what the hell is going on??? the celts have changed from a dominating force to a team that looks so mediocre at points its sickening...but this is why we play the regular season, to have game 7 at our house...and even though im confident we will win game 7 in the jungle...i no longer have faith in this team to even make it past cleveland...i just cant figure out why we are so bad all of a sudden
If you guys can't stop Joe Johnson, once the Hawks make adjustments...honestly (and I'm not just being a prick Laker fan), do you guys think you can stop LeBron once the Cavaliers make adjustments? I do expect the Celtics to win game 7, but I'll be rooting for the Hawks. I just don't see how they can go into Boston, where they've looked bad, and win a game 7. One thing is for sure, the Hawks have earned the respect of the league.
I'm still wondering how the hell this series has gone seven games. This was all set up for you guys to breeze through this series, yet you can't figure out how the hell to win in Atlanta. I still think you'll win, but I'm going to be rooting for the Hawks. As much as I'd love to see a Lakers vs. Celtics Finals, I think seeing another one seed getting ousted by an eight seed might be a little cooler. On an aside, Mamba brings up a good point. If you guys struggle shutting down JJ, what're you going to do against LeBron? And if bot the Lakers and Celtics make the Finals, what about Kobe? For that matter, what about Gasol?
I think it was Cpawfan who pointed out that the Hawks have been able to adjust to the Celtics game play in a 7 game series, but the Celtics haven't adjusted to the Hawks. That's why the playoffs are on a whole other level compared to the regular season. The team that makes the proper adjustments has a legit shot at winning a series, which the Hawks have proved.
The Hawks are matchup hell for the Celtics. When they maintain their intensity level and keep away from a halfcourt game, then the Celtics can't stop them. The whole roster is young, long, athletic players and no team in the league has the personnel to control them all when each of them is playing well. They also can play a great team defense with their roster, because they clog up the middle and cover so much ground with length and pure athleticism. But they have to be motivated to do so, and the crowd in ATL has been great , the Hawks are definitely feeding off of it a lot. The Hawks team that plays in ATL this postseason is completely different from the team that played the regular season, and also completely different from the one that's played in Boston this series. That crowd makes a huge difference. I think game 7 will be just like games 1, 2 and 5 in Boston. The Celtics will win easily and move on. The Cavs are going to be another tough test, but I think they are less likely to dictate the pace and take the Celtics out of their comfort zone. The C's also have homecourt throughout, so even if they only win home games from here on out, they still win the championship. I doubt they win it all, though.
We don't worry, but I know Doc Rivers is disappointed...T-Mac beat him in getting out of the first round sooner! Also, what was anyone expecting? For Doc to have half a brain and become decent at adjusting the game-plan IN GAME!?!? And Thrilla is right, all season long we've had trouble with young atlethic teams, see Orlando for details.
