Hawks VS Celtics (Game 6)

Hawks Win Series 4-2

The Hawks closed out the series last night. They played great and look like they are looking forward to their match up vs the Cavs. Let's just take a look at what the Hawks did this game that they must carry over to next series.

This Hawks team played great defense. They had amazing defensive rotations and were very, very sound defensively. They had the Celtics shooting just 36.2% from the field. They were contesting tons of shots, not allowing any easy points from the Celtics. This defense was so great. I can see them really pressuring LeBron next series when he tries to drive and they might let him take outside shots as well. The Hawks seem like they can handle the Cavs defensively, but what about offensively?

The Hawks were great offensively. 6 players had at least 10 points. Horford was back on track as he had 15 points. Millsap had 17. The team shot 51.4% from 3. They were getting off great shots as well. They shot very well in the paint, in fact, they had 48 points in the paint. They are going to need to cut down the turnovers because they had 18 of them on the night. If the Hawks are going to win next round, Horford and Millsap are going to have to take over in the post. Millsap needs to just destroy Love. I think that the Cavs would be smart to start Mozgov on Horford for a better defensive matchup. If the Hawks can make shots like they did last night, they will be in the position to win against them.

I really enjoyed watching this series. It was nice that they had a couple of games that were close and 1 even went into overtime. The Hawks now most prepare for their next series, because they have a tough road ahead of them. If anyone can do it, it's the Hawks!

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 5)

Hawks Lead Series 3-2

When Isaiah Thomas scores only 7 points for the Celtics, you have to find other options. The Hawks played great defense as they surrounded Isaiah Thomas. They wouldn't let the guard get a shot off. Since nobody else was willing to make plays, the Hawks just continued to swarm Thomas. While Thomas suffered from an ankle injury, he said that he will play in game 6.

As for the Hawks offense. It was great. 5 players had at least 10 points. 12 players had at least 2 points. They shared the ball so well as they ended with 30 assists on the night. They also won the rebounding and defensively, they forced 20 turnovers on the Celtics. They had 19 fastbreak points as well. The Celtics defense was scrambled, which was odd because the Celtics are a great defensive team. They destroyed the Celtics

The Hawks just need to keep up this intensity going into Boston. If they can keep it up, they should be looking at a win. On the other hand, the Celtics are looking at elimination next game. But I have confidence that Brad Stevens will find a way to stop the Hawks and get points up on the board. He always seems to be able to do it.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 4)

Series Tied 2-2

This was a crazy game. There were a lot of plays that you could say decided the game. Let's take a look at them.

This game was an amazing win for the Celtics. Amir Johnson was amazing defensively. He really kept Al Horford quiet. Horford only had 5 points on the night. Starting Amir at the 5 has lead to 2 Celtic wins and 0 losses this postseason. The whole team really did a great job defending. The Hawks shot just 37% from the field and 27.9% from long range. The Celtics really let the Hawks take tons of mid-range shots. The Hawks didn't make many of them either.

The Celtics offense was great. Most of the shots they took were either open 3's or open looks in the paint. Jonas Jerebko really took some pressure off Thomas as he had 16 points shooting very well from 3. Marcus Smart also played well. He had 20 points while also dishing out 6 assists off the bench. The Celtics moved the ball so well it helped get their players wide open looks.

If the Celtics played so well, then why was this such a close game? Well, Paul Millsap really carried the team. He had 45 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. The Atlanta Hawks relied on him to make plays. However, towards the end of the game in OT, Paul Millsap wasn't looking to score. Since he wasn't aggressive, this ultimately lead to the Hawks downfall.


The Hawks made some weird plays down the stretch. Something that I noticed was that Korver closed out hard on Jae Crowder at the 3-point line, a guy that shot 2-9 from 3 in the game and really bad from 3 in the series. Crowder blew by Korver, kicked it to Turner, who threw it out to Jonas Jerebko who was wide open from 3. He decided to shoot the ball and he ended up making it. So why did they close out so hard on Jae Crowder but left the guy who was shooting 50% from 3 in the game wide open. Jerebko is one of the Celtics best 3-point shooter and Jae Crowder is struggling. This was towards the end of the 4th quarter too.

I was also confused on how Jeff Teague went into isolation and with 3 seconds left had another player kind of interfere with the play so Jeff Teague had to put a 3-pointer, but didn't even put it up. But I can't really blame this loss on Teague because he is the reason the game went into OT.

While there were some slip ups, this was an amazing game to watch and I really hope the rest of the series is just like this.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 3)

Hawks Lead Series 2-1

Last night was Isaiah's night. Isaiah Thomas came out and won the game as he finished with 42 points. The Hawks couldn't seem to match it, but could've they won the game?

The Hawks were brutal from 3-point range. They couldn't get a 3-pointer to fall. They were 2-17 in the1st half. That was their big problem, they wouldn't stop shooting them. They took 36 threes and only made 9 of them. And it wasn't like they were taking a lot of open shots either, they took a lot of contested ones, which was very strange for this Hawks team. When the 3 isn't falling you have to take it inside.

Atlanta Hawks - 3-point Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

They Hawks did a great job fixing this in the second half though. They finished the game with 52 points in the paint which is how they made their comeback.

Evan Turner was a big reason for the Hawks win. He had 17 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals as he filled the starting role for Avery Bradley in the game. But that wasn't the only lineup change that really lead to the Celtics win. They also put Jae Crowder at the 4 to guard Millsap and Amir Johnson at the 5 to guard Al Horford. This proved to be a great move as Millsap and Horford had a combined total of 16 points. They really took away the Hawks advantage that they had over the Celtics. The defensive effort really lead to the Celtics win.

Overall, Isaiah Thomas just had a really good night. He was very aggressive, realizing that his team needed him to produce. This ultimately lead to the a Celtics win. The combination of the defense and offense from the Celtics was just too much for the Hawks and you have to really credit Brad Stevens and the great job he on making changes.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 2)

Hawks Lead Series 2-0

The Boston Celtics dropped game 2. They had a lot of mistake, but they still can come back in the series. Let's take a look at what needs to happen for this team to win though.

The loss of Avery Bradley is a very devastating one. He is a knock down shooter, a very great perimeter defender, a great team player, and a guy who delivers at the end of games. If you remember last years match up in the Eastern Semi-conference finals between the Hawks and the Wizards, Bradley Beal had pressured Kyle Korver a lot. He forced Korver to put up tough shots and shoot uncharacteristically low from 3. That was Avery Bradley in this series. Kyle Korver shot very, very bad in game 1. In game 2 without Bradley, Kyle Korver shot 5-7 from 3-point range. Without Bradley, Korver is a big threat. They have to change that and have Marcus Smart chase him around the whole game unfortunately. Marcus Smart just needs to get up on him.

That leads me to my next point. Marcus Smart shot horribly from the field. He was 1-11 from the field and 1-6 from 3. He finished the game with 3 points. That is not filling the role of Avery Bradley at all. Without his production, they need someone to fill that in.

Speaking of bad shooting. The whole Celtics team shot poorly. Jae Crowder has not looked good at all since his knee injury. Game 1 he shot bad, and game 2 he shot 1-9 from the field and 0-4 from deep. He was wonderful defensively but was very rough offensively. Isaiah Thomas was just 4-15 from the field. They couldn't hit open shots. They shot just 28.6% on uncontested field goals. They got great looks, they just couldn't make them. You can have great defense, but you won't win if you're shooting 31.8% from the field as a team.

Boston Celtics - Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

One thing that was clear was that Amir Johnson deserves to start for this Celtics team. Johnson held Paul Millsap to just 1-12 shooting. Johnson also had 14 points and forced Millsap to turn the ball over 5 times. However, despite Johnson's defensive play, the Celtics can't put him on both Millsap and Horford at the same time. Horford ended the game with 17 points. The Celtics just don't stand much of a chance in the post.

The Celtics need to play much better on offense if they are to win this series. You need your top 2 players to perform, which they didn't do in game 2.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 1)

Hawks Lead Series 1-0

This game was a tale of 2 halves. Boston lost the first half, Atlanta lost the second. After watching this whole game, I realized that this was going to be an interesting series.

If you take a look at the first half, the Celtics played very poorly. Jae Crowder shot just 1-10 from the floor and Isaiah Thomas shot just 2-8. The team shot just 23.1% from the field, 12.5% from 3, and ended the half with just 34 points. They also had no fastbreak points! Defensively, the Celtics seemed late on every defensive rotation, the help side was always late, and they gave up 26 points in the paint.

Boston's 1st half - shot chart - www.nba.com/stats

As for the Hawks, their big men dominated. Horford, Millsap, and Bazemore had a combined 31 points. Boston's big men were just too slow to react to the guards and the bigs of the Hawks. Jeff Teague was doing a wonderful job of making the extra pass to find the big man off the high pick and roll that Millsap and Horford thrive in. The Hawks were doing great.

The second half came around and the Celtics did a great job of defending the pick and roll. Everyone was on the same page. Crowder and Thomas stepped up their game and the Celtics picked up their percentages. They shot 50% from the field and 47.4% from deep in the second half. The big thing that brought them back into the game was transition. The Celtics went from having no fastbreak points in the 1st half to having 15 in the 2nd.

As for the Hawks, their bench couldn't convert in the second half and Korver was just brutal. He has 0-7 from 3 on the game. They were well defended, but the Hawks just didn't get back in transition. What won the Hawks the game was their late game defense. They made sure that every shot was contested and defended the ball handler really well. They executed in the last few minutes which got them the win.

While the Celtics lost, if they had a different 1st half, it could've been a much different game. I am very excited for this series as it continues and I think this could come down down to an amazing game 7. It will really depend on who wins, Atlanta's frontcourt or Boston's backcourt.

Inside The Play: Lakers VS Celtics

Today is the first anniversary of NBA Inside The Play Nation, and today, we will make our case for some of the most controversial topics in NBA. For this post, we will discuss who which organization is the better one throughout their history.

By Steve Lipofsky www.Basketballphoto.com - http://www.basketballphoto.com/NBA_Basketball_Photographs.htm, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24758103

Aaron Jaros:
I have to go with the Celtics. Now, I'm not a Celtics fan or anything, but my Grandma liked the Celtics. What I heard was coming from a person that wasn't a really big Celtics fan that didn't attend games regularly. She tells me how amazing Larry Bird was, how great of a shot-blocker Bill Russell was, and how she was at the game where John Havlicek had his last game in Boston. And let me tell you, I can't even imagine what the atmosphere was like at that game! You can watch the video footage of it on Youtube, but if you weren't at the game, you really don't know what it was like to be there. And my grandma had a chance to be at that game, she knew what it was like at that game. She knew what it was like to watch these great players in John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and Kevin McHale. These guys were great! And from what I've watched and heard from my Grandma, the Celtics were the team to watch.

The Lakers are a great organization, don't get me wrong. They have had Kobe, Magic, Shaq, Kareem, Jerry West, and more. That is tough to beat. Now the way I see it is that if you were going to have a game, the team will need great players. The Celtics have a variety of different players. Bob Cousy, probably one of the most underrated players in NBA history, he was able to finish at the rim and pass like Pistol Pete, except, he wasn't the ball-hog the Pete was. He lead the league in assists, 8 years in a row. That is what you really want from your point guard. John Havlicek and Larry Bird were also really great passers. To me, I think you are better off having Cousy at point guard than Magic. 

Then you look at the defensive side, you have KG, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Russell. Bill Russell and Kevin Garnett were in both one of our picks for the all-time defensive teams. With these guys, nothing will get in the paint and I have a hard time believing Shaq and Kareem would have a lot of success in the paint. 

What else does this Celtics team have? Something that the Lakers team really doesn't have; 3-point shooting. Imagine the shooting of Larry Bird combined with Paul Pierce, John Havlicek, and Ray Allen, who is considered to be the best shooter ever by some people. 

Rebounding; Dave Cowens, Kevin Garnett, Bill Russell, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale got it. They are some of the best rebounders ever. Bill Russell was amazing on the boards, he could grab anything. Dave Cowens averaged 14 RPG over his career! Kevin Garnett is the all-time leader in defensive rebounds! Robert Parish is second in Celtics all-time rebounds and Kevin McHale was an underrated rebounder. 

And in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line, how do you stop this team. Larry Bird is the most clutch person ever to play besides Reggie Miller and Paul Pierce is just as clutch. When the game is on the line, you can't count on those two.

So as you can see, the Celtics got a lot going for them in pretty much every category. While the Lakers have tons of offensive players, all of the other categories are lacking for them since pretty much all of their players are scorers. While they have Kobe on defense, Shaq on the boards, and Magic with his passing, it's nothing compared to what the Celtics have. Not to mention that the Lakers really don't have any 3-point shooters. My Grandma tells me stories about the Celtics, and even though they were really great back then, they have consistently had more and more great players such as KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce throughout their history. And one more thing, this isn't even counting what Len Bias could've been...

Playoffs Day 4

Cavaliers VS Celtics

Cavaliers lead 2-0


Raptors VS Wizards

Wizards lead 2-0


Rockets VS Mavericks

Rockets lead 2-0


April 22

• Hawks VS Nets game 2
• Grizzlies VS Trailblazers game 2
• Clippers VS Spurs game 2

Cavaliers VS Celtics (game 2)

Final Score: 99-91



Cavaliers Lead Series 2-0

This was a great game with lots of improvements from game 1. Everyone was more comfortable and people were playing great. Let's take a look at the Cavs first.

The Cavs played aggressive and great. Love looked more comfortable and was better defensively. He had 2 blocks and had an awesome alley-oop dunk. One thing that was concerning was LeBron having way too many turnovers. He finished with 6 in the game. The whole Cavs bench wasn't that good on the court. The all had a negative plus/minus advantage on the court. J.R. Smith shot horribly from the floor. He shot 3-12 from the floor and 1-8 from the 3-point line. One great thing is that he didn't jack up 18 threes, (although 8 is still a little much), but he was more defensively minded. He had 5 steals in the game.

The Celtics had a pretty good game again. One question I have is why does Avery Bradly put up more shots when he is missing. In game one he shot poorly and put up a ton of shots. In game 2 he shot semi-good but only put up 2 threes and 8 shots. He had made both his threes. Even though Bradly was perfect from deep, the Celtics shot poorly from 3-point range overall. They shot 22 threes while only shooting about 27%. Kelly Olynyk does need to get involved in the offense a little better. That's what lots of people say. I think he is fine though. He get good quality looks for himself and others. He lead his team in plus/minus with +13. He was one of three players above 0.

This is a great series. We all thought this would be a walk through the garden (get it, Boston Garden) but the Celtics have been a tougher match than anyone would have expected. We'll see if they can win one here.

Playoffs Day 2

Cavaliers VS Celtics

Cavs lead 1-0

Hawks VS Nets

Hawks lead 1-0

Grizzlies VS Trailblazers

Grizzlies lead 1-0

Clippers VS Spurs

Clippers lead 1-0

Cavaliers VS Celtics (game 1)

Final Score: Cavs won 113-100



Cavs lead series 1-0

It was close throughout the first half. The Cavs won the game in the 3rd quarter though. Although, it's hard to win against the Cavs with your best player coming off the bench. Take a look at the Cavs. Love, LeBron, and Irving had a combined total of 69 points, 13 assists, and 21 rebounds. That is 61% of their teams points, 68% of their teams assists, and 45.5% of their teams rebounds.

Kevin Love struggled in the first half but ended up with 19 points. Kyrie had a total of 30 and James had 20. The main thing that the Celtics have to do is take all three of these players out of the game. That is going to be hard to do and I don't think any team can do it. I would look for them to force the ball out of Irving's hands and into LeBron's hands. LeBron thinks he is the best ball handler on the floor. Lets be honest now, Irving is. LeBron had 5 turnovers in the game and Kyrie only had 1. If you have LeBron handle it he will turn the ball over. You really need to make sure Irving passes it off. Irving will take you one on one, while LeBron's iso is not nearly as good.

As for the Cavaliers, they need to get all three of the players involved like they were doing. I am okay with Kyrie in isolation because he can pass the ball and make shots for him so easily but LeBron isn't that great of a ball handler and I would not want him in Iso. Sure if there is a miss-match, post up or Iso. But other than that, just run through the plays. The most successful teams get everyone involved like the Spurs and Hawks for example. If you get everyone involved, you will win. It's that simple.