An open 3-pointer is the NBA’s most deceiving carrot.
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On Saturday, April 16, Boston Celtics’ second-leading scorer, Avery Bradley, fell to the floor in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the series against the Atlanta Hawks, apparently because of a hamstring injury. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Celtics are at their best with Jae Crowder playing power forward, especially against Atlanta’s talented and mobile frontcourt of Al Horford and Paul Millsap, but Boston now has more playoff-ready players in the frontcourt (Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson, Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko, etc.) than they do on the wing.
Kyle Korver has suffered the entire season as his three-point shot has faded. “All coaches are experienced with having guys in and out of the lineup”. It was the second straight improbable comeback for the Celtics, who stormed back from 26 down in a win over the Miami Heat in the final game of the regular season.
It was Oklahoma City’s largest victory margin in a playoff game since moving from Seattle before the 2008-09 season, and the lowest point total the franchise has allowed in a postseason game, in Seattle or Oklahoma City. Turner made four of 13 shots in Game 1 while Smart made five of 10. Kent Bazemore had 23 points and eight rebounds.
Just before Bradley’s injury, Boston were in the process of taking the lead after erasing a 19-point deficit.
We said during Smart’s first summer league with the Celts that he would often be a NASCAR pileup on Turn 3 as a rookie, the expectation being that he would grow out of it. But there are still times when his Tasmanian devil routine spins him into trouble, when his mind is a half-step behind his action. “The work in the first half, getting that lead really gave us some room for error”.
And if the Celtics go small, of course, Crowder is key. He didn’t have the night he wanted to have, but that’s what teammates are for. We’re confident in each other and we’re always supporting one another because we came in together. “They all felt good and didn’t go in; hopefully they go in for Game 2”. “So it’s going to have to be a team effort from top to bottom”.
Prior to yesterday’s practice at Georgia Tech, a reporter jokingly poked at the second-year guard’s shoulders to see if they could handle the load. If the Hawks would have handled the Wizards, they would have earned the third seed and been on the opposite side of the bracket from Cleveland.
The Celtics shot 23% in the first half and 40% for the game.
The teams meet in the finale of the four-game series on Monday in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game, which is scheduled for an 11:05 a.m. EDT start and coincides with the running of the Boston Marathon.
But doing so without one of his most reliable players in the lineup is going to be incredibly hard. Their bigs are very athletic.
While Bradley was his typical optimistic self – “I’ll be fine once I get some treatment”. “We’re defending champs. When you’re the favorite, it’s a little different dynamic”. Credit to them for imposing their will in transition offense.
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“We do have a lot more depth at our big spots”, Stevens admitted.
