Hoops

Can Atlanta beat Boston? *spoiler*

Beantown's coming to get you after Saturday Lebron23.
Bend thy knee to Lucky the Leprachaun, for he has come to take your crown!

Well the series has certainly turned on its ear. I wish I could have actually seen the game this morning, but based on the boxscore and radio commentary on WEEI Boston I have a couple of comments:

1. Boston took way more shots than Atlanta, but could not make enough shots under pressure in the 4th.

2. Atlanta is taking it hard to the basket and getting to the line A LOT. Their FTs kept them in the game. Will be interesting to see if they get the same calls in Boston.

3. Boston's bench is not getting it done. Some of this is on Cassell and House, who couldn't make a shot while the starters were out. More of it is on Doc, who didn't trust Big Baby and PJ enough to spell Garnett, who the commentators said was fatigued in the 4th.

4. Ray Allen got torched by Joe Johnson in the 4th. This might have been a defensive breakdown (once again wish I could have seen the game), but I think Doc needs to get Tony Allen involved defensively. He should be able to stay in front of JJ and at least wear him down a little over the course of a game. Allen's defence and energy was important for Boston during the season so why not use it now?

5. Key moment in 4th: Posey hits a 3, Celts down 3 with a couple of minutes to go. Pierce switches to guard JJ and gets him to miss but that leaves Allen guarding Childress, who grabs the offensive board over Ray's back. Atlanta then scores. Risky matchups there for the C's. Personally would have like to have seen Big Baby or PJ in there for Allen. They would put a body on Horford, allowing Garnett to stay on Smith, Pierce on Childress and Posey on JJ.

All in all, Boston had their chances but could not put the Hawks away. Doc needs to make some adjustments for the C's to win this series and I think this includes giving more of Ray's minutes to Posey and Allen.

We shall see on Thursday...