Celtics face Atlanta's Air Force
by FLCeltsFan @ CelticsBlog on Nov 9, 2007 1:32 PM EST
in Boston Celtics Games
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PrintAtlanta Hawks (2-2) at Boston Celtics (3-0)
Friday, November 9
7:30 pm ET
TV: NBA LP, CSNHD, SportsSouth
Radio: WEEI
TDBanknorthGarden
Yeah, I know that the Hawks of Dominique and Doc's day were the Air Force, but today's version is making a few waves for themselves. They have beaten 2 of the top teams and put up a good fight against 2 others. They beat the Mavs and Suns convincingly and only lost to Detroit by 1 and the Nets by 5. So, they aren't to be taken for granted. They are a quick and active team, and the Celts will have to do a good job of keeping them off the offensive glass.
Probable Starting Lineups
PG: Rajon Rondo vs Acie Law IV
SG: Joe Johnson vs Ray Allen
SF: Marvin Williams vs Paul Pierce
PF: Kevin Garnett vs Josh Smith
C: Kendrick Perkins vs Al Horford
Key Matchups
Ray Allen: 6'5", 24 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, +25
Joe Johnson: 6'7", 20.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, +16.75
- Joe Johnson is younger and quicker than Ray Allen and has a height advantage. JJ is a good defender and so Ray will have to work to get his shots in this game. But on the same note, Ray will make JJ work on the defensive end as well.
Kevin Garnett: 6'11", 22.7 ppg, 15.2 rpg, 6.0 apg, +37
Josh Smith: 6'9", 17.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, +23.5
- KG has the height advantage and the experience advantage but Josh Smith is quicker than KG and is a very good defender. This should be a good matchup.
Kendrick Perkins: 6'10" 6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.3 bpg +7
Al Horford: 6'10" 6.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 bpg +13.5
- Perk is going to be crucial in this game to keep Horford off the glass and defending inside. Atlanta depends on getting to the basket and Perk is going to have to limit his fouls and stay on the floor to keep them out of the paint. Perk doesn't get as many rebounds as Horford, but he is responsible for more than that by blocking out and allowing KG to go after them.
Keys to the Game
Defense: The Celtics defense has been incredible so far both individually and as a team. Here is what Melo had to say about the Celtics defense:
"They beat the (expletive) out of us tonight…..I seen double teams….I’ve never seen defense like that. Every time I touched the ball, I’m playing against my man, I’m playing against Garnett, I’m playing against Perkins, and I’m playing against Ray Allen. He plugging in there, too. I played against four people every time down the court tonight…."
This defensive intensity is going to be the key to winning not just this game, but the championship.
Ball Movement
The Celtics ball movement has been phenomenal. They had 32 assists on 49 baskets against Denver and every player made the extra pass to get open shots along with moving without the ball in order to get open. After trying to do too much in the Raptor's game, Pierce bounced back with a very unselfish game and had a couple of spectacular assists instead of forcing the shot. If they continue this, they will be almost unbeatable.
Hustle: We have seen this team dive for loose balls, crash the boards for rebounds and just basically out hustle the other teams. It will be important to continue doing this. We can't take any teams for granted. The Hawks are coming in with a lot of confidence and the Celtics need to continue to send the message that the Celtics are going to be dominant by playing with intensity and out hustling them.
Turnovers: The Celtics had 20 TO's in the last game and that is too many. They have to work on limiiting our turnovers by making smarter passes and taking better care of the ball. At the same time, they have to disrupt their offense with our team defense and cause them to turn the ball over.
Finally, if you haven't watched it recently check out the Atlanta's Air Force video with our own Doc Rivers. It is too much fun not to include it here. Atlanta's Air Force
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I understand pet peeves and fixed it so that it won’t bother you CT34. After cheering for this team and watching them every opportunity and being a die hard Celtics fan for over 30 years, I do sometimes feel like I am part of the team. I eat, sleep, and bleed green. ;)
by FLCeltsFan @ CelticsBlog on Nov 9, 2007 3:03 PM EST reply actions
i feel like we have an advantage in every matchup, except Joe Johnson and Ray, which is roughly even.
by Tommy on Nov 9, 2007 3:31 PM EST reply actions
CT34 said:
Good job FLCeltsFan way to break down the game. The only problem I have is you using the word WE.
==
It’s easier to refer to the team as WE.
And after everything WE’ve been through with this team, I think WE’re entitled to refer to this team however WE want to.
I know it’s a common pet peeve about referring to ANY team as WE.
People get called on it all the time on WEEI.
Still, CT34, you are technically correct, and hey, look at my last post…I have ridiculous pet peeves too.
The FLCeltsFan posting was originally up there in Times New Roman font (I think) but it got changed. But while it was Times New Roman, it bugged me.
Kind of like someone referring to the team as we bugs you.
Where this post is going, I don’t know.
So that’s where I’ll stop.
Go green.
We all can hope for a 4-0 team!
mcpu40 said:
Thanks for fixing the FONT type on this post…that kind of stuff bugs me (because I’m wierd like that).
It’s not because you’re weird. It’s the human eye. Serif fonts (Times New Roman for example) have the “feet” type thing at points where a segment of a letter ends… like the bottom on an “n” or "m") are designed to help the eye track from left to right.
With the movement towards online reading, it was found that Sans Serif fonts are much easier to read on a computer screen. Most online newspapers are in Sans Serif or very, very slight Serif fonts, while all print editions feature strong Serif fonts.
So ya, you’re not weird… just not used to seeing Times font on your computer screen!
(I’ve taken technical/web based writing classes, so I learned stuff like this that seems pretty useless, but is actually quite relevant)
I think if we continue to share the ball, like we did last game, we have a good shot at winning..If we don’t we will be sad..won’t we ;)
by Fastbreak on Nov 9, 2007 3:57 PM EST reply actions
OK Guys. I apologize for the font but I know nothing about the technical side of computers and I don’t know how to change those things. Thank goodness for Jeff and Green 17 and Bob who go around behind me and clean up. I posted this one at the last minute because CB32 got called away and couldn’t so I did some copy pasting and I guess it kept the font. I spend a lot of time posting the game threads and the previews and links and I do the best I can.
by FLCeltsFan @ CelticsBlog on Nov 9, 2007 4:01 PM EST reply actions
Accidentally posted this on another thread. Sorry for the report:
Tonight might be one of those times Ainge was talking about when he said the Celtics will need Davis’s size. The Hawks are BIG. The starting front court of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Horford may be one of the best resounding 3 in the league, and Smith is a really nice post defender. Atlanta is not a small-ball team. I see Atlanta as a tough matchup for the Celtics due to their big bodies inside.
By the way, I think I’m the last person alive who prefers Serif fonts, even online.
That Atlanta Air Force Youtube is hilarious. Doesn’t the young Fratello look like a little Luke Walton midget? The resemblance is striking.
Of course, what they left out of the video is that Dominique Wilkins, Jon Koncak, Kevin Willis, Cliff Levingston and Tree Rollins were probably the worst passing front line in the history of the game. Except for Wilkins, who averaged 2-3 assists per game, the rest averaged less than one assist per game. And that’s a big reason why they never won anything.
Atlanta to me just doesn’t count as a team….sorry….they will never bring a championship to Atlanta….I’ve been many times….
Management just doesn’t have a clue….. I forsee Boston putting on a another show this evening and Watch for Paul and Kevin to have huge games tonight….
I haven’t been this excited since 1986……frig that was a long time ago LMAO
Kevin brings the same intensity to the game that Larry Bird did. He makes everyone else around him so much better and he seems to have flourished here in Boston away from Minnesota where he was isolated in that state
Cousin It said:
By the way, I think I’m the last person alive who prefers Serif fonts, even online.
==
Nope, I do to.
i.e.: www.time.com
Hey boys, I’m the one that cleaned up the FL’s pasted html. I would remind all of you that the preference for all item content being composed with sans-serif typography is only around ten years old. Before that it was considered “hard to read” and was relegated to headlines, titles and section headers. All content was serif-based.
If you don’t believe that, walk over to your nearest bookshelf and see how many books you find there that have their prose rendered in sans-serif. Is san-serif more readable on a computer screen? Probably not. Most likely it is just more a matter of sans-serif currently being in style. Bear in mind, if CelticsBlog used serif fonts for its main content, those would be rendered in ways which were easy to read.
San-serif is just the current fashion. People on the net these days want things without flourish. That extends all the way to typography. That will run its course and people will want more expression in type and the serif font will return. That’s all it is.
My deepest gratitude to you Bob as always for helping me with my computer ineptitude.
by FLCeltsFan @ CelticsBlog on Nov 10, 2007 8:25 AM EST reply actions
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