News 4/20

[FLCeltsFan]

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Celts get real, again
They’re all business for Game 1

By Mark Murphy | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill (File)
Their opponent has nothing to lose.

The Celtics [team stats] are going to hear this cliche repeatedly about their opponents in the early rounds of the NBA playoffs, especially in the first-round series starting tonight against No. 8 seed Atlanta.

But the Celtics are having none of it.

It’s not as if they’re facing Georgia State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

They’re playing the Atlanta Hawks, a young, emerging NBA team that is presumably not just happy to be here.

“They do (have something to lose),” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the Hawks. “They have the series to lose. I love when people say that a team has nothing to lose. That’s a lot of (expletive). They have just as much to lose as us.

“I’ve been the eighth seed before, and I know I didn’t feel that way,” said Rivers. “As a coach and as a player I felt that pressure.”

And anyone who says otherwise, according to Ray Allen, is playing an obvious game with the favored team.

“That’s just an attempt to put pressure on the other team,” said Allen. “The fact is that the series is 0-0. I know you tend to think one team has the edge, but they’re all playing for something.”

Unlike the Hawks, the Celtics are now playing for a prize that has been dangled ever since last summer, when this team was put together.

Unlike the Hawks, the Celtics are indeed expected to win, all the way to at least the Eastern Conference finals.

For Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce [stats], it’s not difficult to imagine what’s on the minds of the Hawks heading into tonight’s game. All three have been on the other side, as leaders of underdog teams.

All Allen has to do is think back to his first playoff experience with Milwaukee during the 1998-99 season. The Bucks were steamrolled by a great Pacers team that reached the Eastern Conference finals.

“I once played in a five-game series and I was home in a week,” Allen said of the experience. “We played two games in Market Square Arena (in Indianapolis), one game back in Milwaukee, and that was it. One home game and we were done.”

That said, he knows what the Hawks are thinking now.

“If you’re the underdog, you want to win one game in their building,” said Allen.

Consider the Celtics produced not only the league’s best road record at 31-10, but also the second best home record (35-6) behind Utah’s 37-4.

Their season-long focus should come into play now, against a Hawks team that is indeed looking to steal one on the road despite the fact they finished 0-3 against the Celtics this season.

“This is about as deep a team as I’ve been on,” Garnett said in response to whether the Celtics are as prepared a playoff team as he has played on. “Everybody has the intensity, everybody knows what to expect. We’re locked in. We’re ready to go.”

After roughly two weeks of playing out the schedule while other teams, like the Hawks, jockeyed for seeding position, the Celtics are now ready to bring their “A” lineup back to the forefront.

“Actually, it was more difficult than I thought it would be,” Rivers said of coaching his team through two weeks of games that didn’t have bearing on the Celtics’ position in the standings. “Everyone else was playing for something.”

That changes tonight.

[FLCeltsFan]

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Doc big on style change
Loose provides a good fit

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Beats | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone (file)
It’s obvious Doc Rivers received a whole bunch of IQ points for his birthday last October. The decisions he’s making this season are just so much more intelligent than those of his first three years with the Celtics [team stats].

Now in his ninth season as an NBA coach, Rivers is even smart enough to laugh at that suggestion. Yes, he received some important gifts before this year, but they came last summer in the forms of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, James Posey and Eddie House. Still there are challenges to coaching a talent-laden team.

Most importantly, when not to.

It can be argued fairly well that San Antonio fell to Dallas in the 2006 playoffs when it decided to match up with the Mavericks’ smaller lineup. And it’s clear the Mavs fell into a similar trap when they cast aside what they had been doing well all year and went small in the postseason against Golden State last spring.

Maybe it’s just a reflex of bright people, but over the years Rivers often has looked to match up with an opponent instead of keeping his young teams in their comfort zone. But, he said, any changes in his style this season relate to the aforementioned gifts.

“You do it less now because you have more talent,” Rivers said. “When you have a talented team, you don’t have to match up. You play what you have. When you don’t, then you do have to match up.

“We’re just going to play our game. That’s because we have the guns to do that. And that’s a nice place to be. I haven’t had that a whole bunch.”

The Celtics do have the ability to go small with Garnett moving inside and Posey essentially playing power forward, and it’s a lineup they’ve used with success in crunch time.

“We’ve done it two ways, and we’re going to continue to do it two ways,” Rivers said. “We go with the two bigs or we go with Kevin and Pose. The thing that I love about this team is that we can go both ways.

“Early in the year, we were more with Pose at 4 (power forward) than the double-bigs, and our record was unbelievable, so that gives us a lot of confidence going in that we know we can match up two ways. We prefer staying big, but we can go two ways and feel very confident about it.”

When it comes to his own abilities as a coach, confidence is something Doc Rivers never has lacked. He hasn’t grasped for credit this season - though he’s managed this team very well on and off the court - deflecting the praise to his players. But he did speak up for himself when the Celts were sliding into Secaucus last season.

This week, he explained again that the reason he hasn’t won a first-round series is that same factor that has the Celts as the No. 1 seed this year.

“No matter what anyone wants to say, it goes back to talent,” Rivers said. “It’s like when Flip (Saunders) was in Minnesota. He got a ton of heat because he couldn’t get out of the first round. Well, they weren’t good enough. His teams were never good enough.

“It’s funny, when I talked to Flip back then I used to wonder what they really expected from him. Was he supposed to pull a rabbit out of his hat and win? I think people did. And that’s the way I’ve been. I think I’ve had one chance to win a series, and it was that Indiana series (with the Celts in 2005). But with all the crap that was going on that people didn’t know about, I knew where we were at it that series.

“Other than that, I went to a Game 7 against a Detroit team in Orlando and had no business being in that series. But this (first-round series) is the chance that we should take advantage of. We are the better team. That doesn’t mean you’re definitely going to win, but you should. This time if I don’t win, I would be disappointed. But the other ones, I thought we played hard and did our best.”

If this group of Celtics plays its best, Rivers has a chance to look like a genius.

[FLCeltsFan]

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Five keys for the Celts

By Steve Bulpett | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone (file)
You might think it’s impossible to come up with five keys for the Celtics [team stats] in a playoff series against a team that finished the regular season 29 games in arrears. You know, beside the obvious ... be certain to show up.

But there are some interesting internal issues here, and while the Celts are still odds-on to advance, how well they do in some areas may be an indicator of their overall fitness for a deeper postseason run.

In other words, they don’t want to develop any bad habits here. Thus it might be nice to keep track of the following -- as well as the final score.

1. Fighting The Urge To Look Ahead
There is no doubt in the Celtics’ minds that they will be playing the winner of the Cleveland-Washington series in a couple of weeks. But to rid themselves of the Hawk nuisance with dispatch, they can’t act that way.

Barring a catastrophic series of injuries, the only way the Celts can lose this match is to not take Atlanta seriously.

Considering the way the Celtics have approached the regular season, it’s almost a given that they will come out with the requisite intensity here. But you can book this: after gaining a quick double-figure lead somewhere along the line, they will subconsciously let up and let the Hawks back in a game that should be over by halftime.

They will then take over again down the stretch, but that is a bad habit that could cost them against a better team.

2. Kids Just Don’t Understand

The most dangerous aspect of the Hawks probably isn’t their young talent. It’s that their young talent doesn’t know enough to realize it has no chance against the Celtics.

What kids like Josh Smith and Al Horford and Marvin Williams don’t know might help them. They could come into this series and not be wise enough to recognize the pressure.

It is therefore incumbent on the Celts to lay down the law as quickly as possible.

3. Battle Of The Ages

Matchup freaks are going to love tuning in to the duel at point guard between Rajon Rondo [stats] and Mike Bibby. Rondo turned 22 during the season while Bibby will be 30 next month. More importantly, Rondo is in just his second season, while Bibby is in his 10th.

It helps the Celts that Rondo is well aware of his opponent’s sterling playoff resume and the fact Bibby was the one who stepped up for Sacramento when his more celebrated mates folded.

Can the young and quick Rondo handle the wise veteran? Tune in tonight for chapter 1.

4. Get Off My Glass

One of the few nagging issues for the Celtics this season has been their propensity for allowing offensive rebounds, and this is an area at which the Hawks can excel.

Despite the fact they finished eight games under .500 this season, they still had over 100 more rebounds than their opponents -- 40 more on the offensive glass.

Part of the reason for the Celtics’ problem is because aggressiveness to the ball sometimes leads them away from boxing out. But the C’s will need to get a body on the Hawks’ young fliers.

5. End Of The Innocence

Rondo, Leon Powe and Glen Davis all will see time in this series -- their first playoff time.

It might even be helpful for Doc Rivers to give the latter two a longer run than usual (there’s no question Rondo will get the lion’s share of time at the point) just to get them used to the postseason game. These are two big and active bodies who could come in handy down the line, and getting their legs under them could pay dividends against, say, Detroit.

[FLCeltsFan]

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Garnett back to work

By Mark Murphy / Celtics Notebook | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone
So much has changed for Kevin Garnett in one year, the length of time might as well be 20 years.

From the glum experience of missing his third straight postseason with the Timberwolves last spring to now, the change has been like a release from depression.

According to sources, Garnett’s wife, Brandi, gave birth to their first child - a daughter - on Friday.

Not a bad segue into what Garnett admits is the most anticipated playoff appearance of his 13-season career.

“I didn’t watch the playoffs last year,” he said after yesterday’s practice. “I watched some of the Finals, but I wasn’t into it.

“I was totally numb to the playoffs last year,” said Garnett. “I was totally into my own situation (with the Timberwolves), and making my basketball situation better.”

His spirit obviously has swung to previously unknown heights.

“Now I feel more appreciation than anything,” he said.

Garnett also didn’t make so much as an errant step upon returning to practice yesterday after missing the previous two practices to tend to family matters.

Garnett showed up at the team’s Waltham practice facility on Friday night, and dove into a review of the Hawks.

“We’ve got lots of edits and film, so that helped me to stay in the loop,” he said. “We only played them three times, so you can always learn something.”

Sad for Seattle

Ray Allen may have left Seattle, but the special charm of the city never left him.

So his dismay was understandable about a vote by the NBA Board of Governors Friday that opened the way for the Sonics franchise to move to Oklahoma City.

The city is now fighting the team’s new ownership about the two years that remain on the lease at KeyArena - the less-than-adequate facility at the center of the dispute.

“I’m very disappointed, because now I see people trying to force the owner to honor the last two years of the lease, and when I was there you didn’t see that happening,” said Allen. “I just wish people had the same urgency at that time. That’s human nature, though. It’s like a basketball game, when you don’t start to press until the fourth quarter. But everyone in Seattle is trying to do that now.”

Allen was unmoved by reports that former Sonics owner and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz was attempting to engineer a buzzer-beating deal to buy back the franchise.

“He’s the one in the first place who put the team in the predicament it’s in now,” said Allen. “He’s the one who sold it to the Oklahoma City group, when there were local investors who wanted to buy it.

“But he knew he could get more money from an outside group,” he said. “They rushed to get their pockets filled.”

Playing both ways

Allen will have the tough assignment of guarding Joe Johnson, the former Celtics [team stats] draft pick who has emerged as a leader with the young Hawks.

“We want to try and keep all of their guys in check,” said Allen. “It’s a task. A force of wills. The one who is able to work both (ends) will be the victor.” . . .

Atlanta’s perimeter strength considered, this could shape up as a major series for Tony Allen, provided the Celtics guard puts those nagging confidence issues behind him.

“I’m great - never been better,” he said yesterday.

[FLCeltsFan]

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Finals pick is nothing odd
Celts-Lakers No. 1 favorite

By Mark Murphy / NBA Notes | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill (File)
New York’s steakhouses and cigar bars probably are doing even better business than usual this week.

The TV czars already are counting their money, because after last year’s somnambulant San Antonio/Cleveland final, there once again is the potential for an NBA June that the country actually will watch.

The potential of a Celtics [team stats]/Lakers final series, with all of the nostalgia and star power that kind of matchup would create, probably is too good for any of them to risk jinxing.

Those who are in the business of handicapping this sort of thing have good news.

Sports books Bodoglife.com, Sportsbook.com and Superbook.com (what will David Stern ever do about this if he really wants to put a team in Las Vegas?) all favor a Celtics/Lakers final, at varying odds.

Stern, too, has to be rubbing a horse shoe.

As much as the commissioner seems to be all about the international game these days, there’s one vital piece of his past that he can’t forget.

Stern’s rise coincided with the renaissance of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry in the 1980s. His league, and thus his own power, wouldn’t be the same right now if it weren’t for the generation of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

A Kobe-KG marquee sounds too good to be true. And it just might be. A lot of teams can get in the way out West. The Celtics have only the Pistons to worry about. We think.

But harkening back to Golden State’s remarkable upset of Dallas in the first round last season, this year’s first round has the potential to be twice as good.

And for now we don’t have to look and further ahead than that.

Eastern Conference

CELTICS (No. 1 seed) vs. HAWKS (8) - In terms of high energy, this series won’t disappoint. The Celtics have been at their most vulnerable against athletic teams with a lot of aggressive and interchangeable wing players, and the Hawks certainly are that.

Joe Johnson finally will have a big stage to play on, and now that he once again has the complement of a great point guard (think he missed Steve Nash?), the former Celtics rookie could have a great series in store.

But as good as Mike Bibby still might be, he’s not going to slow down Rajon Rondo [stats]. And despite the promise of Atlanta’s young tandem of Josh Smith and Al Horford, the numbers especially don’t add up for the Hawks in the paint or off the bench.

The Celtics won their three games over the Hawks by an average of 14.5 points, and that number will go up by the end of the series.

Prediction: Celtics in five.

DETROIT (2) vs. PHILADELPHIA (7) - If Philadelphia had drawn any other opponent (also excluding the C’s), then the Sixers might have some first-round hope. But the Pistons, like the Spurs, have been conditioned by the postseason. No other team in the East has gone as deep so consistently, and with the exception of the Celtics, no other has a threesome as talented as Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace.

Too bad, because the Sixers, like Atlanta and Washington, play at a relentless open-court pace that can give bigger and more deliberate teams fits. In that regard they indeed will torment the Pistons - just not enough.

Unfortunately, a name that rarely gets mentioned for coach of the year is Maurice Cheeks, who turned in one of the top three coaching jobs in the league this season. Look at his roster and try to figure out how this team went 22-11 after Feb. 5.

Prediction: Pistons in six.

ORLANDO (3) vs. TORONTO (6) - One worry. The old “Hack-a-Shaq” philosophy has been renamed “Fight-a-Dwight”.

Close games and Orlando center Dwight Howard have been a problem this season. He is shooting 59 percent from the free throw line - bad news for someone who holds the ball so much in late-game situations. But he also is too tough a customer for anyone on the Toronto front line. Not Rasho Nesterovic, and absolutely not Andrea Bargnani, the center who wishes he was a shooting guard.

Though Rashard Lewis was something of a disappointment this season, he still is the kind of wing big man, combined with Howard, who will give Chris Bosh far too much to think about. Too bad, because the Raptors actually may have the backcourt edge in this series.

Prediction: Orlando in five.

CLEVELAND (4) vs. WASHINGTON (5) - The Wizards have become everyone’s sexy pick - this spring’s most likely crew to follow Golden State’s 2007 example. But they’ve gone and ruined the feeling. DeShawn Stephenson, a fringe player at best, has been running his mouth. And then Gilbert Arenas returned to the lineup as a sixth man, though he won’t stay there. The good part, at least for his team, is that Agent Zero stopped talking to the media. But that didn’t stop him from running his fingers on his NBA-sanctioned blog about how the Wizards “want” Cleveland - the team that bounced them from the playoffs each of the last two years.

Arenas calls himself “an entertainer,” which doesn’t always jibe with being a teammate. He is checking back into a lineup that had learned to play very well without him. The real leaders on this team just might be Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. And their first order of business just might be leaning on the human distraction to focus on his game.

But enough with the upset talk. LeBron James has enough game to will his team through at least one series.

Prediction: Cavaliers in seven.

Western Conference

LAKERS (1) vs. DENVER (8) - The Nuggets worked hard to nail down the eighth seed, scoring the second most points (110.5) in the league.

From that perspective, this probably will be the most entertaining first-round series on the board. The two-man matchup alone - Kobe Bryant and Pao Gasol vs. Allen Iverson [stats] and Carmelo Anthony - could overload Jumbotrons in both the Staples Center and Pepsi Center. Some kind of first-round scoring record will be set.

But the Lakers’ impressive close to the season is unlikely to end here, though it could come close. Neither team has the goods to shut the other down.

Prediction: Lakers in six.

NEW ORLEANS (2) vs. DALLAS (7) - This series, and the seedings, show just how much the league has changed over the last year. The Hornets were eclipsed only by the Celtics as the great story of the 2007-08 season. But their timing is just a shade off. The Mavericks appear to have righted themselves just in time for the postseason, with Jason Kidd leading a win over New Orleans last Wednesday with his 100th career triple-double. The Hornets’ problem will be one of balance. David West probably doesn’t emerge to his current level without Chris Paul. And Paul, for all of his talent, dominates the ball just enough to run afoul of a well-coached defensive scheme in a seven-game series.

But Dallas booted its playoff credentials last season. Until he proves otherwise, Dirk Nowitzki plays rather small at this time of year. Last year’s first round and the 2006 NBA Finals hang around his neck like a small anchor. It says here that Dallas’ late surge isn’t enough.

Prediction: Hornets in seven.

SAN ANTONIO (3) vs. PHOENIX (6) - It’s funny how so many annually forget about the Spurs in April. Right now the national media is in love with the Lakers - a trendy pick, and also a team that can’t defend like last year’s champs.

The tough part for the Spurs is they have such a tough draw this early. They have lost twice to the Suns since the arrival of Shaquille O’Neal. And this is Shaq’s time of year just as much as it carries the imprint of Tim Duncan. But the latter still is in his prime, and the Spurs still are the best defensive team in the West.

So you keep the Suns, not to mention the Lakers. The Spurs still are better equipped than either to make the Finals.

Prediction: Spurs in six.

UTAH (4) vs. HOUSTON (5) - Prevailing wisdom says the Rockets already had their run with that 22-game winning streak. One problem is that without Yao Ming, they’re a little hollow. And as good as Rafer Alston has been this season - indeed, he’s a vastly improved point guard - he’s no Deron Williams. As usual, the Jazz are one of the league’s best-kept secrets. Blame it on playing in Salt Lake City. But they have home court advantage in this series, a deciding factor when you consider the crazies who fill the Delta Center every night.

Prediction: Jazz in six.

[FLCeltsFan]

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The quiet man
James’ 32 silences Wizards

By Associated Press | Sunday, April 20, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage

Photo by AP
CLEVELAND - Bumped and banged by the Wizards on every drive, LeBron James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington yesterday.

Determined to shut up trash-talking Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson, who had called him “overrated” last month, James took a physical pounding. But he led the Cavaliers to their seventh straight postseason win over the Wizards, who scored just two points in the final 4:39.

Afterward, James felt no need to rub it in Stevenson’s face.

“93-86,” he said, “is the only words I need to say.”

James scored 20 points - most of them on layups - in the second half to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that got off to a physical start and appears to have a long way to go.

“It’s one game,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “They drew first blood.”

Resting a bothersome back, James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter. But once he returned to the floor, Cleveland’s superstar forward came through as usual. With the game on the line, he twice got to the basket and scored over Wizards defenders, who had spent much of the game knocking him to the floor.

James expected a physical game, and he got one. Not that he minded.

“I was built for this,” he said. “I’m not 6-foot-9, 260 pounds to shoot jumpers all night. I go to the hole and I create contact. Don’t ever think I’m the only person feeling that.”

With the score tied 84-84, James knifed his way down the lane and hit a layup between Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with 1:37 remaining. Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, who led the Wizards with 24 points, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game.

The Wizards were still within four, but Jamison missed three straight jumpers, two of them 3-pointers, in the final minutes.

Delonte West made four free throws in the final 15.1 seconds to seal Cleveland’s win.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series.

Meeting for the third straight time in the postseason, these two teams know each other well. They also strongly dislike each other and tempers boiled over in the final seconds of the first half, when Haywood flattened James with a screen near midcourt.cw-0

James didn’t appreciate the foul or that Haywood towered over him for several seconds after the call.

James squirmed through Haywood’s legs to get up and the pair pushed and screamed at each other. Jamison came running in to the fray as Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace led Cleveland’s charge.

Haywood was slapped with a technical, as were Jamison and James.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/routine_excellence_is_allens_secret?mode=PF
Routine excellence is Allen's secret
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Staff | April 20, 2008

WALTHAM - The routine is paramount. People don't understand that. They see Ray Allen, his head meticulously shaved, his jersey tucked carefully into his shorts, his socks pulled up to precisely the same length, and they are drawn to his silky jumper. Can you blame them? It is so smooth, so fluid, so seemingly effortless.

Everyone wishes they could shoot like Ray. They tell him that all the time. They are envious, they say, of his God-given talent.

"An insult," says Allen. "God could care less whether I can shoot a jump shot."

As the Celtics kick off their campaign for an NBA championship tonight in the opening round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, Allen will leave nothing to chance. He will line up for the tip exactly as he has for his other 73 games. His pregame ritual does not waver: a nap from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., a meal of chicken and white rice at 2:30, an arrival time at the gym at precisely 3:45 to stretch. Allen will shave his head, then walk out to the court at exactly 4:30. He will methodically take shots from both baselines, both elbows, and the top of the key.

Allen is second all-time in 3-pointers, 460 shy of Reggie Miller. He has a chance of surpassing Miller, provided he stays healthy, but if he does, it will not be by divine intervention. It will be the result of years of painstaking preparation.

It will also be the byproduct of learning to strike a delicate balance between routine and superstition.

When Allen was small, he recited a familiar rhyme: Step on a crack, break your mother's back. So what happened if you stumbled onto the line? You'd groan, lament your misfortune, then go home for supper.

Not Ray. He would retreat to his room and wait for the sky to fall.

"I had a borderline case of OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder]," Allen explains. "I was never diagnosed, but it was something I was aware of."

This is how Ray Allen's mind works. If there is a speck of paper on the floor in his house, he cannot walk by without picking it up. He has tried. He has purposely marched up the stairs without correcting the glaring imperfection, but he's unable to eliminate the image from his mind until he goes back down, throws the scrap in the wastebasket, and restores order in his home.

He requires the same symmetry in his basketball universe. That's why, when Paul Pierce suddenly began doing 360 dunks in warm-ups earlier this season, Allen demanded an explanation.

"We were winning," Allen says. "Why would he change it up when we were winning?"

"I was just trying something new," Pierce says. "I missed the shot. So Ray tells me I have to miss it the rest of the year?"

Communicate, compromise

There was considerable discussion before the season on how Pierce, Allen, and Kevin Garnett would share shots.

It didn't occur to anyone, except their coach, to consider how they would share their personal space.

The wildly divergent rituals of the three superstars was a surprise - and, initially, a problem.

"As a team," Allen concedes, "we're all inside a bubble. Each of us only has so much room to operate. You have to carve out your space and recognize that because of someone else's needs, you might have to compromise a bit."

There's the free-wheeling Pierce, who never does anything quite the same from game to game. There is Allen, who needs to complete a specific checklist of chores before tipoff. And then there is Garnett, a brooding pregame figure who requires an intense period of introspection to prepare himself.

It was inevitable that their approaches would collide. In early December, Garnett was at his locker, alone, silently visualizing his responsibilities for the game. Allen, who had long ago completed his pregame tasks, was joking with Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo. The noise interrupted Garnett's concentration. He barked his objections; his veteran teammate barked back.

"They got into it with each other," reports Rondo. "Me and Perk were sitting there going, 'Whoa, what's this about?' "

Pierce observed the verbal skirmish with amusement.

"Stuff like that happens on teams all the time," Pierce insists. "Different personalities. But Ray's to blame. He's crazy. One night he gets on the plane and says, 'Paul, you're in the wrong seat.' I told him, 'Man, there's a hundred seats open. Leave me alone.' "

Ray's obsession with routine has struck a chord with Rondo, who confesses, "I probably have OCD myself." The point guard must wash his hands twice at the nine-minute mark of every game. When teammates and fans high-five him, he offers a closed fist to ward off germs.

Allen has become his role model, and Rondo has started showing up at the arena three hours before the game to mimic Ray's routine.

"I want to be consistent," explains Rondo, "and Ray is all about that."

Allen's mantra is that you must walk, talk, eat, and dress as though you are the best. Garnett concurs - to a point. KG does not feel obligated to wear tailored suits to prove his commitment, as Allen does.

"Ray is very strong-minded," Garnett says. "When you have other guys who are as strong, obviously you are going to have debates. But I think the young guys can see we can challenge one another without being destructive.

"I'm not going to say it was easy, but it was simple. Communicating is the best thing we do. A lot of people talk to hear themselves talk. Here, guys talk with their soul."

But coach Doc Rivers needed his trio to listen with the same fervor. His three stars were used to going about things in their own way, with teammates who deferred to them. That was no longer possible, and Rivers knew who would suffer the most.

"Earlier in the year, Ray would come to me and say, 'This is the way I used to do it,' " Rivers says. "I'd tell him, 'That's in the past.' Ray is a military guy. It was hard for him.

"But I told him if we were going to win this thing, he had to change."

'Hollywood' to Seattle

When Ray Allen was 8, he had to drop in five lefty layups and five righty layups before he could leave the gym. Sometimes another team needed the floor and he'd run out of time before he could complete his ritual.

"I cried," Allen says. "It messed up my day."

He did not discuss his compulsion with his teammates, his coaches, his siblings, or even his mother.

"I was almost embarrassed by it," Allen says. "It was just always beating inside my brain when I was young and trying to make sense of who I was."

They nicknamed him "Hollywood" when he arrived at the University of Connecticut because he was always color-coordinated, always meticulously groomed. He looked like someone important.

"I got that from [Michael] Jordan," Allen says. "When I was a kid, every time he did an interview on television, he was wearing a suit. He looked professional. I told myself, 'That's the way to go.' "

Ray roomed with Travis Knight at UConn. Knight was disorganized, messy. Worst of all, he squeezed the toothpaste tube from the middle.

"We said they'd never last together," says UConn coach Jim Calhoun, "and they didn't."

Ray plotted his workouts as if he were one of the coaches. Calhoun would show the team game film and Allen would ask to see it again, not because he needed to, but because he knew his teammates hadn't paid proper attention.

"It's internal," says Calhoun, "but it's there 24 hours a day. Ray does things the right way, and expects others to do them, too. People are sloppy - in their preparation, in the way they present themselves.

"Not Ray. Never."

So Allen harangues Garnett about his sweater-and-tie combos, and the omnipresent Adidas logo on everything he wears. He chastises Eddie House for shooting halfcourt shots at intermission at the opposing team's basket.

"Bad luck," Ray says. "Everyone knows that."

He talks to Perkins and Glen Davis about their social life. Allen doesn't drink alcohol. He reminds the young big men, "You have all summer to go out. Do it then. Not now. Not with so much at stake."

"Ray says he always packs light," Perkins says, "because he leaves his nightclub clothes at home."

Allen is certain his philosophy works. When he played in Seattle, a veteran leader among a mass of young, floundering talent, he would complete his pregame pattern, then retreat to the locker room where he'd read, often for more than an hour, before anyone else showed up.

Rashard Lewis, a young forward who jumped to the NBA from high school, began quizzing Allen about his routine. Soon he started showing up early, too. Before long, Damien Wilkins, Chris Wilcox, and Luke Ridnour joined them. Ray was the pied piper of preparation.

"It got to the point," says former Seattle coach Nate McMillan, "where the first bus was more crowded than the second bus. And that never happens."

Allen started a ritual of a halfcourt huddle at the end of games. He didn't just talk to the Sonics about being professional, he showed them how to be professional.

"Ray had a really big influence on me," says Lewis, who now plays for the Orlando Magic. "He knew I had the potential to be a great player, but, as he told me, it's the little things that can hold you back.

"So much of who I am today is from Ray. He helped me become an All-Star."

Not everybody in Seattle bought into Allen's plan. One day, when he arrived at the arena, Allen's regular parking spot was occupied. The owner of the car was Antonio Daniels, who had recently latched on to the early-bird shooting.

"I walk in and say, 'Why are you parking in my spot?' " Allen says. "He is acting like he doesn't know what I am talking about.

"We are playing the Knicks that night. I think I had about 40 points, but I'm still mad. I'm at the free throw line and Daniels comes up to me and says, 'You need me to take that spot more often.' I hit the free throw, then turn to him and shout, 'You stay out of my spot!' "

McMillan was worried after so many losses that his young players might abandon the Allen plan. But even after a double-digit loss, there was Allen, his head shaved, his shirt tucked in, reading a book, prepared to fight again.

"He made my job easy," McMillan says. "No matter what happened the night before, I could always say, 'Ray's here. He's ready. How about you?' "

Buying into concessions

The Celtics have asked Ray Allen to reinvent himself this season. He plays fewer minutes, takes fewer shots, is no longer the focal point of the offense.

"You see him sacrifice," says Perkins, "and you think, 'If he can do it, then I can do it, too.' "

Those changes were palatable for Ray. But he blanched when Rivers changed the team shootaround from the morning of the game to three hours before the game. And when Davis's minutes dwindled, and the coaches asked him to put in workouts before and after games, that cut into Allen's alone time on the floor.

"The last time I talked to Ray, he was ticked at Big Baby for not playing better, because he was messing up his pregame," Calhoun says. "I said to Ray, 'You've been in this league 12 years. Don't you have this down by now?' "

Allen is pleased that Rondo has become his pregame partner. He noted that Pierce, who ribs him the most about his eccentricities, has showed up early himself from time to time. In the meantime, Allen has worked to respect KG's ritual from afar.

"I've watched Ray," Garnett says. "I've watched Paul, and I've watched Pose [James Posey], and we all have our own way of preparing. All of us are excessive in how we go about it. It makes sense to me. Everybody is a little over the top in what they do, because it means so much."

When the Celtics played in Orlando earlier this season, Allen was at the arena at his customary time. He was surprised to see a lone Magic player working down at the other end of the floor - until he realized it was Rashard Lewis.

The word in Seattle is that Ridnour, Wilkins, and Wilcox have continued their pregame routine. McMillan, now the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, reports that he imparted Allen's pregame wisdom to young All-Star Brandon Roy, who is so pleased with the results that he doesn't even wait for the first bus anymore. He goes a half-hour earlier by cab with an assistant coach.

The Celtics have benefited most from Allen, who admits he's made more concessions this season than all the others combined.

"I'm so happy with Ray," says Rivers. "He hasn't fought it.

"Our young guys are lucky to be around him. Too often these kids make it to the NBA and they settle. Ray won't let them."

Pierce says he plans to adopt some of Allen's eating habits and offseason workouts. But that's where he draws the line.

"If I had to stick to the exact same thing every day, I'd kill myself," Pierce says. "What happens if you go for your pregame meal and there's no more salmon in the freezer?

"I love Ray, but I don't get it. I'm not ever going to be at the free throw line saying, 'Damn, I didn't get my parking spot today.' "

The trio of stars has banged into each other throughout the long NBA season. Sometimes, they've even traded elbows. But, when that happens, Ray Allen has learned to retreat to his corner, regroup, and find a way to adapt.

The bubble he calls the Boston Celtics can get cluttered. Very cluttered. But, according to Ray's careful calculations, there is still plenty of space inside for a championship trophy.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/they_were_ready_for_job_from_day_1?mode=PF
They were ready for job from Day 1
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist | April 20, 2008

For each fan, it was an individual epiphany.

Just when did Hope evolve into Expectation for the 2007-08 Celtics? Exactly when did the idea that the Celtics could win the 2008 NBA championship change to the idea that the Celtics should win the NBA championship?

Was it the 117-97 victory over Phoenix on March 26?

Was it the three-game Texas conquest of March 17-18-20?

Was it the 92-85 triumph over the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Jan. 5?

Was it the four-game West Coast sweep of Dec. 26-27-29-30?

Or was it the 103-83 destruction of the Washington Wizards on Opening Night, when EVERYONE COULD SEE that the Big Three had CLEARLY adopted an All-For-One and One-For-All attitude at both ends of the floor?

But that's the reality. The Boston Celtics really are the most logical choice to win the 2008 NBA championship. That's the way the oddsmakers see it, that's the way the Boston fans see it, and that's the way The Captain sees it, too.

"We expect to win this thing," says Paul Pierce. "That's the focus. That's the mentality."

From that riveting start back on Nov. 2 to the crowd-pleasing, sub-fueled victory over the Nets last Wednesday, the Celtics were the most relentlessly great team in the league. En route to the league's best record, the Celtics reached such checkpoints as 8-0, 29-3, 41-9, and, finally, 66-16, the third-best mark in the storied history of the franchise. They lost three straight only once (at Denver, at Golden State, and at Phoenix) and that was when Kevin Garnett was working himself back into shape following a debilitating abdominal injury.

They led the league in fewest points allowed per game and lowest opponents' field goal percentage. They led the league in average victory margin (10.3 ppg) and they won 68 percent (45) of their games by 10 or more points. They had winning streaks along the way of 8, 9, 9, 10, and 7. One can easily argue that they were only out of one game all year, that being the 110-92 March 14 home loss to Utah.

The offense was never an issue. Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen fit together seamlessly, with predictably exquisite collaborations mixed in with timely acts of solo brilliance. The preseason X factor was the maturation process of second-year point guard Rajon Rondo. Would he really be able to control and direct an offense featuring three future Hall of Famers while still finding a way to be at least a token offensive force himself?

Sixty-six victories later, we all have our answer.

But the great revelation this year took place when the Celtics did not have the ball. Would anyone have been surprised if the Celtics had turned out to be one of those delightfully entertaining teams that could never be taken seriously in the postseason because the whole world knows it's never going to D-up when it matters? The answer is no. Yet not for one second in the regular season was this ever an issue. The Celtics started out with a defensive mind-set and they never deviated from the plan.

"That was our challenge, every day," says Garnett. "To be the best defensive team we can be. We take a lot of pride in our defense. If we're going to be a successful playoff team, we've got to continue to be like that."

Out West, teams fought right through Game 82 for playoff seeds. The Celtics have pretty much known they'd have the best record, and thus the home-court advantage for the entire playoffs, for the last two months. And they've known they'd be No. 1 officially long enough to allow coach Doc Rivers the luxury of establishing a playoff-preparation/minute-maintenance plan for the entire month of April.

The last time any of the Big Three played more than 37 minutes in a game was in the aforementioned Phoenix triumph on March 26, when Allen logged 45. None of them even played 30 in the last four games. They each missed two games completely. So no one can accuse Rivers of abusing his veterans.

"I have no idea if the plan has been successful, but the guys do have a great rhythm," Rivers says. "I think the rest has gone well. I think they're rested, I think they're ready, and I think they're healthy. But I've never been through this before. I'm usually just trying to get in [the playoffs]."

Really, now. Who really knows exactly how to calibrate the minutes in a situation like this?

"The last two weeks, in a lot of ways, were really difficult," Rivers explains. "We had individual goals for each game. Anything to get them going."

The 66 wins are in the book. They created a 5 1/2-month buzz for the New England basketball cognoscenti. They provided the Celtics with the seeding and home-court perks. And now they mean nothing.

"There are three different seasons," Pierce says. "The preseason. The regular season. The postseason. Three different seasons, three different energy levels."

Mssrs. Pierce, Garnett, and Allen may not possess a championship ring among them, but they know playoffs, as do James Posey, Eddie House, P.J. Brown, and, of course, the venerable Sam Cassell, whose pair of rings have been authentically carbon-dated as being from '94 and '95. (19, not 18, smarty.) But the Celtics won't get where they need to go without help from the young'uns, so there will be some serious mentoring going on for the likes of Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, the suddenly menacing Leon Powe, and crowd darling Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

"We have to teach them that in the playoffs every possession matters," Garnett says. "The playoffs are like class. It's as much about preparation as anything."

They're now supposed to win. And they like it that way.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/entering_the_age_of_reason?mode=PF
Entering the age of reason
Youthful Hawks ready to let loose
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | April 20, 2008

The Hawks' playoff motto is "Get fired up." Another one Atlanta could have used is "Nothing to lose and everything to gain."

There is no team in the NBA playoffs with a worse record than the Hawks (37-45), that is younger, or that has had a playoff layoff longer than theirs of nine years. Outside of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, none of the available Hawks have suited up for a postseason game.

And the first-round opponent just happens to be the team with the NBA's top record.

But all of that is just the reason that the Celtics must respect this athletic team. While they have pressure to win their 17th NBA title, Atlanta believes it is walking into TD Banknorth Garden tonight for Game 1 with no pressure and everything to gain.

"The crazy thing about our team is there is no pressure on them," Hawks general manager Billy Knight said. "They are the eighth seed. Nobody is expecting them to do anything. So that can be the makeup for a team that can be dangerous and has nothing to lose."

The Celtics went 66-16 in the regular season, while the Hawks were far behind. Regardless, the Hawks are in the playoffs - losing record and all.

"The beautiful thing is that no matter what we've been through, or how people have talked bad about us, we've accomplished our original goal by making the playoffs," Atlanta forward Josh Smith said. "Now it's about not letting this be it. We've got to be hungry for more."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers, however, isn't buying the "nothing-to-lose" theory.

"They have the series to lose," Rivers said. "They have the same thing to lose that we do.

"I love when people say they have nothing to lose. That's a bunch of [expletive]. They have just as much to lose as us. If they lose this series, they're going to really disappointed. If we lose this series, we're going to be really disappointed.

"I've been the eighth seed as a coach and an eighth seed as a player, I thought the same pressure as the first seed. You want to win that series."

Said Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, "Our mentality here is to take it one game at a time and always respect our opponent."

The Hawks' roster has several young and athletic players in Smith, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, swingmen Josh Childress and Marvin Williams, and Rookie of the Year candidate Al Horford. But on a team that averages 24.8 years of age, the two veteran leaders are Johnson (26) and Bibby (30 on May 13).

Johnson, a two-time All-Star, averaged 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, and had a 3-point shooting percentage of .381. In three games against his former team this season, Johnson averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 steals.

"Joe Johnson is a great player and he's capable of taking over games," Rivers said of the Celtics' first-round pick in 2001 (10th overall).

One reason Johnson's scoring numbers may have dipped against Boston is that he must expend energy guarding Ray Allen. There is a lot of pressure on Johnson to score, but Allen has the likes of Garnett and Paul Pierce to share the scoring load.

"[Johnson] needs to score," Allen said. "He's got to score. On the flip side, offensively for me we have a couple guys that can score. I'll be more focused on keeping him from scoring."

The Hawks heard criticism for passing over the likes of Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and other point guards in recent drafts. But on Feb. 16, Atlanta finally was able to find its point guard by sending four players and a draft pick to Sacramento for Bibby.

The effect of the 10-year veteran on the team can be seen in its record (22-28 before, 15-17 after), points per game (94.8 before, 103.5 after), and assists per game (21.2 before, 23.3 after).

Bibby, who has a team-high 51 games of playoff experience, is averaging 14.1 points, 6.5 assists, and a .369 3-point percentage with the Hawks.

"We still have one of the youngest teams in the NBA," Knight said. "We thought a veteran guy would elevate our team and add to the leadership role. He's also added to the production of Joe. You can't double-team Joe now. Joe's average has gone up 3 or 4 points per game.

"A lot of guys' numbers have went up with Mike because he can score and he throws good lobs, and pushes the ball up the floor."

Said Rivers, "They changed once they got Bibby, no doubt about it. They changed their direction. They know how they want to play now. Bibby sets the table for them."

Knight has no problem saying the Hawks are far from being a finished project and are big underdogs in this series, but he isn't throwing in the towel, either.

"The Celtics have the best record and expect to go all the way," Knight said. "We are the eighth seed with the lowest record. We have nothing to lose at all.

"We should go out, play loose and try to come up with something. We will gain some experience playing against these guys and maybe we can make some noise."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/their_situation_is_unsettling?mode=PF
Their situation is unsettling
Legal battle continues in Hawks' front office
By Peter May, Globe Columnist | April 20, 2008

A fine mess. That's what's going on with the Atlanta Hawks. And we're not even talking about the fact that they stand no chance of beating the Celtics, Josh Smith's callow exuberance notwithstanding.

No, we're talking about the unending ownership battle between Boston's Steve Belkin and his former allies who, it might be hard to remember, were unified at one point. Now, after two court rulings and nearly three years into the legal battle, there still is no end in sight to a rather important question: Who really owns the Hawks? (And, for that matter, the Thrashers and Philips Arena.)

The ownership group - which has three geographic bases - gathers every other week for board meetings and avoids throwing spitballs at each other. Michael Gearon Jr. represents the franchise at NBA Board of Governors meetings. The team functions, sort of, although CEO Bernie Mullin didn't make it through the season and has not been replaced.

Belkin won a 2006 circuit court decision that said he was entitled to own 100 percent of the basketball and hockey teams and the operating rights to Philips Arena. But last September, an appeals court tossed out the ruling and sent things back to court, ordering depositions, discovery, and all the other usual legal stuff. That is going on now.

A trial date has been set for - are you ready? - February 2009, so this thing will extend into next season. Probably through next season. You know who wins these things: the lawyers.

You may recall that this one started when Belkin raised an objection to the Hawks' rather hefty cost to secure Joe Johnson from the Suns. Johnson was a restricted free agent and Atlanta offered him a whopper of a contract in August 2005, complete with a whopper of a signing bonus that has been estimated to be as low as $13.5 million and as high as $20 million. That was supposed to be a deterrent for the Suns to match, but Phoenix had no intention of matching it anyway.

But the Suns, in one of former general manager Bryan Colangelo's many shining moments, bluffed the Hawks into thinking they'd match the deal and somehow persuaded Atlanta to part with Boris Diaw and two No. 1 picks in a sign-and-trade for Johnson. That was what Belkin objected to, and thus started the whole williwaw in upper management.

Further, in normal sign-and-trade deals, the pursued individual signs a max deal with his own team before the trade so he can (a) get an extra year and (b) get greater annual raises. The Suns didn't do it and Johnson's offer sheet became his contract: five years, $67.44 million.

Diaw, of course, has been an integral part of the Suns since the trade and captured the Most Improved Player Award in 2005-06, his first season in Phoenix. The first No. 1 was one that came to Phoenix from the Hawks, who had acquired it from the Celtics in the Antoine Walker trade. Phoenix used it to - are you ready for this? - pick Rajon Rondo in 2006 at Danny Ainge's behest. Ainge gave the Suns a No. 1 pick in 2007 (the one he got from Cleveland for Jiri Welsch) and took Brian Grant's contract in return for drafting Rondo. (I'd say that worked out.) The Suns then turned around and traded the Cleveland pick, along with James Jones, to Portland for $3 million.

The other No. 1 pick was protected until this year, when, much to Suns' chagrin, Atlanta sneaked into the playoffs. So the pick that goes to Phoenix will be No. 15 overall.

Johnson has gone on to play quite well for Atlanta, making the All-Star team this year (over Paul Pierce's objections) and being named a member of the national team by USA Basketball. He has been the best player on a bad-to-mediocre Atlanta team for the last three years and tonight will be returning to the place where it all began for him as a rookie way back in 2001 for the Celtics.

(True story: In one of the many what-ifs in Celtics history, when they dealt Johnson to Phoenix in February 2002, the Suns didn't care whether they got Johnson or Kedrick Brown in the deal. They would have taken Brown to make the deal work simply to get out of Tony Delk's contract. At the time, Johnson was in the doghouse and Brown was the flavor of the month. So the Celtics put Johnson in the deal and kept Brown.)

The Hawks ended an eight-year playoff drought in rather underwhelming fashion this season. GM Billy Knight, who drafted Marvin Williams over Deron Williams/Chris Paul, and Shelden Williams over Brandon Roy, still makes the basketball decisions. (He appears to have gotten it right on Al Horford and turned Shelden Williams and assorted other flotsam into Mike Bibby.)

Mike Woodson, whose team won 37 games this year and earned the right to play at least four more, is still the coach. He has 106 wins over the last four seasons, although the meter is going in the right direction: He won 13, 26, and 30 games his first three years.

Don't be surprised if Belkin shows up at the Garden tonight for Game 1. If you see him, wish him well and congratulate him on his stick-to-it-iveness, if nothing else. He still has an Atlanta Hawks logo at the center of the basketball court in his home in the suburbs. One of these days, he might even own the team - again.


Twenty questions
NBA commissioner David Stern has been making the rounds, talking about another increase in the minimum age for a drafted player. Unless he's willing to offer the union a substantial inducement, he's wasting his time.

"My position is the same as it's always been: I am opposed to it," said union chief Billy Hunter. "In the last agreement, we agreed to raise the age in return for some tradeoffs. But I am clearly opposed to doing it again."

Right now, a US-born player has to be 19 years old and one year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft. Stern would like the age limit to be raised to 20.

Hunter said 45 high school players have been first-round picks since 1975 and there is an 82 percent success rate for those lads. In recent years, when high schoolers flooded the first round before the age limit went into effect, there have been only two real bombs, Hunter said. Those would be Leon Smith and Ndudi Ebi.

"We've had no problem with the kids coming into the league out of high school. They behave," Hunter said. "This is just more of the NBA wanting college to be a proving ground for the kids when the reality is they'd be better served coming into the NBA because they don't teach skills in college. And I don't hear the fans clamoring for an increase in the age limit."

And we're still years away anyway. The current CBA runs through the 2010-11 season, and the NBA has the option to extend it through 2011-12.


Teams brace for incoming taxes
How many times have we read that the Heat's decisions on not re-signing James Posey, Eddie Jones, and Jason Kapono were driven by luxury-tax matters? (This from a team whose owner has a choice of yachts and cruise boats any time he wants to leave home.)

Well, the ever-intrepid Ira Winderman of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel got his hands on an NBA audit of teams for the season, and guess who's paying a luxury-tax bill of more than $8 million. The Heat. (Oh, I get it. They just didn't want to pay $15 million and win as oppose to paying $8 million and lose.)

According to the audit, eight teams face luxury-tax bills this summer, ranging from the Knicks (around $20 million) to the Suns (a little more than $3 million). The Knicks and Heat are the only two luxury-tax payers who did not make the playoffs.

The Celtics knew all along they'd be paying after making the trade for Kevin Garnett. (Seems to me a fair swap, but I don't pay the bills.) Their tax bill will be in the $7 million neighborhood.

The other luxury-tax payers are the Mavericks, Nuggets, Cavaliers, and Lakers. The eight teams combined will pay more than $90 million, which will then be dispersed to the non-tax teams. Donald Sterling has already spent his share.


Etc.
Coby and Kobe
Among the many subplots in the Denver-Lakers series (aside from the Nuggets raising a banner in the Pepsi Center saying, "2007-08: Best 8th Place Team EVER!") is that Nuggets coach George Karl will be trying to oust his son's employer. Rookie Coby Karl appeared in 17 games for the Lakers this season, amassing a total of 71 minutes of NBA playing time. For now, though, Karl is on the inactive list, so he'll likely be in David Stern-approved threads today. Meanwhile, presumptive league MVP Kobe Bryant is going to bat for Phil Jackson as an eminently logical selection for Coach of the Year. Says the Kobester, "I'm kind of appalled that he's only won one," referring to Jackson's sole award in 1996. "If people don't want to give him the credit that he deserves, then they're just idiots."

Productive Sessions
All right, what is the deal with Ramon Sessions? Who ever heard of Ramon Sessions until, like, the last two weeks? Well, he sure made his presence felt, winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award, and giving Bucks fans something to cheer about in an otherwise bleak season. If you happened to see him when the Bucks came to town April 11, he had 8 points, 14 assists, and 5 rebounds. But he made jaws drop on the morning of April 15, when box score devotees saw he went for 20 points and a franchise-record 24 assists against the Bulls. And this was a kid who spent most of the year with the Bucks' D-League affiliate in Tulsa. He had 25 points and 14 assists in Milwaukee's season finale. Sessions was the 56th pick in last year's draft, coming out Nevada.

A tough road for Miles
Leo Papile, the Celtics' assistant director of basketball operations, has been watching young talent for a long, long time. In the spring of 2004, he watched Darius Miles swoop in and score 31 points for Portland in a victory over the Celtics and offered that Miles was one of the three best high school prospects he had ever seen. Miles spent 4 1/2 years with Portland, much of the time injured, and he was waived last Monday. He had not played a minute in either of the last two seasons because of right knee woes. An independent doctor termed Miles's injuries to be career-threatening, which allowed Portland to release him and get some cap relief. While Miles still gets his money (he has more than $27 million due), the Blazers can get insurance money from this season and his future salaries do not count against the cap. And his salary also comes off this season's books, which means owner Paul Allen won't have to pay a luxury tax, which, as we know, has to be a relief.

Hitting below the belt
Royal Ivey sure went out with, er, a bang. In case you missed it - and no one would be surprised if you did - Ivey was suspended three games for punching Bulls big man Aaron Brown in the, um, groin last Monday. Ivey missed the Bucks' season finale against the Timberwolves. The real kicker is the next two games. When will those happen? Ivey is not signed for next season and no one is going to be knocking on his door this summer. Does the suspension apply to D-League Games? CBA games? FIBA games? The NBA said he would be suspended for the next two games in which he's eligible to play next season. So maybe there's a one-season statute of limitations. Consider yourself forewarned if you were thinking of Ivey as one of your fantasy picks next year.

Another Rocket grounded
Tough break for the Rockets, who will have to go up against Utah without Yao Ming (which they've known for a while) as well as point guard Rafer Alston (which they just found out last week). The Rockets say Alston, who has a strained hamstring, will miss at least the first two games of the series, which opened last night at the Toyota Center. Alston was a key factor in the Rockets' torrid stretch in February and March in which they ripped off 22 straight wins. Bobby Jackson, who has extensive playoff experience, will likely take over Alston's starting spot, and rookie Aaron Brooks may get some time off the bench.

Above and below
Props to Perk. We think. Kendrick Perkins shot 61.5 percent from the field this season, which established a Celtics record for field goal percentage. Or did it? Well, Cedric Maxwell had the old mark of 60.9 percent, established in the 1979-80 season. But the NBA minimum to qualify for a league title in field goal shooting is 300 made attempts. Alas, Perk came up well short of that, making only 214. So if he didn't make enough to qualify for the league rankings, does he qualify for the team's? By the way, Andris Biedrins of the Warriors had the highest field goal percentage for a player with 300 or more makes, 62.6 percent.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/quiet_on_home_front?mode=PF
Quiet on home front
Garnett shifts focus to Game 1
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | April 20, 2008

WALTHAM - With his focus on the Hawks, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett asked the media to focus on something besides his family.

Garnett returned to practice yesterday after missing the previous two because of what he and the team are calling a family matter. An NBA source said that Garnett's wife, Brandi, has given birth to the couple's first child during that time. Garnett, however, is very private and declined to talk about the matter.

"Family issues are never public, so I ask [the media] to respect that," Garnett said. "I'm looking forward to playing. I'm excited to play."

Garnett worked out and watched film Friday night at the Celtics' practice facility to prepare for Game 1 of the Atlanta series tonight. The NBA MVP candidate said his conditioning is "fine" and he was "ready."

"We got edits, we got film," Garnett said. "Like I said, I had family issues, but I stayed in the loop through booklets and edited tapes. I haven't missed a beat.

"Playoff time is when you get your homework in. It's like class. You go in, you study, you prepare."

On Garnett's return to practice, guard Ray Allen said, "We just clicked in like we normally would as if Kevin was here the last two days."

Tonight's game ends a four-year postseason layoff for Garnett. He was a part of the playoffs with Minnesota for eight straight years, culminating in the Timberwolves' trip to the Western Conference finals in 2004.

But last year, Garnett was more focused on finding a new city to play in.

"I didn't watch any of the playoffs last year," Garnett said. "I watched some of the Finals. I watched a game here and there. I could care less about the playoffs last year. Mentally, I wasn't into watching some of my compadres.

"I was totally numb to the playoffs last year. I was focusing on making my situation and basketball life better."


A yea vote
The Celtics were one of 28 teams that voted to approve the SuperSonics' move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Allen, a former Sonics star, was "very disappointed" about the news.

"I see the people [of Seattle] are trying to sue the team and force the ownership to honor the last two years of the lease," Allen said. "Even when I was there, there was none of that going on. Everybody just kind of pushed it to the side and assumed it was going to be taken care of.

"It's just like a basketball game. You're down 8 at the end of the third quarter and you think it's going to happen and that urgency goes into effect.

"With that situation, it didn't seem like anyone was going to step up. Now people are trying to step up and trying to affect things in a positive way. Everybody in America that sees this happening and in Seattle knows it's a tragedy for them to lose an NBA team as good as that city is."


First and foremost
The Celtics-Hawks series will be the last first-round series to start. Regarding the wait, Allen said, "I just try to do like I normally would do. I try not to anticipate it too much because you get too antsy. Nerves can build up. The time will come." . . . Doc Rivers said the Celtics are in good shape. "Right now, everyone's healthy," Rivers said. "Everyone has their bruises, like any other team. But we're pretty fortunate. We're healthy right now." . . . The Celtics will have shootaround this morning at their practice facility in Waltham, while the Hawks will have a shootaround at TD Banknorth Garden . . . After Game 2 is played Wednesday night, the Celtics will depart Friday afternoon for Atlanta in preparation for Game 3 Saturday.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/20/hard_to_match_that_80s_show?mode=PF
Hard to match that '80s show
By Peter May, Globe Staff | April 20, 2008

Has it really been 20 years? It has. Or, to be more precise, 19 years, 11 months, and 32 days.

That's the last time the Celtics and Hawks met in the postseason and, well, they'll have a hard time replicating that one when their conference quarterfinal kicks off tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden. That was the Game 7 shootout between Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins that capped a memorable conference semifinal.

While it's been two decades since the Hawks and Celtics have met in the playoffs, the franchises were spring regulars in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Hawks were in St. Louis. They met four times in five years, all in the NBA Finals. They met twice in the early 1970s; John Havlicek holds the franchise postseason scoring record with a 54-point submission against Atlanta April 1, 1973. They also met thrice in the 1980s, in a three-gamer in 1983 (best remembered as the series in which Tree Rollins bit Danny Ainge on the finger) and two seven-gamers, including 1986, the last time the Celtics hoisted a banner in the Garden.

The Celtics have won eight of the nine playoff series between the franchises, the one loss coming in the 1958 NBA Finals, which remains the Hawks' only NBA championship. Atlanta has not even won a best-of-seven playoff series since 1970.

The two seven-game series between Boston and Atlanta in the 1980s were memorable. Doc Rivers, the current Celtics coach, was the starting point guard in Atlanta. Ainge, now Rivers's boss in Boston, started in the Celtics' backcourt.

The Hawks were presumed to be the Next Next Thing in the East with a lineup of young, explosive leapers led by the aforementioned Wilkins, but also including the likes of Kevin Willis, Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston, and, in 1986, the leaper who stunned one and all, diminutive Spud Webb.

They played in the Omni, were coached by Mike Fratello, were overseen by Boston hater Stan Kasten, and felt destined to overtake the Celtics, who by 1988 were just trying to hang on.

In 1986, Wilkins won the NBA scoring title (Michael Jordan missed most of the season with a foot injury) and was runner-up to Bird for MVP honors. The Hawks were the second-youngest team in the NBA and still won 50 games, making Fratello the Coach of the Year and Kasten the Executive of the Year. But against this Celtics team, it was no contest. The Celtics won in five games, the only series they did not sweep coming out of the Eastern Conference.

What stands out from that series is the third quarter of the clinching Game 5. Ainge said he still watches it on tape every now and then and called the performance "the way basketball is supposed to be played."

The Celtics led, 66-55, at the half - ah, the good old days - and then proceeded to outscore Atlanta, 36-6, in the third quarter, including a 24-0 run over the final 5:17. There was one sequence in which a frustrated Rollins threw an inbounds pass at Ainge, who caught it, made a layup, then got the ball and gave it back to Rollins, who was still standing out of bounds. Final score: 132-99. End of series.

"All you can do is call timeouts," Fratello said. "The league doesn't let you make trades during games."

Two years later, the Celtics were deemed much more vulnerable. K.C. Jones had already agreed to step down after the playoffs and, once again, Boston and Atlanta found themselves in a second-round series.

The teams split the first four games (the Celtics were a so-so road team that year) and then Atlanta won Game 5 in Boston, helped in part by a huge basket by Rivers. Afterward, some nitwit Boston writer asked Fratello how he felt now that the series was all but over. Fratello nearly tore the writer's head off. He knew better.

Signs alluding to Game 6 being Jones's swan song hung in the Omni as the teams met May 20. The Celtics somehow prevailed, 102-100, with Ainge being a huge factor (15 of his 22 in the second half). That set up a Game 7 May 22, and anyone who was there, or watched it, will never forget the fabled fourth period back-and-forth between Wilkins and Bird.

The Celtics won, 118-116, in a game which the teams shot a combined 59 percent! Bird had 34 points, 20 coming in a fourth quarter in which he was 9 of 10 from the field. Wilkins had 47 points, 16 in the fourth period. Over one stretch of 99 seconds, the two scored on five straight possessions, with Wilkins scoring 6 points and Bird 4. Bird also is remembered for his famed drive and lefty scoop shot that gave the Celtics a 5-point lead with 26 seconds left.

The clock finally ran out, and the Hawks left knowing they'd been participants in an epic playoff game. You can't duplicate a classic like that one, but, for the Celtics (two years running) and the Hawks (eight years running), any playoff game will do at this point.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/green_room/2008/04/powe_position.html
Powe position
Email|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Jesse Nunes April 19, 2008 02:25 PM
You won't find his name and number on any of the T-shirts they sell at the kiosks around the TD Banknorth Garden.

You won't hear a buzz through the arena whenever he takes off his warm-ups and heads towards the scorer's table, nor will everyone chant his name whenever he makes a hoop or a hustle play.

You won't see his mug on the Jumbotron reminding everyone it's the fourth quarter and it's time to "Stand up!! Stand up …. right … nowwwwwww!!"

You won't hear him complain about any of those things, either.

You see, Leon Powe just goes to work. And he does it well.

Much better than you probably think.


Leon at his best: Taking the bump down low and getting the hoop and foul. (AP Photo)
Why did the Celtics win 66 games this year? There are more reasons than you can count on your fingers and toes. Garnett re-energized the fans and players. Pierce and Allen subjugated their individual stats for team play. Rondo played like a 10-year vet running the team. Tom Thibodeau performed a miracle on the D even the pope would have to recognize. Posey and House gave the veteran consistency that was expected of them.

Most of those things we knew would likely happen (well, maybe we didn't know how good the defense could be). But one contribution was, for the most part, wholly unexpected, and just as integral to the team's sustained success throughout the season:

Leon Powe became the best bench player for the best team in the NBA.

No knock to Eddie House or James Posey, they are definitely in the running, and solid argument can be made for each. And when Tony Allen isn't thinking, and when he's playing instinctually on D, he's up there as well.

But who has done more for this team off the bench than Leon in the second half of the season? Not only has he become the most consistent big man to come in off the pine for the C's in years, but he has become that after barely playing at all in the first half of the season.

Through the first 37 games of the Celtics season, Leon only got playing time in 14 of them, and most of those minutes coming in garbage time at the end of blowouts. He was efficient in his early games, but only played more than 10 minutes in a game once during that stretch (the infamous 104-59 thrashing of the Knicks in late November). In fact, during those first 37 games, he played a grand total of 60 minutes. That's nine minutes less than Brian Scalabrine played in the first four games of the season.

But it was when Kevin Garnett went down in late January that Leon was thrust in the rotation, out of pure necessity. The C's were desperately in need of big men when KG went down, and if you were 6-feet-10 inches or taller, Doc had no choice but to throw you on the floor.

So what did Leon do with the opportunity? He averaged a much-needed 12.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 25.6 minutes a game during KG's absence, and he helped the C's to a 7-2 record during The Big Ticket's nine games off, punctuated by the buzzer-beating tip-in in Minnesota on Feb. 8.

Since that stretch without KG, Leon has been a mainstay in the rotation, often coming in off the bench for Garnett himself. The cheers that fill the Garden when that substitution happens are always directed at Garnett as he heads to the bench, rather than the incoming Powe, but more often than not the C's don't lose nearly as much as they should with that substitution.

When watching him last year, I felt that Leon brought many things to the team that were desperately needed, most notably his never-ending intensity under the glass and his willingness to sacrifice his body, whether it be in setting a screen, taking a charge, or mixing it up with opposing big men. Much of what he brought didn't always show up in the stat sheet, such as his great ability to get his fingertips on loose balls even when surrounded by three guys.

But what sold me on Leon was his incredible effort during the franchise-worst 18-game losing streak last year. Halfway through the streak, many C's players lost their swagger and seemed to turn it down a notch. Not Leon … he played every minute of that embarrassing streak like it was Game 7 of the Finals. He was the only guy willing to be an instigator under the boards, and the only guys to show some fight (almost literally a few times).


He dominates so much down low, sometimes Leon gets bored and decides to play on his knees. (AP Photo)
One thing I didn't expect this year was his offensive efficiency. Leon had trouble last year getting shots down low, often getting his shot blocked when in single coverage. He had awkward footwork and strange post moves, and for the most part they proved ineffective against NBA big men.

Whatever he did in the offseason, it worked. Leon is now one of the best Celtics at instigating contact and getting to the line. He is the best pick-and-roller on the team, and his ability to grab a tough pass is second to none. He has developed great body control underneath the hoop and has the ability to power shots in even as he's taking a hard hit. He may be the team's most reliable scorer two feet from the hoop.

After KG came back from injury, you had to wonder if Leon was headed back to only playing garbage-time minutes. Often battling Big Baby for second-unit minutes early on, Doc soon went to a Davis/Powe front line when the starters came out, and when it proved unexpectedly effective, Leon's minutes became more consistent. Soon he was the first guy off the bench and logging minutes with many of the starters, and playing meaningful shifts down the stretch of games.

Since those 23 DNP-CD's in the first 37 games, Leon has only sat only once in the last 45 games. Although he logs many 15-18 minute games, he has started to crack 20 and sometimes even 30 minutes a game. And it's in those games where he plays extended minutes where his effectiveness is even more apparent.

Overall, Leon has played 20 of more minutes in 15 games this season. In those games, he is averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds a game, with an average of 27 minutes. If his stats for his over-20-minute games are stretched out over 48 minutes, his numbers are 28.3 points and 14 rebounds per 48. If Leon had more 20+ minute games under his belt this season, (and thus qualified for the per-48 league leaders) those stats would be enough to put him at No. 20 in the NBA in scoring and No. 45 in rebounding. Granted, that's stretching the stats a little bit, but the fact that he's able to those numbers when he plays over 20 minutes shows that he's more effective the longer he plays in each game.

Still, Leon will be an afterthought to many in the playoffs, as opponents and fans focus on Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, Posey, House, Cassell and Perk before they even consider Leon. And the loudest cheers will be reserved for the mega-stars, the gregarious rotund bench players, and the red-headed towel-wavers on the bench.

Leon will just come in and do his job, mostly unnoticed. And he seems fine with that. It's just what he does.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x2103872722
Megliola: Meaningful games set to begin for C's
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By Lenny Megliola/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Apr 19, 2008 @ 08:29 PM

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The 66 wins? Impressive. The value of Kevin Garnett? More than you even thought it would be. Team chemistry, sparked by a Getting-To-Know-You preseason trip to Rome? Swell idea. Letting an unproven point guard (yes, you Rajon Rondo) sink or swim (he swam)? Huge. Danny Ainge continuing to flesh out the roster after bringing Ray Allen and Garnett into his master plan? Pure genius.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. And we know what it all means today.

N-o-t-h-i-n-g.

I know, that sounds harsh. Celtics fans have been waiting for a regular season like this since Bird, McHale and Parish were walking through that door. The bells and whistles at the Garden weren't so necessary this season. Terrific basketball was being played by the home team. For the purists, at least, that was enough.

The Celtics started fast and never looked back, never put it in cruise control even after they'd clinched all they could hope to clinch, including home court advantage throughout the playoffs, stunning stuff for a team that won only 24 games the year before. But let's get over that.

The only similarities between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 Celtics are ... well, there are none. A year ago, Paul Pierce was crying out for help so, as he sways into his 30s, he wouldn't be stuck in non-playoff mode any longer. Doc Rivers was coaching for his job. Rondo was more suspect than prodigy. Leon Powe could've been let go. Kids like Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Delonte West, Sebastian Telfair and Gerald Green represented a future that might never be. Wally Szczerbiak staying healthy was always a dicey thing. Brian Scalabrine was window dressing. Kendrick Perkins was still searching for his place in the sun.

No team changed more dramatically, for the better, than the Celtics. Whether their success turns out to be their worst enemy or the steam that powers them to an NBA title, it's too early to say, although it hasn't stopped some fans' thinking that a 17th banner is totally realistic.

So be it. The Celtics haven't won a playoff series since 2003, or a playoff game since May of 2005. This team has roared back to the playoffs in a stunning way, and it's not like they're just happy to be back. Oh no.

It starts tonight, and not with a small step because there's no such thing in the playoffs. The nothing-to-lose Atlanta Hawks, who won just 13 more games than the pathetic Celtics did a year ago, come to the Garden. Nobody thinks this series will go beyond five games. This might prompt Rivers to remind his players of the Warriors' first-round dispatch of the heavily-favored Mavericks last season.

But you know what? I don't think Rivers is going to have to remind this team of anything. Start with the premise that they're playing for their reputations. Sixty-six wins! Whoa, you guys must be pretty good. The Celtics know they're very, very good. They also know the best record comes with being the biggest target. You listen to Pierce and Garnett now and, sure, expectations are off the charts, but it took the Captain and the Savior a nanosecond Wednesday night to put the 82 games behind them. They understand the hard part is coming.

In their minds, and in the minds of many fans, no less than making the Finals will be a disappointment. Now that's pressure. A lot of that pressure is laid at the feet of Garnett. Four players are in serious MVP discussion. LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Garnett. Garnett simply can't fail. It's hard to imagine that he will, after watching his ferocious play all season. The man's scary.

But things happen to teams in the playoffs. Good and bad. Dirk Nowitzki was embarrassed to cradle the regular season MVP trophy after Dallas got bumped by the Warriors in the first round.

Can the Hawks be this season's Warriors? There would be hell to pay.

Garnett this week talked about the value of the team's pre-season trip to Italy. There were so many players who needed to be introduced to each other. Mr. House, this is Mr. Pollard. Big Baby, meet James Posey. Tony Allen, say hello to Ray Allen. ... and y'all know KG. ...

But more than that, in Rome Garnett said an attitude had already started to germinate. The heart of it was very simple. Every possession, in every game, had to be precious. Easy to say, hard to be faithful to for 82 games. The Celtics pulled it off better than anyone in the league.

That resolve has to be taken to the next level now. The Celtics are not a team just privileged to be back in the playoffs because they only won 24 games last season. In fact, the word "they" in the previous sentence doesn't even apply. This Celtics team bears no resemblance. Which is why expectations are so high, and 66 wins don't mean as much today as it did Wednesday night.

That the Celtics seem to know that is a comforting thought.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/SPORTS/804200381
For the Celtics, contents hardly under pressure
April 20, 2008 6:00 AM
If early 20th century Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler was alive today and an NBA fan, he'd have a field day breaking down the first-round playoff matchup between the top-seeded Boston Celtics and the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks.

One of the founders of psychoanalysis who later broke ties with Sigmund Freud, Adler pushed for the type of social equality and family structure the Celtics exhibit, where the ego of one is less important than the harmony of all. But Adler is also the shrink who gave us the concept of the inferiority complex, something nobody would blame the Hawks for developing heading into the series.

But one thing Adler said sticks out as the Celtics begin the road to Banner No. 17: "There is no such thing as talent. There is pressure."

What makes for success, according to Adler, is the reaction to the pressure that is placed upon someone and how they respond to it. The only problem in applying that to the Celtics or the Hawks is that neither team is claiming to feel any of it.

"We don't look at it as pressure. We just look at it as we've got to go out there and execute," Leon Powe said. "If we just play how we've been playing, but turn it up a couple of notches, I think we'll be fine. Ain't no pressure going out there."

"We've got a lot of veterans on this team that have seen a lot and been through a lot," he said. "And they ain't gonna let us (feel pressure). If we lose a game, we're not going to lose it without doing everything in our power to win."

If a player like Powe, in his second year and entering the playoffs for the first time, isn't feeling the pressure, imagine how calm, cool and collected the Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett must be headed into tonight's Game 1 (8:30 p.m., CSN and TNT).

KG, the Celtics' most intense personality and one Dr. Adler would have loved to have had on his couch, was instead speaking very matter-of-factly about the challenges of the postseason.

"You never imagine the year that we had, it's like one of those dream seasons," Garnett said. "We had a good season and in order to make it great, we have to go through this journey and hopefully finish it off the way we want."

"The crazy thing about their team is there is no pressure on them," Pierce said. "They are an eight seed. Nobody is expecting them to do anything, so that can be the make-up for a team that is dangerous, has nothing to lose, but we have to recognize that and be ready."

While dangerous, the inexperienced Hawks probably don't know any better, either. They're not as playoff-tested as the Celtics veterans, who boast 414 postseason games and three championships divided amongst 10 players.

"That's the one place where we know they'll have a decided edge," Hawks star Joe Johnson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We can't make up the experience gap. So there's no need in us even worrying with that. What we have to do is come out aggressive and attacking. We're the team with no pressure, with nothing to lose."

Of course, one could argue the pressure really began for the Celtics once they set in motion the events that made them the team they are today. Once they pieced together a trio of All-Stars and a supporting cast capable of winning a title, nothing less would be sufficient.

But they saw no pressure in the doldrums of the regular season, either, so there were no expectations.

"Didn't have any," Rivers said after the regular-season finale. "I honestly didn't have any ... If we had won 70, 50, 40, 60, does that matter at all to anybody in this (locker) room? The answer is no, it doesn't matter. It's not what we're playing for."

"Everything that we've done from the time we all got here in September, it's all for these moments right here," Pierce said. "Now it's time for some real basketball."

The basic tenet of the work of Dr. Alfred Adler is that human beings naturally strive toward perfection. That's certainly where the Celtics hope to be headed.

"We want to win this thing. Nothing less than that," Garnett said. "That's the focus here, that's the mentality."

Tim's Pick: Celtics in 4. I disagree with Dr. Adler, in that I do believe in the concept of talent, and Boston has it all over Atlanta. While the Hawks' youthful energy and athleticism will keep them in games, Boston has shown nothing but the capacity to win all season long. Atlanta certainly won't be the team to derail it now.