Celtics Weekly Recap & First Round Playoff Preview
4/14 at New York (99-93 W)
This one was a lot closer than it had to be, but only because not a single member of the "New Big Three" was in the lineup. Rajon Rondo nabbed a double double the hard way (at least for most point guards) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Starters Leon Powe and James Posey contributed 25 combined points and Sam Cassell came off the bench to get 22. Not much went the Knicks' way in this one, or throughout the entire season, for that matter... Nate Robinson recorded 26 points off the bench, but that's about it. It was impressive to see the second team put forth such a solid effort in a basically meaningless game.
4/16 vs. New Jersey (105-94 W)
KG, Pierce and Ray Allen were back in the lineup in this one... but they only stayed long enough to combine for 18 total points. Just as Leon Powe was easily the 6th man of the year for the C's in my mind, Powe was also the player of the game in this one as he double doubled with a career high 27 points and 11 rebounds (5 of the offensive variety). Tony Allen had a nice night with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but I'd still be shocked to see him on the floor in any close games unless his defensive abilities are somehow needed (as in the example of trying to maintain a slim lead late in the fourth quarter). Although their fate was already sealed prior to this game, the Nets will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
So, your Boston Celtics own the league's best record at 66-16 and will match up against the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Most experts are predicting a 4 or 5 game series with Team Green coming out on top (no surprise there), so a long-winded preview is pretty much unnecessary; however, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't offer you at least a cursory overview of the upcoming best of 7 series.
Schedule:
Game 1 April 20 at Boston; Game 2 April 23 at Boston; Game 3 April 26 at Atlanta; Game 4 April 28 at Atlanta; Game 5 April 30 at Boston; Game 6 May 2 at Atlanta; Game 7 May 4 at Boston
Matchups:
PG: Rajon Rondo vs. Mike Bibby
SG: Ray Allen vs. Joe Johnson
SF: Paul Pierce vs. Josh Smith
PF: Kevin Garnett vs. Marvin Williams
C: Kendrick Perkins vs. Al Horford
Thanks to the addition of Bibby back on February 17th, the Hawks' starting 5 is better than you'd initially think, at least as far as 8 seeds go. The Bibby-Johnson-Smith-Williams-Horford quintet averaged 77.7 points per night during the regular season, but the bad news for Hawks fans is that they're not even close to being as deep as the Celtics. Aside from SF Josh Childress (11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game), there's really no one to worry about on their bench, so while the Hawks starters will put forward a reasonably respectable effort, the Celtics could probably win this series on depth and experience (particularly playoff experience) alone. One key matchup to keep an eye on is the battle of the 6-10 centers; in just his first year in the league, Horford (10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds) has burst onto the scene and narrowly missed averaging a double double on the season. As we've seen, Perk (6.9 points, 6.1 rebounds) has been inconsistent at best, especially when it comes to nabbing offensive rebounds, but there's no doubt he'll at least try to step up his game in the playoffs. Perk will not be on a short leash by any stretch of the imagination, but don't be surprised to see the quicker, more athletic Leon Powe (7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds) steal some minutes at center and match up against Horford.
Prediction:
The Celtics scored 100.5 points and allowed 90.3 points per game during the season; on the other hand, the Hawks scored 98.2 and allowed an even 100. The Celts won all 3 regular season matchups against the Hawks and there's no reason to think that dominance will end here. I got the Celts in 5... yeah, I actually do think the Hawks can win one of the first 4... the Bruins proved the underdog can take one against a far superior team, so there's a chance Atlanta could too, right?
This one was a lot closer than it had to be, but only because not a single member of the "New Big Three" was in the lineup. Rajon Rondo nabbed a double double the hard way (at least for most point guards) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Starters Leon Powe and James Posey contributed 25 combined points and Sam Cassell came off the bench to get 22. Not much went the Knicks' way in this one, or throughout the entire season, for that matter... Nate Robinson recorded 26 points off the bench, but that's about it. It was impressive to see the second team put forth such a solid effort in a basically meaningless game.
4/16 vs. New Jersey (105-94 W)
KG, Pierce and Ray Allen were back in the lineup in this one... but they only stayed long enough to combine for 18 total points. Just as Leon Powe was easily the 6th man of the year for the C's in my mind, Powe was also the player of the game in this one as he double doubled with a career high 27 points and 11 rebounds (5 of the offensive variety). Tony Allen had a nice night with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but I'd still be shocked to see him on the floor in any close games unless his defensive abilities are somehow needed (as in the example of trying to maintain a slim lead late in the fourth quarter). Although their fate was already sealed prior to this game, the Nets will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
So, your Boston Celtics own the league's best record at 66-16 and will match up against the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Most experts are predicting a 4 or 5 game series with Team Green coming out on top (no surprise there), so a long-winded preview is pretty much unnecessary; however, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't offer you at least a cursory overview of the upcoming best of 7 series.
Schedule:
Game 1 April 20 at Boston; Game 2 April 23 at Boston; Game 3 April 26 at Atlanta; Game 4 April 28 at Atlanta; Game 5 April 30 at Boston; Game 6 May 2 at Atlanta; Game 7 May 4 at Boston
Matchups:
PG: Rajon Rondo vs. Mike Bibby
SG: Ray Allen vs. Joe Johnson
SF: Paul Pierce vs. Josh Smith
PF: Kevin Garnett vs. Marvin Williams
C: Kendrick Perkins vs. Al Horford
Thanks to the addition of Bibby back on February 17th, the Hawks' starting 5 is better than you'd initially think, at least as far as 8 seeds go. The Bibby-Johnson-Smith-Williams-Horford quintet averaged 77.7 points per night during the regular season, but the bad news for Hawks fans is that they're not even close to being as deep as the Celtics. Aside from SF Josh Childress (11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game), there's really no one to worry about on their bench, so while the Hawks starters will put forward a reasonably respectable effort, the Celtics could probably win this series on depth and experience (particularly playoff experience) alone. One key matchup to keep an eye on is the battle of the 6-10 centers; in just his first year in the league, Horford (10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds) has burst onto the scene and narrowly missed averaging a double double on the season. As we've seen, Perk (6.9 points, 6.1 rebounds) has been inconsistent at best, especially when it comes to nabbing offensive rebounds, but there's no doubt he'll at least try to step up his game in the playoffs. Perk will not be on a short leash by any stretch of the imagination, but don't be surprised to see the quicker, more athletic Leon Powe (7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds) steal some minutes at center and match up against Horford.
Prediction:
The Celtics scored 100.5 points and allowed 90.3 points per game during the season; on the other hand, the Hawks scored 98.2 and allowed an even 100. The Celts won all 3 regular season matchups against the Hawks and there's no reason to think that dominance will end here. I got the Celts in 5... yeah, I actually do think the Hawks can win one of the first 4... the Bruins proved the underdog can take one against a far superior team, so there's a chance Atlanta could too, right?
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