# Official: Boston v Atlanta - First Round



## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Boston Celtics

Starting 5:




































Key Bench:





























VS

Atlanta Hawks








PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Joe Johnson
SF: Marvin Williams
PF: Josh Smith
C: Al Horford

Key Bench:
Josh Childress


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

2 things:
yes i realise there is still a game to go but this is the official match up now, and the scrubzilla games arent getting game threads anyway lol

and if you want individual game threads cool... we'll just merge it all in here when the game finishes.

til then..... this is our first round match , do we get the brooms out, or are we in for a challenge from the young and upcoming Hawks?


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith were actually teammates at Oak Hill.  Just an interesting tidbit I thought I would contribute here.

You're starting line-up for Atlanta is a little bit off, Childress is Atlanta's 6th man and Williams is their starting small forward. However, you are correct that Atlanta doesn't utilize their bench much. The starters have logged heavy minutes down the stretch.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

TheATLien said:


> Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith were actually teammates at Oak Hill.  Just an interesting tidbit I thought I would contribute here.
> 
> You're starting line-up for Atlanta is a little bit off, Childress is Atlanta's 6th man and Williams is their starting small forward. However, you are correct that Atlanta doesn't utilize their bench much. The starters have logged heavy minutes down the stretch.


ah yeah, forgot about Marvin.. consider it fixed


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Just for the record:

BOS 106 - 83 ATL
BOS 98 - 88 ATL
BOS - 99 - 89 ATL

Are the results for this season, every time we played them we won by double figures, the most recent time was primarily with the bench.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

We better not underestimate this team. I don't think they'll beat us in a 7 game series, but we can't let an inferior team take any games from us and make it tough. This should be a sweep.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Definately should win in 4, and i dont expect any less...
ATL might steal one at home coming out with the energy of the young guys, but even that i find unlikely... C's in a sweep, 10+ point average


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Well the bench (leon in particular) just took down New Jersey for the last game of the regular season, nice to head into the playoffs with the bench firing.
Meanwhile Atlanta comes into the playoffs by losing convincingly to miami.

random fact, new jersey is the 17th team who we swept during the season


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## Redeemed (Feb 2, 2008)

I say Celtics in 6


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

If it takes us 6 games we have serious work to do


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

celtics in a easy sweep, to please natasha and game 4 will be on a monday when I see her normally so that will be great


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

lol hey??


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

First game sunday btw... cant wait


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I'm so excited that I can't even describe it. I really think that Garnett, Pierce and Allen are gonna look like totally different players. KG will be back to grabbing 12 boards a game, Pierce will be getting 25 a game, and Allen will be totally lights out.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

I've seen KG fired up for a deep playoff run before, he's a whole 'nother animal... i cant wait to see these guys step up, see what level they can actually get to


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

What happened to the older Boston fans? Premier, ehmunro, Causeway, agoo, aquaitious, & the others..


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## #1AntoineWalkerFan (Mar 10, 2005)

TheATLien said:


> What happened to the older Boston fans? Premier, ehmunro, Causeway, agoo, aquaitious, & the others..




the good ol' days are gone, i believe


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)




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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I can't wait. Time to show what we got.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Its almost time.....
im pumped, and want a blow out heh


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## ray_allen_20 (Dec 26, 2007)

K.G and Ray are prone to stepping up their game significantly during the playoffs. Pierce's percentages often dwindle, however thats usually because defenses collapse on him and I believe this season he too will see his numbers rise. This series should be a no-brainer, however the second round should be a concern. The Wizards seem to have their way with us and I'm not sure why. Matchup problems? While the Cavaliers are a threat simply because of King James.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

KG interview on the playoffs
http://newengland.comcastsportsnet.com/video.jsp
hes ready


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## ray_allen_20 (Dec 26, 2007)

K.G and Ray are prone to stepping up their game significantly during the playoffs. Pierce's percentages often dwindle, however thats usually because defenses collapse on him and I believe this season he too will see his numbers rise. This series should be a no-brainer, however the second round should be a concern. The Wizards seem to have their way with us and I'm not sure why. Matchup problems? While the Cavaliers are a threat simply because of King James.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Wiz didnt look like they could stop lebron in the first game, i think even if they win it will take them 7 games and give us a big advantage.

im not overly concerned about either team, the Wizards while they did beat us during the season arent really a team built for playoff basketball.

and we have a lot of guys who are great defenders to throw at lebron, while they would be tough i see us coming out of either series in 6 at most.

anyway, game not far off now, cant wait to see how pumped these guys are.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

and we're away... up double digits already, Pierce is dominating


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

TheATLien said:


> What happened to the older Boston fans? Premier, ehmunro, Causeway, agoo, aquaitious, & the others..


Moved on to S2, seeing as ever since we switched to this bsketballforum.com it's been all downhill in terms of activity/quality. 

Me, I just don't post anywhere anymore. Too busy.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Would be good to have some of the older guys back, especially with the success the team is having now...

i wasnt round here much when those guys were the mainstays....

anyway back on topic.. this lead is out to 18 now, cant wait for the second round lol


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

and we win the opener as expected 104-81


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Big win to start the series, nice way to make a point right from the outset...

the big 3 didnt have to over do it, bench got some solid minutes (and contributions)


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## mrsister (Sep 9, 2002)

Once again, Rondo outplayed a top point guard. Bibby was a non-factor in game 1. Rondo had 15 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and no turnovers in just 28 minutes. He continues to prove his detractors wrong, and now it's in the playoffs when it matters. 

I love how nobody played more than 35 minutes and nobody scored more than 18 points. That's a team.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

That was a real exclamation point to start off the series. The Big 3 all played 35 minutes or less, so that's good. Rondo and Cassell looked good out there. Powe was solid.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Rondo looked awesome, major props to him on his first ever playoff game


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## Causeway (May 18, 2005)

TheATLien said:


> What happened to the older Boston fans? Premier, ehmunro, Causeway, agoo, aquaitious, & the others..


what do you mean by "older"? :biggrin:

for me a few things happened:

* the quality in here went South (for reasons I will not state here, but they are obvious).
* I basically got shown the door by a mod.
* I have less time to post.

glad to see that some of you are keeping the torch going. It has been one hell of a season. Here's to it continuing through the finals! :cheers:


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## silverpaw1786 (Mar 11, 2004)

Cleveland looked good last night. Almost makes me fret.


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## mrsister (Sep 9, 2002)

A little concerned, but not too much. The Wizards gave the Celtics problems during the regular season, so it's probably good we will likely not have to play them. Also, the Wizards don't play much defense. The Cavs will have a much harder time with Boston. Yes, they beat us twice in the regular season, but once was in overtime in Cleveland, and the other time was with KG out and Scalabrine starting, and they only won by a point.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Im not too concerned with cleveland tbh, i dont think our defense will allow lebron to take a series by himself, and his team is no where near the caliber of ours


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## #1AntoineWalkerFan (Mar 10, 2005)

Causeway said:


> what do you mean by "older"? :biggrin:
> 
> for me a few things happened:
> 
> ...




cw!!! what a surprise to see a post from you! makes me remenisce of the old times...


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## mrsister (Sep 9, 2002)

Avalanche said:


> Im not too concerned with cleveland tbh, i dont think our defense will allow lebron to take a series by himself, and his team is no where near the caliber of ours


I'm more worried that Orlando will surprise everyone. Howard has been an absolute beast the first two games, and the Magic beat the Celtics twice this season. At least they have to get through two rounds before they would meet the Celtics.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

The magic would be a huge concern if they made it that far...

Dwight is a monster, but they would have to go through the pistons and their interior guys would at least beat him down for 6 games... and we do have Perk, who while not a super all star player or anything has a huge body and stacks of strength to combat dwight, not to mention KG.

thing i really like about this team is we can combat all star players of any position


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Here we go again tonight at 8...

Destroy them again... no prisoners


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Another comfortable win today, really shared the offensive load which was good to see.

also cool that davis managed to get some solid playoff minutes, guess there is a positive in the blowouts


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

It was good to see us win when I came home from practice. I usually have a bad feeling about games that I miss.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

i get that too lol


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

More importantly, where the hell did BigJohn go? 

Fun game. I'll post some pics later.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

look forward to the pics prem


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## Causeway (May 18, 2005)

#1AntoineWalkerFan said:


> cw!!! what a surprise to see a post from you! makes me remenisce of the old times...


yo - AW! Looks like your boys career is over. I am sure you have some videos to live off of!


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

Lol that is kinda messed up to say...


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## #1AntoineWalkerFan (Mar 10, 2005)

Causeway said:


> yo - AW! Looks like your boys career is over. I am sure you have some videos to live off of!




causeway...tell me youre kidding...my heart just sank and i searched the entire internet looking for something that said toine was retiring or something like that...you seriously scared the hell out of me...joke, right? :uhoh:


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

There still hope for you 1AW, the wolves will use him as trade bait next year cause of his expiring... the team he goes to might get bought out... 

then he might come back

maybe? lol

anyway nice to see both Toronto and Washington get up today, no other sweeps means they will be at least a bit more beat up


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

From USA Today:


> Paul Pierce was able to practice without restriction on Friday and will play in game 3 of the Celtics' opening round of the playoffs against Atlanta, the Associated Press is reporting.
> 
> Pierce was body-slammed to the floor in Game 2 on Wednesday, and said his back was stiff the next day but fine on Friday.
> 
> "I went through a full practice, so there shouldn't be any complications from the other night," Pierce said. "Shoot, I'll be ready for Game 3."


while i expected as much, nice to know officially


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

Good. 2 down, 2 more to go. Lets make this a sweep.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Still the Hawks... but it is an away game in the playoffs, its not oging to be easy

hope bibby gets boo's tonight aswell lol


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## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

Sam Cassell can go **** himself.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

Man, after seeing Horford talk smack like that to Pierce, Pierce better bring his game next game. He needs to drop 35 on them or something.


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

P-Dub34 said:


> Sam Cassell can go **** himself.


Yeah, and it's not like this came from nowhere. He's been doing this **** ever since we signed him and it's really disrupting the offense, while Doc didn't really do anything to stop him. I mean, even in game two he was doing his best Vinnie Johnson imitation:



Premier after Game Two said:


> Anyway, about the game; one observation: Sam is a chucker that could honestly cost the Celtics a game if they manage to make it to the second round and beyond. He was putting up shots with about 16 left on the shot clock and you could see Doc was getting pissed. Even though he seemed to hit a decent amount of them (I don't have stats), he wasn't really setting up the offense or deferring to the Trinity. Rather, he looked to create for himself and it was really disappointing. He's good to have on the second unit because he's a good spark off the bench, but isn't that what we have Eddie House for? Rondo, I think, is ready for 32-36 per in the later rounds (if the Celtics make it that far; no jinx). He's too passive, but at least he knows when to give the ball up.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I knew this would happen at one point. People didn't even believe that Sam would do this. He's been doing it his whole career, but now he's just not that good to convert like he did before. However, I still like his experience, leadership, and swagger. He can also still bring the ball up the court and not get it stolen, which is all we wanted from a backup PG. He just needs to tone it down. 

Anyways, I really feel like this team will be another type of animal after this loss. The Big 3 will all be extremely motivated after what happened in this game- Garnett letting Smith have the game he did, Pierce getting trash talked by a rookie, and Allen airballing threes. That should be Atlanta's only game. We need to come out firing on Monday, and coming back home we should close it out with the help of the home crowd.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Not too sure how worried to be about the loss....

on one hand, do i think we are going to drop the series? no, will atlanta ever shoot like that from 3 again? no...

BUT, i hated the way the players reacted to being down in teh 4th, Ray, Sam and even Posey were just chucking up 3's with plenty of time left on the clock... like that was somehow going to get us back in the game, meanwhile KG is on 30 points and scoring almost at will... if they do that against better competition it could mean more than just a single loss


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

So i get this funny feeling Paul is going to have a big night tonight hehe


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## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

Glenn has two options - go Tonya Harding on Cassell's knees, or let Eddie House play.

...Or both.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

So this has GS/Dallas written all over it

the hawks have lifted their game to another level and the Celtics havnt done squat about it.

Doc has been terrible, Joe Johnson is murdering your team and tony allen doesnt get a single minute on the court??

Not to mention the Cavs are going to take care of the wiz in 5 it looks like, and this team has now made sure this goes to at least 6... so disappointed


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

Soo uhh yeah. That was a hurter. Joe Johnson was a beast


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

We gotta win Game 5 man. We gotta. If we don't, I really wouldn't know what to say.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

hey doc, see this dude??? hes on your team, and he might actually competently defend that guy who torched your team tonight

i dont blame TA for being ****ed about playing time, he should be out there


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## mrsister (Sep 9, 2002)

That was horrible. It was like watching two different teams. The Celtics held them to 14 points in the third quarter, only to let them score 32 in the fourth. They should have made Joe Johnson give up the ball on every possession. Let someone else beat you. They better not play that way in Boston. I don't think they will, but it should never have come to homecourt advantage being the deciding factor in this series. It better end in six. Every other team will now have even more confidence against the Celtics now that they know the Hawks can give them trouble. Or the unthinkable will happen, and the Celtics will collapse and lose.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

This is a disastrous start to the playoffs.. do i think we will lose? no..

but this is adding an extra 80 or more minutes of basketball onto these guys, of fast paced basketball... the other elite teams are taking care of business and we've been hauled up by the hawks


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## Aznboi812 (Nov 9, 2005)

this loss sucked real badly. I do not want the celtics to end up like the pats. having a great season and then losing in the playoffs


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I'll be sooooo happy if we win this series. This is getting ugly.


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## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

One Allen is a good defender who needs to be out there. The other Allen cant defend and breaks down the Celtics defence.(though he is a great shooter)


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Wouldnt mind seeing us play small for periods of the next game with defensive match ups of

Ray/Bibby
TA/JJ
Pierce/Childress
Posey/Smith
KG/Horford


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

I guess we have a series now, huh?


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

hroz said:


> One Allen is a good defender who needs to be out there. The other Allen cant defend and breaks down the Celtics defence.(though he is a great shooter)


Wow. Ray was the only good offensive player on the floor tonight. Couldn't afford to bench him


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

yeah but meanwhile he allowed JJ to go off on us in the 4th... not really his choice, but Doc shouldnt have had him guarding Johnson if he was keeping him on the floor


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## ray_allen_20 (Dec 26, 2007)

Avalanche said:


> yeah but meanwhile he allowed JJ to go off on us in the 4th... not really his choice, but Doc shouldnt have had him guarding Johnson if he was keeping him on the floor


You can't blame ray for the fact that Joe Johnson caught fire, alot of the times it wasn't even Ray on him. 

Anyway, maybe we can look at this as a positive, the C's will be much more motivated as well as less over-confident against the more elite teams.


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## ray_allen_20 (Dec 26, 2007)

Is it just me or does Doc stress ball movement too much? He insists that every play we pass the ball around a dozen times and get everyone a fairly equal amount of FGA, but I think from now on we should do what Atlanta did and 'ride the hot hand.' Let the players who've been shooting well have more attempts. Like today, Ray should've gotten way more shots, and yesterday, KG should've gotten the ball every time. Ball movement is good, but too much ball movement can be troublesome. It can cause alot of unnecessary turnovers and prevent players from getting into any real rhythm.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

to an extent yeah, it seems even when one of our guys is heating up he doesnt really get the ball more then usual.. KG last game, and now ray...


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## pokpok (Jul 26, 2005)

Avalanche said:


> Ray/Bibby
> TA/JJ
> Pierce/Childress
> Posey/Smith
> KG/Horford


can someone email or fax that to doc ASAP?


i also wanna see a lil more selfishness from either ray or PP, either one can take over a quarter like what joey joejoe did to us... remember when P used to take over a game in the 4th qtr the last time the celtics were in the playoffs? yea.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

I swear TA better see some playing time next game


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I'm so ****in pissed. I'm gonna have to watch a recorded DVD of this after practice instead of watching it live.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Here we go again... C's better come out serious and really take care of business at home, this confidence of the hawks is soaring, and it needs to be stopped... tonight


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

I wonder if the crowd is going to boo Horford every possession like they booed Mike Bibby.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

take care of game 6 C's


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

This team better not be satisfied with this win. That'd be real foolish.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

are we relieved by this blowout or are we relieved? we better close it out in 6


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

ill be relieved when we win the next one


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## cgcatsfan (Jun 10, 2005)

Me too. We recovered, but I'm not happy that we dropped two. 
I predict we'll wrap it next game. 

The style of play they used all year would be useful now. 
We don't need to force shots and we can't lapse on defense for anyone. It's not what got us here. Obviously I'm not talking about last night, but the games before.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

we need to stop JJ from getting hot.. Tony needs minutes


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## ray_allen_20 (Dec 26, 2007)

Its all that idiot Doc Rivers' fault. What the hell was that lineup at the start of the fourth? It allowed to hawks to go on a 10-0 run. 
Fire his ***.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

ray_allen_20 said:


> Its all that idiot Doc Rivers' fault. What the hell was that lineup at the start of the fourth? It allowed to hawks to go on a 10-0 run.
> Fire his ***.


I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that it was just Pierce and then some players off the bench. And it was still pretty close at that point I think too.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

I don't normally like to put the blame on coaching, but Doc's rotations are terrible. He never learns. Our season is at stake here and he's clearing his bench.

Anyways, I'm confident that we'll win Game 7. Atlanta has looked horrible at Boston and I don't expect that to change. Our fans just won't allow the Celts to let this slip. That crowd is going to be LOUD on Sunday and it'll be devastating with our D and the overall "Jungle" atmosphere.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Doc has been teh suck


Cause of the early start i cant even watch game 7... im gonna have to wake up in the morning with my fingers crossed... surely we couldnt drop the series.... could we?

cmon boston, at least win this then youhave ahance to regroup against a new team, surely you have too much pride and experience to lose in the first round


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

A 40 point blowout is good for our morale. I'm glad our starters got to rest up in the 4th and all our bench guys got good run. Hopefully we'll play this well in Game 1 and 2 vs Cleveland.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Well thank **** for that!

hopefully we can move on without dwelling on the losses, but learning from them... and take confidence from the way we played in a big game 7 (although it never should have gotten to that point)

second round thread will be up shortly


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## pokpok (Jul 26, 2005)

man this blowout felt good..real good.


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## Avalanche (Nov 17, 2005)

Im just glad its over... that was too worrying, FAR too early in the playoffs for my liking


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Well if Atlanta was going to lose anyway I am glad it was in a route. Maybe now they can replace Woodson and get a real coach.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

yes am I relieved or what? bring on the cavs


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