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Atlanta Hawks (2-1) at Boston Celtics (1-2)
Sunday, April 24. 2016
6:00 PM ET
Round 1 Game #4 Home Game #2
TV: TNT, CSNNE, FSSE, Sportsnet One
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.9 FM The Game
TD Garden
Probable Starters 
PG: Isaiah Thomas............................................ SG: Evan Turner
C: Amir Johnson
SF: Jae Crowder.............................................. PF: Jonas Jerebko
Celtics ReservesMarcus Smart
RJ Hunter
Jared Sullinger
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
John Holland
InjuriesKelly Olynyk (shoulder) questionable
Avery Bradley (hamstring) out
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Probable Starters 
PG: Jeff Teague ..................................................... SG: Kyle Korver
C: Al Horford
SF: Kent Bazemore .......................................... PF: Paul Millsap
Hawks Reserves Kriis Humphries
Mike Scott
Lamar Patterson
Tim Hardaway Jr
Walter Tavares
Mike Muscala
Thabo Sefalosha
Kurt Hinrich
Tim Hardaway
Dennis Schroder
Injuries Tiago Splitter (hip) out
Al Horford (groin) probable
Head CoachMike Budenholzer
Game Notes After a very eventful and exciting game 3 on Friday, the Celtics and Hawks return to the TD Garden for a game 4 matchup as the Celtics try to even the series. There were 3 flagrant fouls and 2 technicals called in the game and another flagrant called after the fact on Isaiah's hit to Schroder's head.
The Hawks had been calling for Isaiah to be suspended for this game but the league assessed him a flagrant foul after the fact instead of a suspension and I'm sure that will up the tension in this game. Marcus Smart was also assessed a $5000 fine for a painfully obvious flop in the game which could have the refs watching him a bit closer.
Brad Stevens changed up the starting lineup in game 3 and it worked out quite well for the Celtics. Evan Turner and Jonas Jerebko replaced Marcus Smart and Jared Sullinger as starters which spread the floor and opened up the lanes for Isaiah who scored a career high 42 points to lead the Celtics to a win.
The Celtics are still missing Avery Bradley who said he hoped to play again in this series but has been ruled out for this game. Kelly Olynyk is making some progress but is still questionable to play in this game. It appears that Isaiah Thomas has found a way to compensate for the wrist injury that has been plaguing him. Jae Crowder has been doing extra shooting practice to try to find a way to be effective with the ankle that is still only 75-80% healed. Al Horford missed practice on Saturday with a groin injury but is listed as probable for this game.
Key Matchups 
vs
Amir Johnson/Jonas Jerebko vs Al Horford/Paul Millsap
The Celtics bigs have got to defend well against the Hawks big men. Millsap and Horford can hit from outside and are also very strong going to the basket. They have both had big games against the Celtics in regular season. Millsap has not been a big factor on offense in the series, but he is still getting the job done on the defensive end. The Celtics are shooting 34.3% with Millsap on the court and 48.5% when he's on the bench. Horford missed practice with a groin injury but is expected to be ready to play in this game. Jonas in the starting lineup paid big dividends in game 3 and they need to continue to play hard, hit their shots and limit the effectiveness of the Hawks' big men.
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Jeff Teague
Teague is a handful for anyone to guard but the Celtics did a decent job of matching his scoring and then some in game 3 with Isaiah having more room to score. It will be key for Isaiah to get his offense going once again. He may not score 42 again, but he needs to score and play well for the Celtics to have a chance.
Honorable MentionJae Crowder vs Kyle Korver
After being ineffective in the final game of the regular season and in game 1 of the series, Korver has found his shot and has hit 5 threes for 17 points two games in a row. Jae has been working hard to try to find his own shot while still dealing with the sore ankle that has been affecting his shot. Jae needs to limit Korver's open looks while at the same time, knocking down some shots on the other end.
Brad Stevens vs Mike Budenholzer
With the Celtics being short handed, Brad needs to make adjustments and use the right rotations to get the most out of the players and make up for the absence and limitations due to injuries. Coaching is going to be very important in this game with both coaches trying to make adjustments to counter the adjustments made by the opposing coach.
Keys to the Game Start Strong and Play Hard 48 Minutes - The Celtics finally got a strong start in game 3, jumping out to as many as 20 points ahead but in the middle of the game, the Celtics let the Hawks come back and make the game much closer than it should have been. The Celtics need to start strong and play hard throughout the game until the final buzzer.
Defense - Defense wins games. It is the key to winning every game. The Celtics are still missing Avery's defense but need to have every player step up and work harder to get stops as a team. Rozier has been solid on defense in the minutes he's played and Smart is still one of the better defenders in the league. The Hawks definitely raised their defense to the next level in game 2 and the Celtics need to step up their game.
Focus on Offense - The Celtics did much better keeping their focus on offense in game 3. Their shots fell and that opened up the floor for more drives to the basket. They have to continue to focus on hitting shots whether inside or out. They also have to be aware of the Hawks' shot blockers and try to avoid a repeat of the 15 blocked shots in game 2.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the team that plays harder and that wants this win more, especially to start the game and then keep it up until the final buzzer. They have to be aggressive in diving for loose balls, in going to the basket, in getting stops on the defensive end, and in going after rebounds. They have to play harder and be more aggressive from start to finish. Their best hope to beat the Hawks is to play harder and with more energy.
Rebound - The Celtics need to put out the extra effort to grab rebounds. The Hawks aren't a great rebounding team and yet they beat the Celtics on the boards in both games 1 and 2. The Celtics won the battle of the boards by 3 in game 3. The Celtics need to box out and fight for every rebound to prevent 2nd chance points for the Hawks and to give themselves extra possessions. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics must put out the extra effort to beat the Hawks to the rebounds.
Officiating - I say this every game but the officiating is an x-factor in every single game. We saw this first hand in game 1. The officials favored the Hawks the entire game and even the Hawks fans admitted it in their forums. Here are a few comments from the Hawks fans.
"Foul calls definitely going our way early."
"Celtics getting manhandled in the paint with no calls."
"[dang], Hawks getting all the calls."
"All the calls going our way and still the lead shrinks."
"Mommy, can we keep this referee crew?"
"Man, I'm loving these refs!"
"Refs trying to give us the game and we blowing it!"
The league admitted to making 3 crucial bad calls and non-calls against the Celtics in the final 2 minutes of the 1 point loss. I believe if the game was called fairly and competently the Celtics would have won it. The officiating wasn't quite as bad in the second game where they let a lot of contact go both ways. Game 3 officiating missed a lot on both teams but the Celtics seemed to get the benefit on several calls. With how chippy game 3 was and the controversy over Isaiah not being suspended, it will be interesting to see how they call this game. Hopefully they will let them play and call it fairly.
Topic: Hawks (2-1) at Celtics (1-2) Round 1 Game 4 4/24/16 (Read 65005 times)