Hawks Have OCD When It Comes to the Celtics

Friday nights have not always been kind to the Boston Celtics.  In fact, the Atlanta Hawks continue to compound the situation with their dominance over Boston. 

The Hawks are a focused team when they play the Celtics. Somehow, they have developed an animosity that borders on OCD.  They have an overwhelming desire to dominate and inflict mental injury on the boys in green.  They show no such fervor when they play the other elite teams. 

Atlanta has been beaten soundly by Cleveland (back-to-back games) and Orlando.  They rarely show the same chutzpah when they play the aforementioned teams.  They make mental errors in crucial situations and are never really a threat to win the game.

But after every win against the Celtics you can almost hear them echoing Prince's—"I'm gonna to party like it's 1999."  It's appropriate because the Hawks seem to live in a world of their own when the schedule makers pit them against the Celtics.

The level of vehemence with which they attack leaves the C's bloodied and bowed. They badger the Celtics into rushed play and each player tries to be the hero instead of playing together.

The Celtics know they are the better team on paper, but what is written on paper can always be countered. The Hawks are long, young, and full of themselves. 

The catalyst for this bravado could be attributed to Zaza Pachulia's dust-up with KG during the 2007-08 playoffs.  The one who perpetuates it is Al Horford, a two-time NCAA Champion that somehow has taught the rest of his teammates how to win—how to have no fear against the Celtics.

Horford claims the Celtics have no bite.  They are simply a bunch of thugs, who when pushed will fold.  On the surface Horford may have an argument, but the reality is the Celtics have the better record and the better team.

The Hawks lose their way once they leave the green room.  Orlando blew them out last night 113-81 after they had beaten Boston for the second time in a row. 

Every team has an opponent that simply has their number no matter what the record is.  For the Lakers it is the Portland Trailblazers who have beaten them nine games in a row. 

The Celtics can take solace, that they have the Bulls-Knicks matchup as reference for their current ineptitude against the Hawks.

The Jordan-era Chicago Bulls had the New York Knicks. One season the Bulls could not beat the Knicks in the regular season (pardon me if I do not remember the exact year).

The Bulls just couldn't seem to get it right during the regular season. Then the playoffs came and they had to face a Knickerbocker team who displayed the same characteristics as the 2009-10 Atlanta Hawks.  

Fresh off their regular season dominance of the Bulls, they felt they would have the same results in the playoffs.  It didn't happen. The Bulls won the series and won the championship.

Atlanta makes a compelling argument to be in the conversation with the top teams in the East.   They are holding steady as the fourth seed but they are still a long way from the mountaintop. 

They will continue to make statements against the Boston Celtics, but their inability to play with the rest of the big boys show that they have miles to go before they are considered elite.