Even in their first two loses of the series, the Boston Celtics were stellar on the defensive end. In their two wins their defense was off the charts but for the first four games they played well enough on that end to win. Then, game five happened. The Atlanta Hawks finally got hot on the offensive end and for the first time in the series, the Celtics simply had no answer on the defensive end.
The Hawks had a terribly slow start until the end of the 2nd quarter, then they went on a run that continued for the rest of the game. The Hawks started hitting everything and the Celtics had no hope of defending them. The Celtics have benefitted from a lot of missed shots by the Hawks in this series but they got no boost whatsoever from their defense in the second half of game five.
The Hawks had just 12 turnovers and an incredible 30 assists. The Celtics were not able to disrupt any of the Hawks’ ball movement and they simply were not missing. The Hawks shot almost 40% from three and that was with a quarter and a half of absolutely nothing going in.
Isaiah Thomas had his worst game of the series and that secured the blowout. If he is having an off day at the same time that their defense has the worst game of the series and then they should expect the Hawks to outscore them by just under 30. The Celtics have been relying on their defense throughout this series and it has given them stability. Game five was a completely different story as the Hawks finally reached their offensive potential.
Even if Thomas is able to step it up and have a solid game, the Celtics will have little hope without a strong defensive performance. The Celtics use their defense to push the pace in transition and that allows them to establish the rhythm they need to score on a great Hawks defense. When the Hawks are hitting shots and are not turning the ball over the Celtics are forced to play more in the half court and that favours a great defensive team in Atlanta.
The Celtics will also need to be much better on the offensive end but they know that they can compete in any game when their defense is generating the turnovers and forcing the pressure that has given them success this season.
A lot of it has to do with the incredible job done by the Hawks but the Celtics were not making the plays we are accustomed to seeing on the defensive end. The Celtics tied a series low with 5 steals in the game. The two times the Celtics have made just 5 steals, they have score just 89 and 83 points.
The Celtics need their defense to do a better job at preventing the Hawks from scoring the way they did in game five. They also need their defense to get enough extra offense to beat the Hawks defense. The Celtics cannot win by challenging the Hawks in the paint and hoping they can knock down shots. Transition is what allows them to be one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
The Celtics were a different team while playing at home in this series and with the way their defense excels with energy and momentum there is no doubting that being at TD Garden will put the Celtics in a better situation. The scary part is that the Hawks have finally shown the Celtics their potential. The Hawks have an offense that can limit the mistakes and that makes it much more difficult for the Celtics.
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The upside is that the Celtics have played good enough defense for all but two and a half quarters and there is no reason to doubt that they will once again get the edge they need. Defense is how the Celtics have been winning games and that will stay the same for game six. The Hawks brought out their small ball lineup and the Celtics had no answer for it. Brad Stevens will need to make the adjustments to make sure they do not get abused like they did in game five.