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Friday, April 25, 2008
Respect the focus!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - Watching the Celtics push the Hawks around during the first two games of this playoff series has kicked up all sort of wild, postgame conversations between the so-called know it alls like myself.
Are the Celtics really this good?
Are the Hawks really this bad?
Maybe they should rework the playoff structure and go one through 16 and do away with the eight from each conference setup?
There has to be some explanation for the Celtics being 20 points better than the Hawks both nights despite them playing just decently.
I think I’ve stumbled on to one, having yapped with any and everyone willing to talk about this series that the talking heads swear should be stopped now because of the NBA’s imaginary postseason mercy rule.
The Celtics have busted the Hawks up so far because they actually respect their opponent, something that’s lost a lot of time when there is such a glaring disparity in collective ability.
Seriously, the Celtics don’t even disparage the Hawks under their breath. They don’t dismiss their opponent even when it’s clear to everyone that they could and still probably win this series without so much as a hiccup.
Only the special teams gear up and focus like the Celtics have from training camp to early June. And focused was the word the Celtics were using after their practice Friday, according to my boy Marc Spears, who covers the Celtics for the Boston Globe.
“I’ve seen this team all year long and the practice (Friday) was one of our better practices,” Celtics captain Paul Pierce said after practice in Boston. “We had great focus. [Friday] felt like one of those practices where you’re going into Game 1. I’m excited that the team isn’t resting on our laurels. Even though we are up 2-0, we still got to get a win down in Atlanta, which is going to be tough. Their crowd is going to be into it. They are going to be more confident in their home arena. This team is ready, we’re ready.”
While most teams in the Celtics’ position would start thinking ahead to the Wizards-Cavs series, a drama destined to last longer than this one, the Celtics are locked in on the Hawks, a team they’ve smashed all five times they’ve played them this year.
“We got Atlanta,” Boston coach Doc Rivers told Spears and other reporters in Boston. “What Cleveland and Washington do, we could care less if they got five, six, seven (games in its series). We just focus on one thing. We don’t look ahead. We focus on Atlanta, really, and that’s all we think about.”
It shows.
When I asked the Hawks if there was anything they’ve seen on film that leads them to believe they can attack the Celtics, they admitted that there is no glaring weakness. In fact, there is no hidden weakness.
(“Honestly, to me it’s the intensity level more than anything,” Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said. “They’ve come out and hit us in the mouth from the start. We’ve got to do the same. But basically, that’s the only real thing that has gotten them over us like that. The way they come out and defend with a lot of energy and intensity … we’ve got to learn how to do the same thing.”)
And the Hawks won’t be the first team to find this out. I learned a few years ago not to crown a champion in April or early May - you remember when the Lakers had four future Hall of Famers on the same roster and got crushed in the NBA Finals by Detroit don’t you?
But when I think of the teams that could solve these Celtics in a seven-game series (Spurs, Pistons, perhaps the Lakers and maybe the Jazz), it’s not a long list. They’ve got the depth, the talent, the coaching, the togetherness (it sounds cooler to me than cohesion) and the focus to get it done.
If you’re a Hawks fan, you’ve got to hope the franchise is taking notes.
