2016 NBA PLAYOFFS POST GAME ATLANTA - HOME GAME #6

Hawks overwhelm Celtics, move to 2nd round with 104-92 win

ESPNBOSTON

BOSTON -- Paul Millsap had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 104-92 Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each added 15 points for the Hawks, who earned their first playoff series win over Boston since the St. Louis Hawks beat the Celtics in the 1958 Finals.

The Hawks open the second round on Monday at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Celtics last three playoff appearances have ended in first-round exits.

Coming off a 27-point win in Game 5, the Hawks took advantage of poor shooting by Boston on Thursday, building as much as a 28-point lead.

Atlanta blew the game open with a 39-point third quarter in which it shot 74 percent from the field.

The Celtics shot just 36 percent for the game. They made a final charge to get as close as 10 points, but Atlanta was able to close it out.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 25 points and 10 assists. Jae Crowder added 15 points.

For most of the game, the Hawks simply benefited from Boston's struggles.

The Celtics played most of the second half with Crowder battling foul trouble.

He went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 11:21 left in third quarter. Coach Brad Stevens rolled dice and re-inserted him, only for Crowder to be called for his fifth foul with 8:13 to play.

Crowder fouled out with 3 minutes to play.

But most of the damage was done much earlier.

There was lots of energy inside TD Garden from the home fans at tipoff, and Boston did a decent job of matching it on the defensive end, forcing four early turnovers.

The offensive end was another story. The Celtics started game by connecting on just four of its first 18 field goal attempts and shot 28 percent in the first half.

It let the Hawks get a little separation with Boston managing only four points in the first 6 minutes of second quarter.

TIP-INS

Hawks: All five starters reached double figures.

Celtics: Were 7 of 32 from the 3-point line.
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STUDS AND DUDS: CELTICS ELIMINATED IN GAME 6 BLOWOUT LOSS TO HAWKS

WEEI

By Sam Packard

Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) gets stopped by Hawks bigs Paul Millsap (4) and Al Horford (15) in Game 6. (Mark L. Baer/USA Today Sports)

The proverbial rotund female started her song early. With the way the Celtics were playing, she had no other choice.

After a lackluster Game 5 effort, the C’s found themselves on the brink of elimination. And with their backs against the wall, they shot an abysmal 36.2 percent from the field and were soundly defeated 104-92 by the Hawks.

Isaiah Thomas finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-of-24 shooting, while adding 10 assists. Jae Crowder (15 points), Jonas Jerebko (11) and Marcus Smart (11) also finished in double figures.

Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 17 points, while Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each added 15.

In the first half, the Hawks continued their Game 5 strategy of double-teaming Thomas, and the Celtics did not have a response. Thomas repeatedly made the correct pass, but his teammates were unable to knock down open shots. The C’s were 3-for-18 from 3-point range (27.7 percent).

Despite the Celtics’ shooting woes, the Hawks were unable to pull away, committing nine turnovers in the first two quarters, but the C’s scored only four points with their extra possessions. Still, they stayed within striking distance.

But the Hawks opened the second half on a 15-3 run and never looked back. Towards the end of the third quarter, the Celtics brought some life back to the Garden with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 14, but he Hawks responded with seven straight points of their own and entered the fourth quarter with a 21-point lead. The scrappy Celtics did their best to claw their way back in the fourth, but the lead proved insurmountable, as the C’s were coulnt’ get within 10 points.


STUD(S) OF THE NIGHT: Atlanta’s starting five.

The Hawks’ starting unit was a force throughout the entire 48 minutes. All five starters scored in double figures and combined for 72 points. Bazemore and Kyle Korver provided the outside shooting, while Millsap and Horford scored from all over the floor — finishing the night with a combined 32 points on 11-of-20 shots.

DUD OF THE NIGHT: Evan Turner.

In a game where the Celtics desperately needed his offense, Turner put up his biggest dud of the series. Turner finished the night with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting. Making matters worse, Turner was getting the open shots that he normally knocks down, but just couldn’t get it done in Game 6.


WHINE OF THE NIGHT: Fourth-quarter offensive fouls & Tyler Zelller.

The Celtics were on the verge of turning their 26-point deficit into a two-, eh, maybe three-possession game, but kept committing costly fouls that slowed down their momentum. Although some of the fouls the Celtics committed were legit, there were crucial calls made against the Celtics that shouldn’t have been called. Tyler Zeller made the most of his playing time and helped trim a 26-point lead by scoring eight points and pulling down five rebounds in 11:34.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: 51 percent from the field.

The Hawks lit up the Celtics. Atlanta shot 51 percent with six Hawks scoring in double-digits. The Celtics took care of the ball — only committing 12 turnovers and matching their opponent with 48 points in the paint, but it was the Hawks’ efficient offense that took over the game and finished off the Celtics in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series.

112288

Just wanted to stop by tonight to say that I am thinking of you all....and of SAM tonight.

Really good season for a team headed in the right direction. Thomas was an all-star, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Evan Turner are solid players. And they have 7 draft picks in the first 50 this year and a bunch next year. ‪#‎greenrunsdeep‬

All my best.

Hey Sam Celtic Forum Members - New and Old, It has been a long and sometimes emotional year. Sam is no longer here writing his words of wisdom and the Celtics are still evolving as a team searching to climb the next rung of the ladder to the NBA finals.

Have we been blessed, Yes of coarse! Having Sam around for all these years and along the way meeting and making new friends at our annual get together for a beer, a burger and a game at Boston Garden.

I hope next year we can make a date for all to meet once again, and share some memories, have a laugh, make new friends and scream at the top of our lungs...............LET'S GO CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!!! SAM WOULD HAVE WANTED IT !!!

So lots of good things to look forward to. I believe the team has found its identity, accepted Brad as their coach and now we await the draft and what magic Danny can pull off in signing some real talent in free agency!

Now lets keep on the board and follow the 2016 NBA PLAYOFFS to its conclusion!

God Bless Everyone and Keep SAM'S CELTIC FORUM ALIVE AND WELL....THAT MEANS LET ALL OF US CONTINUE TO BE ACTIVE AND SHARE OUR LITTLE SECRET WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE THE CELTIC PASSION AND PRIDE WITHIN THEM!

112288

good season overall.

however, I think we'll see a much different team of players here next season. The last few games had to leave a bad taste in Danny's mouth.

we need shooters and more shooters.....LOL

a big man with size would be nice, but we need shooters.

I can see half the current roster turned over in trades or just allowed to leave this off-season.

Hi,
They fought and they lost. Oh well...
Thank you, Celtics, for the great season. It was full of fun, emotions, pleasure and frustration. You didn't go to any finals but I hope the next year you will.
Now off to the draft and the summer of big changes.

AK

We are in much better shape than we were after the 2007 season

and we all know what happened that summer

we have a lot of options but might need a dancing partner or 2 and that might nit be easy.

beat

One of the strengths of the team was the overall depth, and one of the theoretical advantages of not having a superstar is that the team could more easily absorb the loss of any particular player, but I think that turned out to be a false assumption.

The Celtics got to where they are by overachieving as a group, which meant they needed to keep overachieving once they got to the playoffs, but the loss of Bradley and Olynyk meant that they lost their best two-way player and two of their best three-point shooters. On a team that struggled sometimes to score, that was a lot to overcome, and rest of the team wasn't able to pick up the slack on the offensive end. As a team, they shot 38.4% from the field and 27.5% from three for the series. That's not going to get it done.

Injuries are part of the game, but Boston's offense wasn't deep enough to overcome those two particular injuries. As many people here noted during the season, they could really use a couple more shooters.

A series win would've been a nice achievement, but overall, they had a good season and took a big step forward.

They played like they wanted to close us out, we didn't play like we wanted to keep playing.  A lot of it just came down to that.

A shooter, a shooter, my kingdom for a shooter!  We RAISED our fg% to 36%, from 28% at halftime, by the end of the game while they shot 51%.  Fast break points, points in the paint, were all close enough for those stats to NOT be difference makers.  We lost because we are a shitty shooting team and, giving up 51% last night, not a great defensive team neither.  Because points in the paint are close, I can't say it is because of our poor rim protection.  If it was, they would have killed us in the paint, and they didn't.  We ended up 7-32 from 3, 22%, but that was after a brief flurry of connects long after our hash was settled.  We were 3-17, 17.6%, from 3 at halftime.  So, that means we were 4-15, 26.7%, in the 2nd half.  26.7% still sucks really, really badly.

They had 12 blocks.  That had 15 in an earlier game in the series.  There is not one single 7'er on the Atlanta Hawk roster.  It's not about height, nor even length, since neither Horford nor Millsap are especially long (Horford has some length, but he isn't a freak).  6'8" Millsap had 4 blocks and 6'10" Horford had 3.  They got those blocks because they swarmed.  When we hesitated because we were confronted with a defender, say Horford, Millsap would swoop in from behind and get the block.  How many times did we see IT on an island with Teague in the paint and no help came?  We had no defensive rotations, men just stayed with their man.


Absolute Keepers (Game 6 ONLY)

Jonas Jerebko - He was the only one who came to the Gahden ready to play a close out game like it was a close out game.  He disappeared a bit in the 2nd half, but that's because Thomas wouldn't give up the ball and Jae wouldn't stop shooting.  His box score is nice but isn't that amazing, 13 points on 5-9 and 2-5 from 3, only 1 rebound and 0 assists, but he had 2 blocks and they were really good ones.  His contributions were way above what his boxscore says they were.


Good, but not locks

Isaiah Thomas - 25 points on 9-24.  That's 37.5% and about a quarter of the Celtics' total fgas.  If you are going to shoot that much you cannot be KoME-esque about it.  He shot us out of the game.  I have to give him credit for 10 assists and only 3 TOs, but his shooting, OMG, his shooting.

Marcus Smart - 4-11 is not good, but he played hard (as usual), he played like he recognized an urgency, which separates him out from most of the squad unfortunately.  He boarded, 7, and he stole, 4.  

Terry Rozier - 4 boards.  Yeah, I know I'm making a big deal about his rebounding, but he's a rook, he didn't wilt under the bright lights and that's what these sections are about, they are about separating the men from the boys.  He played to his current strengths.  

Tyler Zeller - Only 12 minutes, and not against the Atlanta starters, but he still did well.  Sure as Hell beat the snot out of Sully.


NOT BIG game players

Jared Sullinger - His fewest minutes yet, 7.  4 rebounds, none memorable, and 1-5.  

Kelly Olynyk - Melvin Milquetoast.  I don't know how much of it is his injury or what, but he looked awful.  If there is a silver lining here it's that he only took 2 fgas, missed both, in his 5 minutes.  Maybe that's not silver, maybe it's just a highly polished veneer of chrome, but at least it isn't 1-5.

Jae Crowder - Same with Kelly, as far as injuries, but he stunk.  He had zero lift, zero lateral mobility.  Paul Millsap was driving past him with ease.  We are thin at that wing position, so we had no choice but to play him, but his offense hurt us badly.  5-15.  If we had depth, he should have sat for much of this series.  What disturbs me is that he didn't recognize his physical limitations and continued to chuck up one miss after another after another.  No inner voice.

Amir Johnson - He has had a very good series, but he disappeared last night.  He is only credited with 2 TOs in 18 minutes.  I guess all those other times he fumbled, stumbled and lost the ball were considered Atlanta 'steals'.


Absolute Keepers (Series)


Marcus Smart - He did enough over enough of the 6 games to be a keeper.  He shot 25% from 3 during the season but 34.4% in the playoffs.  He averaged .8 ftas more in the playoffs than the regular season and he hit a higher % of them.  He almost tripled his blocks/game.  He had marginally fewer personal fouls/game despite playing more mpg.  Marcus Smart is NOT afraid of the moment.  He likes pressure and has ganas by the bucketful and those are the type of players you want on a playoff team.  Basketball Mr. Octobers.

Jonas Jerebko - Hell yeah, and at $5M he's a steal.  Talking about not fading under the bright lights, he went from a rotation player to a starter and shined.

Terry Rozier - He's young and raw, he's cheap and at the early years in a rookie contract, and he showed he can hang in the big games.  He is not afraid of the moment either, a key ingredient for being a big game player in his future.

Isaiah Thomas - I'm putting IT into this category because he is our only all-star (and it helps to have one already if you want another), he has ganas by the bushel and really didn't get much help this series.  His shortcomings (no pun intended) were highlighted by that.  It's hard to be an effective floor general when nobody else can shoot and nobody else is moving and the defense knows it and triple teams you.


Good, but not locks

Evan Turner - The Jack of all Trades did well enough to consider keeping him, but he is our only unrestricted free agent and he isn't good enough at anything where you can say "if only we still had him!".  His asking price is key.

Amir Johnson - Despite his shortcomings last night, he had a solid series.  His $12M salary might make him not a great deal though.



NOT BIG game players

Jared Sullinger - Buh bye, fatso.  I'd say his last month of the season and every, single game of the playoffs was a swan dive, but only if the swan is the size of a sperm whale.  Even then, it would be a belly flop.


Give'em a Break

This is a new category I am adding, to cut some slack to players who are injured.


Jae Crowder - NOT a good series for Jae.  If he was healthy he would be in the "NOT BIG Game" player category, but it's so obvious he has been physically hobbled it's hard to say "if he was healthy then blah, blah, blah" or "it was only because of his ankle".  The truth is, we don't know what he would play like in the playoffs if he was healthy.  He's competitive, ganas is not a problem, we just don't know if he can execute in the big games and won't until next year.

Kelly Olynyk - I know, some will say I'm being a softie here, but he is injured.  Could he have done better despite his injury?  Yes.  If he was healthy he would be in the "NOT BIG game" player category with Jae and Sully but he was injured and Kelly biggest single weakness, correctable weakness, is in his confidence and aggression.  When he is feeling it he's good.  When he isn't he is so tentative and passive it is embarrassing.  In general, I would think that Danny should move him because you can't teach ganas.  You can't teach someone to ignore pain and play through it.  Jae did that (not very well, not very effectively, but he did it) but Kelly didn't.  Still, a little bit of slack is justifiable.


bob


.

Well poop...

I'll say this, I'm downright proud of our guys..

Most all my "following" of the Cs this season was what I read here and I want to thank everyone for all the posts.. this board is awesome and that's cuz of the fine folks posting all the time.

Sam sure is missed and when I think about dropping in to see what's up and I realize there will be no more new posts from him it still hurts like a kick to the nuts.

Still.. this is home away from home and our off season may be even more exciting than the regular season so there's no reason for any of us to step away for a bit...

Let's go Celtics!!

Now comes the tough part for Danny.

But it should hold our interest throughout the off season.

This was a fun team to watch all year but the Celts weaknesses were really exposed by the Hawks.  There will be major changes coming. 

Dboss

not hanging my head at this season. these guys play hard! thanking Danny yet once again for his best signing, Coach Brad. now itz pinz and needlez thru the draft and free agency till training camp starts. my wish list is for a pass first pg that is at least 6'3", can hit at 45% and 90%; a rim protecting legit 7' center who can post up and hit the 3, a scoring forward who can score; a power forward who plays with power protecting the rim and can hit shots;and a scoring guard who can score at will. No untradeable players if the right deal comes around but whoever is left from this team on next year's roster will be very very good. We need players who are consistent in their play and training habits. This will be the off season to remember.

mulcogiseng wrote:not hanging my head at this season. these guys play hard! thanking Danny yet once again for his best signing, Coach Brad. now itz pinz and needlez thru the draft and free agency till training camp starts. my wish list is for a pass first pg that is at least 6'3", can hit at 45% and 90%; a rim protecting legit 7' center who can post up and hit the 3, a scoring forward who can score; a power forward who plays with power protecting the rim and can hit shots;and a scoring guard who can score at will. No untradeable players if the right deal comes around but whoever is left from this team on next year's roster will be very very good. We need players who are consistent in their play and training habits. This will be the off season to remember.

Good to see ya bro!