Boston Celtics/Atlanta Hawks: 11/9/07 - Quick Game Recap

Does anyone else think Mike Woodson looks like he would be a fantastic sitcom dad?

At the 11:14 mark in the second quarter Tony Allen went for a lay up on the break instead of passing to a wide-open Eddie House. Unfortunately for Allen Josh Smith had him measured and absolutely destroyed the shot, smashing it against the backboard. That is the kind of play shows what Smith is capable of and makes people around the league wonder why the Hawks have not extended him yet. However, credit the Celtics with forcing another good player into a difficult night.

"Olandis Poole, remember that name...oh well." - Tommy Heinsohn after Mike Gorman named the referee that had just called a couple of offensive fouls on Kevin Garnett. There is actually no way to do this one justice in print. Heinsohn sounded ominous and I'm not entirely sure of his message.

"You can't make up your mind where you're gonna go with the ball. You gotta let the defender make the decision for you." - Bob Cousy after a Tony Allen turnover. Happy Cooz makes a lot of good basketball points.

I still want to see what Rajon Rondo and Eddie House do against one of the better point guards in the league. Thus far TJ Ford was the biggest challenge and we know how that went. I'm ecstatic about House's scoring tonight but still need some convincing on his point guard play.

Even though the Celtics are 4-0 I am worried about the status of James Posey and Brian Scalabrine. The former because of what he can do and the latter because Doc might really shorten the rotation without him. I don't see Scal's minutes going to another bench player. And Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett may log a lot of minutes early in the season.

Ray Allen is going to set some sort of record for being referred to as "smooth" in a season.

The game was an excellent lesson on why talented/young teams lose. Knowing how to play the game is half the battle in the NBA. Just look at the difference in passing between the two teams. It was staggering how much better the Celtics moved the ball, especially in the second half as the Hawks relied more on isolation. Having said all that the Hawks do care. I can't say the same for the Nuggets the other night.

I watched a great clip of George Karl on NBA TV talking about offense. He was adamant that a player should shoot, drive or pass as soon as he gets the ball. Pounding the ball into the court only makes the defense's job easier. That was Doc Rivers' message with about two and half minutes to go in the third quarter. And the Celtics responded with at 7-0 run. In a lot of ways that was the game.