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Atlanta Hawks (34-26) at Boston Celtics (33-27)
Friday, March 8, 2013
8:00 PM ET
Game #61 Home Game #31
TV: ESPN, CSNNE,
Radio: WEEI, WCNN
TD Garden 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Avery Bradley vs Jeff Teague
Shooting Guard 
vs
Courtney Lee vs Devin Harris
Small Forward 
vs
Paul Pierce vs DeShawn Stevenson
Power Forward 
vs
Brandon Bass vs Josh Smith
Center
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Al Horford
Celtics ReservesJason Terry
Jeff Green
Chris Wilcox
Jordan Crawford
DJ White
Terrence Williams
Shavlik Randolph
Injuries
Rajon Rondo (knee) out
Jared Sullinger (back) out
Red ClawsFab Melo
Hawks ReservesKyle Korver
Dahntay Jones
Anthony Tolliver
John Jenkins
Mike Scott
Shelvin Mack
Ivan Johnson
Johan Petro
InjuriesLou Williams (knee) out
Zaza Pachulia (achilles) game time decision
Team Connections Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo both attended Oak Hill Academy…
Doc Rivers played for Atlanta from 1983-91
Rivers also holds the Hawks record for most assists in a career as a Hawk (3,866)
Celtics Assistant Coach Armond Hill played for the Hawks from 1976-80 and also during the 1983-84 season
Hawks Assistant Coach Lester Conner was an Assistant Coach with the Celtics from 1998-2004
Jason Collins played for Atlanta from 2009-12
Courtney Lee and Devin Harris were teammates in New Jersey during the 2008-09 season
Jason Terry and Devin Harris were teammates in Dallas from 2004-08
DeShawn Stevenson and Jason Terry were teammates in Dallas from 2009-11
Chris Wilcox and Johan Petro were teammates in Seattle and Oklahoma City from 2005-09
Celtics Assistant Coach Tyronn Lue played for Atlanta from 2004-08.
Key Matchups
vs
Brandon Bass vs Josh Smith
Smith is a very athletic and quick power forward and Brandon must box out and keep Smith off the boards along with slowing him down on offense. Smith is averaging 17.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game so Bass will need to be aggressive on defense to keep Smith from having a big game. If Bass continues to struggle as he has in recent games, it might be a good time to give DJ White some run.
vs
Kevin Garnett vs Al Horford
Al Horford is playing well and is averagin 17.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and KG will have his hands full keeping him away from the basket. Not only KG and Bass are key, but also the bigs off the bench as well. Al Horford scored 21 points to go with 12 rebounds and six assists in the Hawks win over the Sixers on Wednesday.
Honorable Mention Avery Bradley vs Jeff Teague
Jeff Teague is coming off a game with 27 points and 11 assists and is capable of putting up big numbers. Bradley's defense will be key, not just to contain Teague, but also to slow their offense down and keep them from getting into their sets until late in the shot clock.
Game Notes After their 2 game road trip, the Celtics return home to face a tough Hawks team in a game that has playoff implications. The last time these two teams met things were weren't going very well for the Celtics. After losing the game to the Hawks, the Celtics had lost 6 in a row and were 3 games under .500. But even worse, it was in that game that Rajon Rondo tore his ACL.
Last season, Boston won the series between these two teams 2-1 but all 3 games were close. The Celtics won by 3 points and by 2 points in overtime while the Hawks won their game by 5. Every game between these two teams seems to end up being chippy. There is no love lost between them, that is for sure. The Celtics won the first meeting this season in Atlanta 89-81 but Atlanta won the second game, also in Atlanta, 123-111.
The Celtics have played well at home and have a 21-9 record at the Garden. The Hawks are just 15-16 on the road. Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Celtics are on a 4 game win streak while the Hawks are looking to win their second straight. Atlanta avoided a 4th straight defeat Wednesday night with a 107-96 home win over the 76ers. The Hawks are in the midst of a tough stretch where they play 10 of 14 on the road.
Every game is important for playoff positioning as they head down the final stretch. The Celtics are still in the 7th spot, 2.5 games ahead of the Bucks, who are in 8th. The Hawks are in the 5th spot just one game ahead of the Celtics. Brooklyn is 4th, 1.5 games in front of the Celtics. And Chicago is in 6th just half a game ahead of the Celtics. A win in this game would shake up the standings quite a bit.
Keys to the GameDefense - Defense is key to every win. The Celtics need to play tough team defense. They have to guard the perimeter as the Hawks have good 3 point shooters like Korver and Teague who can kill a team from out there. They also have to defend the paint because players like Smith, Horford and Johnson can get to the hoop and score there, especially on tip ins and second chance baskets.
Rebound - The Celtics must make an effort to go after rebounds. They must box out and prevent tip ins and to prevent the Hawks from getting second chance baskets. The Hawks are a good rebounding team, but not great. The Celtics have moved up to 28th in the league and the Hawks are just 25th. If the Celtics put out effort on the boards as a team, they should be able to win the battle of the boards.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to go after rebounds and loose balls. They must be aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for jumpers. They also have to be aggressive on defense and get stops. When the Celtics are the more aggressive team, they get the benefit of the calls and they also are tough to beat.
Ball Movement - The Celtics have made up for the loss of Rajon Rondo by moving the ball and advancing the ball with the pass. Hero ball rarely wins games. They need to continue to move the ball and play unselfishly and find the open man. But, in moving the ball, they also have to make careful passes and not turn the ball over.
X-FactorHome Court and Final Stretch
The Celtics are at home and they have played well there. They need to get a boost from the home crowd. They know they are entering the final stretch and they also know that they are fighting for playoff positioning and home court for the first and possibly the second round. That should give them extra motivation to stay focused and get this win.
Topic: Hawks (34-26) at Celtics (33-27) 3/8 (Read 53294 times)