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Atlanta Hawks (3-2) at Boston Celtics (2-3)
Thursday, April 28. 2016
8:00 PM ET
Round 1 Game #6 Home Game #3
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
Kelly Olynyk
InjuriesAvery Bradley (hamstring) out
Isaiah Thomas (ankle) probable
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
Head CoachMike Budenholzer
Game Notes The series now moves back to Boston with the Celtics needing to regroup and find a way to deal with the Hawks defense and also to find a way to get their offense back on track. They were in this same position going into game 3, down 2 games to none and fighting for their playoff lives. They came back to tie the series then and will need that same kind of fight to once again tie the series and force a game 7.
Their task may be even more daunting with Isaiah Thomas hobbled with an ankle injury that sent him to the locker room at the start of the 4th quarter of game 5. He tweaked it in game 4 and then again in game 5 but has said that he will definitely play in this game. The question is how effective can he be while fighting the ankle injury.
In game 5, the Hawks employed the same strategy as they did in games 1 and 2 in Atlanta. They doubled and tripled Isaiah and dared the rest of the team to beat them. Isaiah Thomas called out his teammates after the game 5 blowout loss saying that the Hawks are disrespecting his teammates and that they need to make plays and hit shots to keep that from being effective.
The Celtics are trying to avoid losing their 3rd straight playoff series, something that hasn't happened since their first 3 series from 1948-1952. The Hawks are trying to beat the Celtics after losing the last nine playoff series between these two teams. So far, the home team has won every game in the series. The Celtics have to hope that this trend continues as they hope to get a win on their home court to even the series.
Along with Isaiah's ankle, Jae Crowder is still dealing with the ankle injury that has affected his shooting. He has been working hard at trying to get back on track, but he is still struggling. Avery Bradley is still out with the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since game 1. Kelly Olynyk returned to the lineup but has not been able to regain his pre-injury form. The Hawks are basically healthy other than Tiago Splitter who has missed the whole series.
Key Matchups 
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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. Millsap wasn't a big factor in games 1-3 but in game 4 he came up huge with 45 points until Brad Stevens put Marcus Smart on him to limit him to 4 points over the last 14 minutes and no points in overtime. In game 5, once again, the Hawks bigs were very big in their win and the Celtics couldn't come up with a way to counter them.
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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 games 3 and 4 with Isaiah having more room to score. Once again in game 5 the Hawks found a way to limit him to just 7 points on 3 of 12 shooting. Isaiah needs to score and play well for the Celtics to have a chance. For that to happen, his teammates have to step up and hit their shots.
Honorable MentionJae Crowder vs Kyle Korver
If Korver is open, he is going to make the Celtics pay. He has been hitting from long range and is a very dangerous scorer. He can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Jae needs to limit Korver's open looks while at the same time, knock down some shots on the other end.
Brad Stevens vs Mike Budenholzer
So far, this has been a chess game between the two coaches with Brad Stevens clearly getting the upper hand in games 3 and 4. Budenholzer seemed to get the upper hand in game 5. It's Brad's turn now. 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 both going into the game and throughout all 4 quarters.
Keys to the Game Start Strong and Don't Let Up! - For the first two games, the Celtics came out flat and then had to come back from big deficits. They couldn't get the win after coming back from 19 down against the Hawks, losing by just 1 point. In game 2 they had a historically horrible start and could not overcome that to even get close. In game 5 they once again started slow but the Hawks struggled as well but the Hawks caught fire and the Celtics couldn't get going. The Celtics have got to start strong and they have to play hard throughout the game with no let up.
Defense - Defense wins games. It is the key to winning every game. Every player must step up and work harder to get stops as a team. The Hawks definitely raised their defense to the next level in their home games and the Celtics need to step up their game and play tough team defense to disrupt the Hawks offense in this game.
Focus on Offense - The Celtics have to find someone with a hot hand who is able to score. The Celtics also have to realize that if the 3 pointers aren't falling, they need to go to the basket. The Celtics have to get into the paint more, especially if they continue to struggle from beyond the arc. They have to focus on hitting shots whether inside or out. If others can step up and hit their shots, it will take some of the pressure off of Isaiah so he can once again be effective.
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 all 3 of their wins. The Celtics won the battle of the boards in their 2 wins. It will be key for the Celtics 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.
X-Factors Injuries - The Celtics are already missing Avery Bradley and if Isaiah Thomas is limited in any way by his ankle injury, it may be too much for the Celtics to overcome. Jae has not been the same since coming back from the ankle injury and Kelly Olynyk has not been effective since returning from the shoulder injury. The Celtics need every one of them to be effective and overcome the limitations that those injuries cause.
Home Court- The Celtics have played very well at home winning 19 of 22 since mid-January. They were able to overcome an 0-2 start to even the series with 2 wins at home. They need to feed off the energy of the home crowd and the friendly confines of the TD Garden and hopefully the crowd will once again rattle the Hawks enough for the Celtics to get another home win.
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. 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. Game 2 was slightly one sided toward the Hawks. Games 3 and 4 were decently called but slightly tilted toward the Celtics. The officiating in game 5 was decent as well. Hopefully the officiating will be fair and they will let them play in this one.
Topic: Hawks (3-2) at Celtics (2-3) Round 1 Game 6 4/28/16 (Read 52621 times)