Hawks (43-32) at Celtics (57-19) 4/3

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Atlanta Hawks (43-32) at Boston Celtics (57-19)
Friday, April 3
7:30 PM
Game #77, Home Game #38
TV:   NBA-LP 753, SportsSouthHD, CSNHD
TD Banknorth Garden



Probable Starters
  PG  Rajon Rondo 11.8 RPG 5.20 APG 8.5

  SG Ray Allen  PPG 18.4 RPG 3.50 APG 2.7   

  SF  Paul Pierce  PPG 20.3 RPG 5.80 APG 3.7

  PF Glen Davis  PPG 6.2 RPG 3.80 APG 0.9 

  C Kendrick Perkins Perkins PPG 8.5 RPG 8.10  BPG 1.9

Reserves
Eddie House
Gabe Pruitt
Bill Walker
Stephon Marbury
Mikki Moore
Tony Allen

Injuries:
Brian Scalabrine (head) out
Leon Powe (knee) out
Kevin Garnett (knee)  out




Probable Starters
  PG Mike Bibby PPG 14.9 RPG 3.60 APG 5.0

  SG Joe Johnson  PPG 21.7 RPG 4.40 APG 5.9   

  SF  Mo Evans   PPG 6.9 RPG 2.90 APG 0.7 

  PF Josh Smith   PPG 15.0 RPG 7.20 APG 2.5   

C  Al Horford  PPG 11.5 RPG 9.20 APG 2.6 

Reserves
Solomon Jones
Flip Murray
Othello Hunter
Randolph Morris
Mario West
Thomas Gardner
Zaza Pachulia

Injuries
Speedy Claxton (knee) out
Marvin Williams (back) out
Acie Law (back)  day to day

b]Key Matchups[/b]
  vs 
    Rondo once again will go up against Mike Bibby.  Bibby was very vocal about the Celtics fans during the playoffs, calling them bandwagon fans. In past matchups, Rondo has clearly out-played Bibby and hopefully that trend will continue in this one.  Bibby can be dangerous from beyond the arc so Rondo will need to stay with him on defense as well.   

  vs 
Joe Johnson loves to take it to his former team.   Johnson is averaging 23.3 points against the Celtics this season and Ray will need to work on defense to keep Johnson from taking over the game.  Ray was the hero in the Bobcats' game hitting huge 3 pointers down the stretch after struggling in the first half.  Hopefully Ray will pick up where he left off in that game and make Johnson work on defense as well. 

Honorable Mention
Kendrick Perkins vs Al Horford
This will be a physical battle between these two big men.  Perk has been strong on defense and with KG still out, Perk will need to continue his strong defense in this game.  We could also use some offense in the post from Perk to keep the defenses from doubling off of him. 

Team Connections:
Doc Rivers played for the Hawks from '83-'91 and holds the Hawks' record for assists with 3866
Celtics' assistant Armond Hill played for the Hawks '76-80 and '83-'84
Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith were teammates at Oak Hill Academy
Joe Johnson was drafted by the Celtics with the 10th pick in the 2001 draft
Mike Bibby and Eddie House are brothers in law
Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris were teammates at Kentucky
Al Horford and Big Baby Davis played against each other in the 2006 Final Four
Hawks Assistant Alton Lister played for the Celtics from '95-'97
Mo Evans and KG were teammates in Minnesota
Celtics' patriarch, Red Auerbach was the 2nd head coach in Hawks history, coaching the TriCities BlackHawks tp a 28-29 record in the 1949-50 season. 

Game Notes
This is the 4th and final regular season meeting between these two teams.  The Celtics are up 3-0 on the Hawks for the season.  But they won the 3 games by a combined total of only 10 points.  They won the first game in Boston  103-102 on a last second jumper from Paul Pierce.  The 2nd game, The Celtics won in Atlanta 88-85 and in the 3rd contest, without KG, the Celtics won once again in Atlanta 99-93.  The Hawks will be playing for pride and to avoid a sweep in this one, so the Celtics better be ready.

The Hawks are not a great road team with just a 14-23 record away from Phillips Arena while the Celtics are a strong 31-6 at home.  They will need to come out with more intensity than they did in the Bobcats game or the Hawks will make them pay. 

The Hawks take good care of the ball with just 12.9 turnovers per game, which is 6th in the league.  Turnovers have been the Celtics' Achilles heel this entire season and if the Celtics turn the ball over, the Hawks are very capable of turning them into points. 

X-Factor
Home Court
The Hawks aren't a great road team.  The Celtics need to use home court to their advantage and come out with intensity and tough defense to keep the Hawks off balance and to set the pace of the game. 

[Atzar]

TP FL!

Haha, first time I got in first.

[Mr October]

Lets beat the hawks!! and hold strong to that #2 seed!!

Go Celtics!

[celticinorlando]

keep on truckin

[Celtics1990]

I want this win just because I hate the Hawks. (Except Joe Johnson)

[greenwise]

We will win this one too! The Hawks can't fly in Boston and we've got their number this season

"Rondo's better"!!!

[ACF]

TP for FL 

[illestmcsgt]

This gonna be a very good match up for the C's and to sweep them will give that more confidence. I just hope they come out playing better than they did last game. TP for the preview FL.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

haha I like the logo images... An Atlanta Hawks pin, and our "2008 NBA Champions" pin. We did go through them haha.

TP for the preview.

[RAcker]

And KG will meet ZaZa Gabor in the parking lot just to set a hard pick on him.   

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

And KG will meet ZaZa Gabor in the parking lot just to set a hard pick on him.   

This would make my day.

[Drucci]

It'll be a nice game, and normally a win for the C's but the Hawks can be tough on the road, remember their first game in Boston this season?

Tp for the preview!

[4THQTR]

The Hawks will try to avoid a season sweep and get a confidence boost by defeating the champs on the road.

The Celtics need to come out focused and play solid defense throghout the whole game!

That being said i'm looking forward to the celtics sweeping the hawks! 

TP for the preview

[celticinorlando]

sooner or later boston is due for a blowout win at home...tonight might be the night

[twinbree]

TP for the game thread. Praying for another injury free game and a good win. I hope the Celtics don't stumble out of the gate this time because the Hawks will definitely want this one badly. Smith/Horford are back at the 4/5 hmm I can't figure out if that's good or bad for us.