The Hawks are going into Boston with a 2-0 lead after narrowly beating a healthy Celtics squad in their first matchup and easily handling the shorthanded version in their second. They’ve limited the Celtics to 34.2 shooting and 25.4 from behind the arc in the first two games after recording a team playoff-record 15 blocks Tuesday. They led 24-7 after the first quarter and by as many as 23 against a Celtics team that shot a putrid 31.8 percent from the field and went 5-for-28 from deep.
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Isaiah Thomas is counted on to generate good looks for the Celtics, both for himself and others, but he is shooting just 33 percent this series thanks to a combination of Jeff Teague’s length and the great help defense of the Hawks. They scored just seven points over the first 12 minutes, the lowest-scoring opening quarter in a playoff game since the National Basketball Association went to a shot clock in 1954.
Top perimeter defender and second-leading scorer Avery Bradley injured his hamstring in Game 1 and is most likely finished for the rest of round 1. It’s something Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is wrestling with before Friday night’s Game 3 in Boston.
The Boston Celtics now find themselves is a must-win scenario for game three in Boston as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks 89-72 on Tuesday night.
The Hawks aren’t about to change their game plan; if they simply make an average number of shots throughout Game 2, they would have won the game by at least 30. They posted 19 points in the first quarter in Game 1, and an all-time playoff low of seven points in the first quarter of Game 2. Stevens said that Olynyk did some shooting in the morning but then felt some lingering pain when he arrived at TD Garden for the team’s pregame shootaround on Friday afternoon.
“I think the bottom line is there’s certain little tweaks that you make game to game”, said Stevens during a conference call with the media on Wednesday.
In the closing seconds, Jae Crowder gave the Celtics a chance by knocking down a 3-pointer.
Atlanta may have to overcome a key injury of its own after backup point guard Dennis Schroder suffered a left ankle injury in the closing minutes of Game 2.
If history and Memphis’ current state are any indication, the Grizzlies’ prospects do not look good heading into a home game tomorrow night. “It’s like we got to get punched in the mouth for us to start playing the way we need to play”. With no Bradley there to paper over the cracks, and Thomas unable to guard Kyle Korver, the Celtics were forced to play one of their bigs on him to start the game. Sounds simple enough (this is where the “we just have to play harder” cliche comes in), but executing it is going to be more difficult. “I just know I want to go down swinging”.
Stevens stressed to his players that a better start won’t necessarily ensure a better result.
In the postseason, Isaiah Thomas leads in points with 21.5 and in assists with 5.0 per game.
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With their backs against the wall, I believe the Celtics grind out a victory at home. He has played sparingly with the Hawks but Budenholzer says the veteran is “ready and capable”.
