Game Six of the Celtics-Hawks series was nothing short of phenomenal playoff basketball. The intensity was reminiscent of the 1988 playoff series between the two teams.
The Celtics came out of the gates strong, ending the first quarter up 32-20. Paul Pierce exploited the Hawks' defense, making 4-of-6 shots.
The lead was short-lived however, as the Hawks bounced back in the second quarter. Feeding off of the energy from the rambunctious crowd, the young Atlanta team whittled the lead to one point by halftime.
With the teams trading baskets for most of the third quarter, the game entered the fourth with the Celtics leading 82-79.
A pivotal moment in the game came with 4:43 left, as the referees called Paul Pierce for his sixth foul. Pierce subsequently picked up a technical by throwing his headband, clearly irate with the call.
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The replay showed that the foul was indeed something of a phantom call. It was not a call that one might expect the refs to call on one of the league's stars, especially given the situation.
Aided by a span of more than five minutes where the Celtics did not hit a field goal, the Hawks were leading 102-100 as they sent Mike Bibby to the line with seven seconds left. However, Bibby only made the second free throw.
With a chance to tie it with a three, Rajon Rondo dribbled the ball quickly across halfcourt. He waited for a second...and he waited...and he waited. As the clock neared zero, Rondo hoisted a prayer (especially given his suspect jump shot) from 28 feet, lit.
Um...what? That could not have been the plan that Doc had drawn up during the timeout before Bibby's free throws. It was a very poor shot, wasting an opportunity to send the game to overtime and possibly win the series.
This is to take nothing away from the Hawks, who deserved to win this game regardless of whether Rondo hit that shot. They have proved that they have a solid foundation of young players, as well as a passionate fan base.
With Game Seven in Boston on Sunday, the Celtics remain the favorite, as they should. The first three games in the Garden were blowouts in the Celtics favor.
However, the Celtics can't afford the same mistakes they made in Game Six if they want to finish this feisty Hawks team.
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4 months ago
I'm sick of all the mistakes Kevin Garnett has made in Atlanta, this series; he's been exposed. He can't overwhelm inferior defenders in the post, he makes bad decisions and forces passes under pressure, and he's soft defensively. On Josh Childress's "plus-one" drive along the baseline that fouled out Paul Pierce, for example, Garnett rotates fine, but stands underneath the circle with his arms up. Go challenge Childress and block his shot! I thought you were the best defender in the game according to your DPOY!
All the flaws Garnett showed in Minnesota have been revealed in Atlanta. Fortunately for Boston, he makes much fewer mistakes in Boston where the pressure isn't as great, and the Hawks aren't as energetic and confident.
But if Boston loses this series, Garnett's going down as one of the All-time overrated players. The Great ones don't get dominated by Josh Smith.
from 4 months ago
As much as it pains me to say it, I have to agree with you to a certain extent. Garnett was hardly dominant in any way at crunch time, and I can really only think of 1 or 2 times the entire year that he was. Where are his post moves? Why is every shot down on the blocks a fall away jumper? This was one of Garnett's biggest criticisms coming into Boston and he's going to need a to play a lot better down the stretch the rest of the playoffs (if they win Sunday) in order to silence even one of his critics.
4 months ago
I feel like a big reason the Celts arent playing as well is due to the emergence of Rajon. I know it may sound weird that Rondo putting up better numbers hurts them. I think Rondo has too much confidence in himself and probably thinks he's as valuable to the team as the big three. He needs to just focus on getting them off and playing tough hard nosed D. Rondo shouldnt have 15- 17 shot attempts. For a team with Garnett, Allen and Pierce its ridiculous. Rondo should be in the 5-10 attempt range.
from 4 months ago
I think he might have a little too much confidence too, and I'm just basing it on that shot at the buzzer last night. As a Celtics fan, I just sat there in horror. What was that?! He just waited there and put up a prayer! He usually can't even nail a jumper! I have no idea what he was thinking, but that was atrocious.
4 months ago
Guys is it wasn't like he planned going down the court and hoisting up a shot. If you watched the play, he was waiting for Ray Allen to come off a screen for a three. But the Hawks covered him well, so Rondo had to shoot. And to say that Rajon is becoming overconfident is way off base. He had a bad game; it happens to everybody. He is usually in the 5-10 shot range, and his three best games were the ones they won. In one loss, he had 14 points, but he also had 12 assists. Through the first five games, he had an assist to turnover ratio of 10:1. You guys are on crack if you think Rondos a big reason we're losing the series. He might have been a negative factor in Game 6, but games 1-5 he was consistent. The Big Three has to step up in crunch time. Ray Allen missed so many shots in the waning minutes, it wasn't even funny. But the fact remains that the C's have to start playing Celtics basketball. That means shut down defense, and a large dose of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on offense, with a healthy dose of Rondo's creativeness and an lethal dose of Ray Allen's sharpshooting.
from 4 months ago
You're the one on crack if you read what we wrote and think we are implying that he is a big reason why we haven't won this series. That was not the point we were making at all. The point was that he took a horrible shot. Yea, he was waiting for Ray. But what should he do when he doesn't see Ray movin? Make a move. He didn't. He just sat there and threw it up. Some of that is Doc's fault obviously. I just thought he had better instincts than that.
4 months ago
Well, at least I wasn't implying that haha
from 4 months ago
Well yeah, I don't know what Brandon was thinking. When Rondo does well, the Celtics do well, cuz he doesnt turn the ball over and he hits 50 percent of his shots. Its not like he's become a ballhog.
4 months ago
agreed....he had a great game today...also did a nice job keeping his composure after that inexcusable take down by marvin williams
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