a bust and Henrich couldn't hit a shot or we'd really be in BIG trouble.

One of my biggest problems last night with Paul Pierce's shot selection. When he should have been driving to the basket he was shooting outside shots that just were not going in. This is no knock on PP, but I do think the "hero" title has gone a little to his head. I love this guy, I love his game, but sometimes he does frustrate me. I know they were playing pretty good defense on him, but still, he took some lousy shots.

KG looked beat at the end of the game, he needed a longer breather than he got and I still can't figure out what is going on with Greg. I know it has been said that his feet are killing him, but I think there is more going on here. He had a couple of great blocks in game 2.

I haven't heard any reports today about how Ray felt today after playing so many minutes, but he proved why he still belongs on the floor with this team. He got 6 rebounds last night, the last one being the most important rebound of the game. Gotta love the guy!

Hopefully tomorrow night will prove to be better all around. Go Celtics

Rosalie

Those are just outstanding clips, Bob. I can't believe teams have anything better for analytical purposes.

Sam

Just saw on redsarmy that Bradleys injury was a stinger on left shoulder, no dislocation, he should play tomorow.....yay

112288 wrote:Steamer is suffering from very bad feet and that is why he is getting limited play. You can also see why he is not moving laterally very well and elevating to a height more consistent with his 6'11" frame.

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I thought his feet were hurting as well, but lately I have heard a couple times that he says the feet are as better than they have been in a long time. Maybe that is just telling us how bad it really was. If thats the case he must be one tough cat.

Thanks Bob, you are right, I had goose bumps. I was so happy to see him on the court and he proved just how valuable he is. Sign him up!!!!

AVERY BRADLEY HAD SEPARATED SHOULDER. WOULD NOT POP BACK IN.

SEE NEW POST. THAT'S NOT GOOD.

112288

Bob,

Well, however you do it, those clips are a real service to the board. Thanks a lot.

Sam

Reds Army says it was a stinger, no dislocation, we shall see which news service is right