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For most of the 123-116 loss to the Hawks last night, the Celtics seemed intent on proving their 23-point Wednesday defeat at the strangling hands of the Cavaliers was no fluke.
Needing to re-establish themselves as a group with grit, they proceeded to produce yet another nationally televised rebuke of the hustling manner in which they’d played nearly all season. By the time they got their grind back, most of the country had no doubt tuned out. But now, instead of thinking about another run at the top seed, the Shamrocks have to hope they can hold on to second over these last three games.
“We’ve just got to get our effort level back,” said Jae Crowder after scoring 24 points. “It ain’t about shot-making. Guys talk about shot-making and this and that. Our effort is something we have total control over, and we ain’t bringing it every night. We’ve got to get back to that.”
The loss was made all the more disturbing by the fact it was paved with more Celtics failure to box out on the boards or get back on defense.
Atlanta had 25 second-chance points and 17 more on fast breaks. One night after the Cavs outrebounded the Celts, 51-38, the Hawks busted them on the boards, 52-38.
There are many reasons why I can’t get angry about last night’s loss. For starters, I didn’t witness most of the carnage in Atlanta because I went to bed at 9pm (and screw TNT for holding tip-off until 8:15pm or so).
Second, this team has dipped into mini-funks all year long. Just when they start to establish some dominance or build some swagger, they reel off some bad losses. It’s what they do.
The Cs had won 10 of 13 headed into the Cleveland game. Two losses later and we’re (by ‘we’ I mean a lot of people on my Twitter timeline) freaking out and talking about the possibility of a first round collapse.
Last year we all said once the Celtics got to the playoffs they'd be okay.
They most definitely were not okay then and are not now.— Jon Duke (@csl_duke) April 7, 2017
Chill out*.
*I reserve the right to change my mind if this team loses out or even 2 out of their final 3.
I still like the odds of finishing 2nd.
6️⃣ days until regular-season finish line:
🎱: Celtics still 86.2% to finish No. 2 seed
🎱: Bulls (33.4%) most likely 1st round opponent pic.twitter.com/uW93pejx7V
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) April 7, 2017
Related: Globe – Celtics looking vulnerable at wrong time | Mass Live – Smart leads comeback, but Cs fall short
On Page 2, Hawks fans keep booing Al Horford.
Visiting Atlanta felt more normal this time for Boston Celtics big man Al Horford. He has already played the Hawks, his former team, and gotten most of the heavy emotions out of the way. He received a video tribute and a mixed reaction from the Philips Arena crowd in January.
Thursday night, Horford did experience frustration — not because of anything the fans said or did, but because he struggled through a four-point, five-rebound outing as the Boston Celtics dropped their second straight game, 123-116.
“The shooting — I felt really good about the shots,” Horford said afterward. “The more frustrating thing for me was the fouls. They just took me out of my rhythm. I felt like I had no rhythm out there. And that was hard for me.”As Horford’s weak impact continued into the second half, a pack of Hawks fans actually started a mock chant: “Where is Horford?” Despite the nine great years he gave Atlanta, some fans still feel some hostility about his departure this summer.
Hawks fans aren’t really known for their passion, which makes it surprising they would target Al in this situation.
To be honest, their venom is misguided. The Atlanta front-office sent mixed messages for months about re-signing Horford. They didn’t pony up the money until the 11th hour and by then, Al had already fallen for the new girl.
And finally, Marcus Smart ain’t dead yet.
Smart raced the length of the court to block a sure layup from behind on Atlanta’s Taurean Prince. He tied up the behemoth Atlanta center Dwight Howard, and then won the jump ball. The fourth quarter started with a Smart steal, which ignited a rally. On another sequence, he came down the lane on off-ball help to smother a shot by the Hawks’ Paul Millsap at the rim in the critical stages of the fourth quarter.
The Celtics still lost to Atlanta, 123-116, but Smart’s willpower on defense kept this from being a demoralizing loss on the heels of the 23-point defeat to the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Stevens said after the game there were things to take from the loss. Smart should get a good deal of credit for that.
The third-year wing hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and scored 18 points, but his more significant contribution was stirring things up on defense. The Celtics trailed by 19 points 94 seconds into the third quarter and had already given up 74 points to the Hawks.
Marcus (and the fans) really needed this performance. If the Celtics are going to make any noise in the playoffs, Smart needs to have some semblance of a jump shot.
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