The Sixers Are Not The Hawks

by Jeff Clark on Apr 15, 2009 11:38 AM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

Nice points made by Paul Flannery of WEEI:

Kenny Smith tried to make the argument that the Sixers reminded him of the Hawks because they’re young (but they’re not as young as Atlanta), they’re athletic (true, but they’re not that athletic) and they run (whoops).

You will hear about a thousand times between now and Saturday if the Celtics wind up playing the Sixers that Philly likes to run, but here’s the deal: In terms of pace — that is the number of possessions per game — the Sixers rank 22nd in the NBA. In other words, they play slower than Memphis, slower than Houston and (yes) slower than the Celtics.

Bringing the halftime conversation full circle, everyone agreed that the Sixers aren’t as good as the Hawks last season. A little perspective, please. Atlanta won 37 games last year and got blown out four times in Boston during the playoffs. They played great three times at home and have made a nice jump last year, but let’s not pretend that anyone thought the Hawks were “good” last season, and the comparison between last year’s Hawks and this year’s Sixers doesn’t hold up.

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Let’s face it, everyone (especially the so-called experts on TNT and ESPN) will predict the early demise of the Celtics. It was no different last year when all but one ESPN “expert” had the Fakers winning the title.

- JoeB

by joeb on Apr 15, 2009 11:02 AM EDT reply actions

agreed. i was wanting detroit for the challenge. if we buckle down and play full game defense, we win easily. the trouble with philly is we get careless and play in spurts like last night and make it harder on ourselves. rest rondo tonite. give his ankle some time off.

by nazzbo on Apr 15, 2009 11:03 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t think there is any way the Sixers make this a series with Boston. They may be young and athletic, but they have nobody who can shoot the ball. As long as the Celtics don’t let Philly penetrate and get to the rim, they will be fine. With KG they win this in 5, without in 6. The Sixers just don’t have enough.

by jek29 on Apr 15, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions

Edit: I meant to say with KG, Boston in 4, without Boston in 5.

by jek29 on Apr 15, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions

philly lacks shooting the 3

big help for the C’s

by celticinorlando on Apr 15, 2009 11:08 AM EDT reply actions

we are so good at defending the paint...

especially when KG is in there (perk is becoming a dominant force all by himself), that a team without knock-down shooters is not going to be much of a threat to us.

by WillyBeamin on Apr 15, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Celtics will be fine

Once Ray and KG are ready on Saturday (Ray will probably get very limited minutes tonight), the C’s will take care of business against the 76ers.

by Tai on Apr 15, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

i dont think ray plays at all tonight

i hope rondo, ray, paul all sit

by celticinorlando on Apr 15, 2009 11:27 AM EDT reply actions

Atlanta where 19th in pace last year.

by Who on Apr 15, 2009 11:27 AM EDT reply actions

Easiest First Round Matchup

I think the C’s are fortunate to have the easiest first round matchup of any playoff team. Detroit is still dangerous, despite their record. Chicago is hot right now and could actually give Orlando a good run. Miami has D-Wade. And we all know about Atlanta.

by Stu on Apr 15, 2009 11:46 AM EDT reply actions

The 76ers are actually better then last years hawks record-wise, but not talent-wise.

The Hawks have at least 3 players better then andre igudola, the 76ers best player, and a guy that can take over games in Joe Johnson

In all in honesty, the celtics never should have lost more then 1 game to the hawks last season, and they shouldnt to the 76ers either, but who knows, at this point the celtics are capable of beating and losing to anyone

by TheAncientRivalry on Apr 15, 2009 11:59 AM EDT reply actions

STOP THE PRESSES

Mikki Moore got a block shot last night. That’s no BS.

by The Real Large James 2 on Apr 15, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

The comparison doesn't work

On many fronts. One oft ignored fact when recounting Atlanta last year, in terms of being the 8th seed, and having only 37 wins, is that Mike Bibby did not join the team until midway through the year. The team was far different, and better, with him at the helm, there is no way they only win 37 with Bibby on the team all year, and therefore would have been higher than the #8 seed. This year’s record with Bibby there all year bears this out, even with the loss of Josh Childress, a big contributor last year.

For similar reasons, I think the Bulls are better than their final record also. The addition of Salmons and Miller have strengthened that team and I am sure their record would have been better had those 2 guys been there all year. The Sixers really have no such situation, yes, Young was out and is now back, but he does not have the impact of a Bibby, of Salmons and Miller. C’s in 4, at most 5.

by KJ33 on Apr 15, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

Also, look at the psychological advantage we just gained last night. As Philly’s coach said, they were desperate for a win. They were at home, Young was playing again, they needed to win to avoid playing us in the first round, two of our best players were out, and we had absolutely nothing to play for. Yet we still won. Philly has no reason to be confident that they can beat us. If KG plays, I think we’ll sweep them, with a slight possibility that it goes 5. Without KG, I still think we win in 5.

by the TRUTH on Apr 15, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions

They lost Josh childress but gained flip murray and maurice evans…..Ill actually take the latter.
Anyways, you’re right about the hawks being a mch better and different team with the acqusiton of Mike Bibby.

by TheAncientRivalry on Apr 15, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

So what

If they look like the Hawks from last year. That doesn’t mean they can make a game 7 for the current Celtics. If the sixers reminds Kenny of last year’s Lakers, will he think Celtics can finish them in 6 games with a blow out?

by k lazy on Apr 15, 2009 12:31 PM EDT reply actions

Kenny Smith

is not an analyst. His comments for the pat 2 years have almost all been proven wrong, especially about the Celtics. Most analysts give EVERY young, athletic team the edge over the Celtics. LAL and Cleveland can do no wrong, they are almost holy and walk on water. Meanwhile, despite KG being out for 20+ games, the C’s may finish the season 62-20 (only 4 games shy of last year).

Kenny Smith makes his comments sound more intelligent that Charles Barkley (who doesn’t even try to mask his passionate, biased preferences). Charles is entertaining and fun to listen to, but not to be taken seriously as an analyst. Kenny is more articulate, but I don’t think he’s ever positively mentioned the Celtics strengths.

Aside: will everyone quit commenting on how the Celtics ‘needed’ home court in the playoffs last year? Out of 4 playoff series, they benefited from HCA in the first 2, and then beat very solid teams in Detroit and LAL on the road. The first 2 rounds were the an adjustment period for the Big Three (never playing together under that pressure together). Ray Allen had the worst shooting slump of his career. Rondo was inconsistent (young and getting accustomed to playoff pressure).

If they lose this year, it will not be because they don’t have HCA. They have played inconsistently at home and on the road. On the other hand, if all their players are healthy and in synch by the end of the first round, HCA will be meaningless for their opponents in the later rounds.

by Berkeley1297 on Apr 15, 2009 12:32 PM EDT reply actions

Great points

I have made the similar case in other posts. I was rebuffed by some posters as to how obvious it was that the C’s relied heavily on HCA to win the Championship last year. If in fact they relied heavily on it, it was in the 1st 2 rounds, but in making the case that they can no longer rely on it as they did last year, people seem to be ignoring that we have HCA again this year for the 1st 2 rounds.

Like you, I don’t think this year’s initial rounds will be the adjustment period that last year’s were, but even if it takes 7 full games again in both series, like last year, Game 7s will both be at the Garden. The final 2 rounds were won in 6 games each, with 3 road victories, so suggesting things are drastically different this year “because the C’s dont have HCA this year” is blatantly ignoring facts.

by KJ33 on Apr 15, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree, We have the 3rd best record in the NBA, and are defending champs…the 2 teams with better records we beat in last years playoffs and have missed KG for over 20 games.

Why are the anylysts seemingly pointing and laughing and giving us no chance? any other team does what we’ve done and theyre the overwhelming favorite.

Last year we had as good a regular season as this years lakers and cavs, but the anylysts still thought the “more experienced veteran pistons would knock us out”
Meanwhile, this year they have it set in stone that its going to be lakers vs cavs finals, because of theyre regular season…whats up?

by TheAncientRivalry on Apr 15, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Philly likes to Run

Thats true but they just dont do it that well.

by uk7 on Apr 15, 2009 12:41 PM EDT reply actions

Maybe the weakest playoff team in the last 3 seasons

I’m not exactly sure why people are convinced running teams are such a problem for us. Usually the C’s defend the transition very well.

by cordobes on Apr 15, 2009 1:02 PM EDT reply actions

How are they any weaker then last years 76ers who took the pistons to 6 in the first round….theyre essentially the same exact team

And I also dont think the celtics are that good in transition defense, at time they seem horrible….theyre usually good at running on teams that like to run, but thats much easier when you

by TheAncientRivalry on Apr 15, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

ooops didnt mean to post that yet

but thats much easier when youre playing the suns, who run but dont defend….The 76ers transition defense is probably better then theyre transition offense…we constantly get stuffed at the baasket when trying to get baskets in transition against the Hawks, 6ers, cavaliers etc and really cant do much to stop superior athletes on the run

by TheAncientRivalry on Apr 15, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions

The Cavs and the Hawks are running teams?

They play at a slower pace than the Celtics. For a team that commits so many turnovers like the Cs, we have

Yeah, I meant the 76ers from the last 2 seasons, obviously. I don’t think they have the talent to be a serious threat to any top seed.

by cordobes on Apr 15, 2009 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions

oops, forgot to finish a sentence

For a team that commits so many turnovers like the Cs, we have a great defence early on the shot-clock, allowing a .504% in the first 10 seconds of the clock.

by cordobes on Apr 15, 2009 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions

however

the 76’ers pace is lowered by the first 30 games or so when they attempted to integrate brand into their offense and trot down the court like the spurs. i bet that subtracting all their games with elton brand from their calculated pace would change things a bit

by PPisthetruth34 on Apr 15, 2009 7:33 PM EDT reply actions