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Our first round matchup...the Atlanta Hawks, they been playing excellent ball lately, going 8-2 in their last 10 games (same as the C's).

Bibby is finally starting to be the Bibby we all remember again, he's pushing the team & they are responding. & we all know how cold blooded bibby is in the postseason. He's got tons of playoff experience.

they are one of the most athletic teams in the league. with joe johnson & bibby, we know they have a good outside game. JJ can go for 40+ on any given night. Josh Smith is a freak of nature. He can go for 20, 10, 5, 5, 5 on a given night. Marvin Williams is startin to shape up, not to expectations, but he's lookin better. Josh Childress is a solid wing & is athletic & versatile.

with all of that said, what do you expect? they ARE playing their best at the right time (heading into the playoffs), & with every game played, Bibby & the rest of the team get more comfortable with each other.

what do you expect? i think most will say an easy 4-0 sweep. but i wouldnt be so sure. thats what we SHOULD do, but it wouldnt surprise me if ATL stole a game or 2.

It's certainly not the best draw in the world for the Celtics. Atlanta is very athletic which could create some issues. But the Hawks will ultimately suffer from lack of playoff experience and the Celtics defensive pressure. I would have rather seen NJ.

Even though they are playing well, what's the level of their competition?

I would honestly be surprised if a series with them went more than 5 games (I can maybe see them sneaking a win away, but no more than 1).

i hope ur right...i would love to watch a sweep (& it would also give us some rest when we have to get ready for cle/wash), but i think atl will steal at least one game, maybe two.

talkin bout NJ, heyjohnny, i was lookin thru the slam issue with the nba preview in it, & i thought it was funny to see they picked NJ first in our division & us second. thats pretty funny.

Do you know what we're going to do to the Hawks? We're going to pound it down low to KG, Perk, Leon and Big Baby all game. They cannot handle our guys in the post. This will free up Ray, Paul, Eddie, Rajon and Sam for open jumpers. I like our chances.

I expect the Celtics to sweep the series. Not because the Hawks aren't good. But because the Celtics are just better, and they don't take teams lightly in the preseason. How do you think they'll come to play in the post season??

And as good as the Hawks have been playing recently, I think you might be overrating them a bit. Where do you get Joe Johnson going off for 40 on any given night?? He hasn't even done it once this season. And his career high is 42. That's the kind of thing you'd say about Jordan or Kobe, or even LeBron. Not about Joe Johnson.

The Hawks have a good young team, and will only improve in the future, but this isn't their year, and the Celtics need to let them know that right from the start.

I watch the Hawks alot and think the one thing we can be thankful of is that they are nowhere as good defensively as they should be with their athleticism. On Paper they have a lot of guys who are hypothetically good matchups in their favor, but they really don't take advantage of their individual skills that well. Incidentally I think they are a team that would really benefit from a Larry Brown and wouldn't be shocked to see him there next year.

Also their wins have come against an amazingly soft part of their schedule.

Im alittle nervous, did anyone see that hawk attack that poor Boston girl? I say we hire Finlays Leprechaun to attack an Atl fan

i was jus sayin that JJ CAN go for 40. i didnt mean that he would 3 games durin the series, but he COULD do it a couple of times. he hasnt had his best season this season. i understand what you mean tho. by no means did i put him in a level w/kobe or jordan.

i jus meant he could go for 40 like any all star could, same with PP. has he gotten 40 this season? i'm askin b/c i dont remember if he has, but he COULD on any night.

kmgarnett21 wrote:i was jus sayin that JJ CAN go for 40. i didnt mean that he would 3 games durin the series, but he COULD do it a couple of times. he hasnt had his best season this season. i understand what you mean tho. by no means did i put him in a level w/kobe or jordan.

i jus meant he could go for 40 like any all star could, same with PP. has he gotten 40 this season? i'm askin b/c i dont remember if he has, but he COULD on any night.

I don't think Pierce or anyone on the Celtics have scored 40 in a game this season. But that's the beauty of this team. They don't need anyone to score 40. There's been games where Pierce, the team's leading scorer, has taken 7-8 shots in a game and the team still wins. That's a huge advantage to have. Pierce doesn't need to be on every night, neither does KG or Ray. And even though the Hawks have a pretty balanced scoring attack, they're not good enough to win consistenly unless Johnson plays very good, and that's a lot of pressure to put on one player. Just looking quickly at his game log, I counted a record of 4-13 when he scores 15 or less points. So that pretty much says if he's not dropping at least 20, especially against a good team, they're not gonna win.

yeah, thats what i like about this team too. i love how our "big 3" doesnt even have to score 20 apiece for the team to win. we can win with 2 of the big 3 havin a bad night. & usually when all 3 have bad nights, rondo or powe or perk or posey steps up & puts in 18-20 pts. we have such a great TEAM.

Tricky Ricky wrote:I say we hire Finlays Leprechaun to attack an Atl fan

like one of the other posters said, we saw the way they played in the preseason, just imagine how hyped theyre gonna be when the playoffs start. i really dont see any game against ATL being close in the end. maybe theyll have some 2nd quarter runs, but not much more imo.
end result: 4-0 series win with Atlanta shooting under 35%

Its not if we can matchup with them, but if the Hawks can matchup with us. I just don't' see anyone capable, on their team, to guard Kevin Garnett. They can put Josh Smith on him but Garnett will be too powerful. They can put Horford on him but Garnett would be too quick.

Tricky Ricky wrote:Im alittle nervous, did anyone see that hawk attack that poor Boston girl? I say we hire Finlays Leprechaun to attack an Atl fan

Celts in three and Lucky needs to bitch slap that Hawk

SonicYouth34 wrote:Celts in three and Lucky needs to bitch slap that Hawk

You mean 4 my man.

I also think Celtics in three, Atlanta's gonna be too scared to face a fourth

Honestly though, I can't see the Hawks being enough to stop us. As much as I hate making bold predictions - cos they always backfire painfully - I think the Celtics are tipped to either sweep this one or win it 4-1.

i know black folks are happy as hell to see the "A" back in the playoffs. i think this series could be more competitive than folks are thinking. of course boston will win but dont expect a blowout more than 1 game.

celtics in 5, 6 if my hawks catch some serious luck.

Well, if things keep going as they have be, we could see the raptors instead of the hawks. Raps have a 2 game lead on the Hawks at the moment and have lost 3 straight, to the Hawks, Bobcats, and Nets. I think it's very possible that Atlanta will continue to play well and pass the Raptors. What do you think about that matchup?

well the raptors are a less athletic hawk except with better 3pt shooting. the have 2 good point guards in ford and calderon and a legit big man in bosh. if you can stop there 3pt shooting than yall should win. forderon can outplay rondo and cassel. bosh and garnett can match up but i dont see who the raps are gonna put against pierce and allen.

with atlanta you have more athleticy and and guys who are capable of getting there own shot sometimes. the y dont have quality bench except for childress and MAYBE zaza. salim might not play instead it might be acie and acie isnt capable of running an offense. atlanta also plays hella hard. i think you(the celtics) cant gt tired and the game still be close because you might be in trouble.