<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> March 14, 2007 - 7:30 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#FF0000">Atlanta Hawks</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">(26-39)</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">PG</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Anthony Johnson</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">SG</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Josh Childress</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">SF</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Marvin Williams</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">PF</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Josh Smith</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">C</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Zaza Pachulia</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Salim Stoudamire, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Solomon Jones</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(18-45)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">C</span> <span style="color:#009900">Kendrick Perkins</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald Green, Brian Scalabrine, Sebastian Telfair, Leon Powe</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#FFCC00">ATL:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Joe Johnson will not play (bruised right calf)</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">ATL:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Speedy Claxton will not play (left knee)</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">ATL:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Lorenzen Wright will not play (groin soreness)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes will not play (sprained foot)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak is out for season (ankle surgery)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen is out for season (torn ACL/MCL)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff is out for season (back surgery)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#FF0000">Josh Smith</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats: 15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.8 bpg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Josh Childress</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats: 12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">As A Starter: 13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Marvin Williams</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 24.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.1 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 15.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.5 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 16.4 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 11.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.5 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter: 13.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg</span> Rookie Watch <span style="color:#FFCC00">ATL:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Shelden Williams</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 5</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">4.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">ATL:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Solomon Jones</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 33</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">2.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 21</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">As A Starter:</span> <span style="color:#009900">11.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2.6 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Leon Powe</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 49</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">3.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Allan Ray</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: Undrafted</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">4.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Atlanta's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Marvin Williams</span> <span style="color:#FFCC00">Season Stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">With Joe Johnson out, somebody is going to have to score a little extra. I think that guy should be Marvin Williams tonight, I want to see this kid really show something. He'll have his hands full on defense against Pierce and Gerald, but we'll see how he does offensively.</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald Green</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 9.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Gerald torched the Hawks last time we played them, and he even did a decent job defending Johnson. He has been inconsistent, but that's expected at this stage of his career. But he needs to play well tonight, I want to see him come off picks and take advantage of his mid-range skills.</span> <div align="center">Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#FF0000">Marvin Williams</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce</span></div> <span style="color:#000000">Marvin is very long and very athletic, but Paul should definitely get the best of him. He should have himself a good game tonight, let's hope he does.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes Based on the matchups, I think Gerald should start tonight. I'd like to see a starting lineup of Rondo, Gerald, Pierce, Big Al, and Perk. I don't think Doc will do that though, I think he'll start Delonte no matter what. I think Rondo could even be moved to the bench tonight, and I think that would be wrong. CelticBalla's Prediction We should win this one, and I think we will. Celtics win by 7.
Thank god Joe Johnson won't be playing tonight. I think we can do good tonight. Al's gonna light it up.
We've won 4 in a row, and I just can't imagine us with a 5 game winning streak.. After watching a season of Marvin Williams almost my feelings of him have greatly changed.. Paul should light his ass up tonight, and don't expect him to do a whole lot on offense tonight. If were going to win:Lue needs to hit his shotsSmith needs to play like he has been-driving, shooting, blocking shots, rebound, bringing intensityChildress needs to keep doin the dirty work down lowAnthony Johnson cannot shoot the ball he needs to look to pass alot more often
We got this game in the bag. Rondo did really good out there. He has a sick half court shot right before half time.
We should have won like this, but I'm still happy that we did. Awesome win, the young guys just played great tonight. And before I go on - I know, I know, it's the Hawks without Joe Johnson. But I don't care what team it is, Dallas, Atlanta, or Memphis. We played well tonight, we played very solid team defense, we were attacking at all times, we moved the ball well. I mean we just did a lot of things well. Rondo was outstanding tonight. I love this kid, I love this kid, and I love this kid. He brings ALL the intangibles, he is a TERRIFIC defender, his basketball IQ is off the charts, he is an outstanding playmaker, he hustles like crazy, he attacks every second he's out there, he's one of the best rebounding point guards we've seen in a long time, and he is a vocal leader out on the floor ALREADY.. as a rookie. This kid is a keeper. The steal of the draft, NO QUESTION. No question. Gotta love this kid. Welcome to Rondoism. PERK! The past two games, Perk has been Perk again - a beast, an enforcer in the middle, and a big help to the team. He's the best outlet passer this team has seen in a while, he was rebounding tonight, playing decent defense, playing TOUGH, and he stayed out of foul trouble. But what I loved tonight, with Perk, was how well he was running the floor. It seems as though that plantar fasciitis is healing a bit. He was very mobile tonight, like last year. Let's hope Perk can do this consistently again. Big Al was a monster in that 3rd quarter, wow. An decent first half, nothing special, but he owned the post in the 3rd. Man, I love Al. He's really a special player. Paul was pretty quiet tonight. He started off nice in the 1st quarter, knocked down a few shots, but the rest of the game was in the control of all the young guys, and Paul just enjoyed the ride. Delonte did a very solid job. He did make some mistakes, but he also made some beautiful passes. Some really nice passes. Then, of course he did the normal Delonte things - hustled and knock down some jumpers. Allan Ray was on fire in that 2nd quarter. A-Ray is such a silky-smooth shooter. Leon The Powe Show was an animal, I love his grit and toughness. Keep playing the kid, but in meaningful minutes. He produces. Scal really played a solid game. He grabbed a couple strong boards, he was moving his feet nicely in the post on the defensive end. He did make some bad passes, but overall he did a decent job. Gerald was not aggressive offensively tonight at all. He didn't play well. He looked a little lost out there and he wasn't all that aggressive with creating his own shot. He passed some good looks up. Ah, yes... Bassy - he did practically nothing to talk about lol. Although, he did have one very nice drive to the basket, and I'm happy he took/made that pull-up 15 footer (the same shot he was knocking down beautifully in the first 2 months of the season), but it was all in garbage time in the 4th quarter. Player Stat Lines <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals on 5-8 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 2-3 FT Al Jefferson: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals on 10-15 shooting Kendrick Perkins: 12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block on 4-5 shooting, 4-5 FT Paul Pierce: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists on 5-13 shooting, 2-6 from 3, 5-6 FT Delonte West: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block on 5-10 shooting, 0-2 from 3 Allan Ray: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal on 4-8 shooting, 2-2 from 3 Leon Powe: 8 points, 4 rebounds on 1-6 shooting, 6-7 FT Gerald Green: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal on 3-9 shooting, 1-2 from 3 Brian Scalabrine: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 1-2 shooting Sebastian Telfair: 7 points, 1 assist, 1 steal on 3-5 shooting, 1-1 FT</span> Next Game: Friday (3/16/07) @ Dallas at 8:30 pm ET.
Good game tonight for the boys. Rodno looked unbelieveble. The Hawks were puzzled with Jefferson and Perk for that matter. Perk has been on a tear lately, his offensive game has been great and he's really been hustling. That play where he was dribbling the ball up as a point guard was f*cking awesome. Everyone cleared out of the way of that freight train. haha. Also on a side note, it's great to see this team having success without Paul Pierce being the vocal point. Rondo was really getting people involved as was Delonte, it's great to see that the team can play great basketball without Pierce. I know it was the Atlanta Hawks, but still, in this long rebuilding stage it's good to see these things as we look towards the future.
Rondo's play in the first half was outstanding, defense was solid, beat out the Hawks big frowards for rebounds, some great passes, marched the team up there. Rondo and West really stood out, and Perkins was tough as nails inside. If it weren't for the stupid foul Jefferson would have gotten more PT in the 2nd but made up for it in the 3rd, impressive. Your announcer I think has a love obsession with Zaur Pachulia. And Brian Scalabrine would be our best defender if he played on the Bucks.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Mar 15 2007, 03:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Rondo's play in the first half was outstanding, defense was solid, beat out the Hawks big frowards for rebounds, some great passes, marched the team up there. Rondo and West really stood out, and Perkins was tough as nails inside. If it weren't for the stupid foul Jefferson would have gotten more PT in the 2nd but made up for it in the 3rd, impressive. Your announcer I think has a love obsession with Zaur Pachulia. And Brian Scalabrine would be our best defender if he played on the Bucks.</div> Yes, Tommy Heinsohn has been in love with Zaza ever since he was in Milwaukee. He's a decent player, but my god. And yeah, Scal really is a very solid defender, people don't give him any credit for it because he has boobs and he isn't the most physically gifted player. But he brings all the intangibles and he's a very solid defender.
