NFL
By Chris Molicki
It’s easy to say the Hawks are down after following a 60-win season with the No. 4 seed. It’s also easy to say the Celtics are up after channeling their team basketball and shrewd coaching to the No. 5 seed. But these two teams are both at a very intriguing point in their respective franchises. They’ll be trying to determine what they need to do to move forward, and that could hinge on winning (or losing) this series.
When the Hawks have the ball: This matchup is going to pit two of the best defenses in the NBA against one another, so a lot will come down to who has more firepower. Atlanta will need Paul Millsap and Al Horford to win the battle down low, and they should have an advantage against the likes of Amir Johnson, Jared Sullinger, and the other Boston big men. However, don’t count out the C’s ability to play small to combat the versatility and floor-spacing of the Hawks’ big men. In the backcourt, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver haven’t had the best of seasons, and they’ll have their hands full with the physicality of Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart. A lot depends on how well Teague plays, as well as backup point guard Dennis Schroder.
When the Celtics have the ball: Brad Stevens has his finely tuned machine playing great basketball in the second half of the season, and a lot is thanks to Jae Crowder. The swingman has improved in all facets of his game and is the cog that keeps everything else moving. But in crunchtime, Boston turns to Isaiah Thomas. The tiny point guard has been turning heads since his days in Washington, and after enjoying his finest season, I don’t see any reason why he would slow down. These two guys will need to find the cracks in this new and improved Atlanta defense to open things up for Smart, Bradley, Sullinger, and others.
Matchup to watch: Thomas vs. the tandem of Teague and Schroder is fascinating, partially from a big picture standpoint. If the two can’t contain Thomas, he’ll tear right through the Hawks’ defense. There have been rumblings of Atlanta wanting to move on from Teague and Schroder being the point guard of the future. It’s playoff time, and if Schroder gives them the best chance to win, he may be in line for some heavy minutes, and we may be seeing a changing of the guard.
Pick-Celtics in 7: I can see this series going back and forth. Two very well-coached teams with versatile players and no true superstars. But I give the edge to Boston because they’ve been exceeding expectations all year. There’s a real NBA team here despite not having top-tier talent, and I think that prevails over an Atlanta squad that may have more questions than answers.
