Should I be Worried Yet?

Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming.  It seems as though the Atlanta Hawks lost their scripts for games 3 and 4 of this first round series against my beloved Boston Celtics, and are ad-libbing some kind of horrible nightmare that currently has the series headed back to Boston tied at two games apiece.  I guess they didn't fully read the lay-down-and-die directive that the media handed them and decided to spice things up a bit.  Kudos to them, but I'm not sweating yet (and not just because it's still goddamned cold here in Portland).

First of all, the Hawks have played just about as well as they possibly can in their two home games, making the Celtics look sluggish and a bit old with their overwhelming athleticism on both ends of the floor.  Joe Johnson and Josh Smith have played out of their mind, particularly down the stretch of last night's win in Atlanta, and Josh Childress and Al Horford have also been making solid contributions on offense and defense as well. 

It's hard to say for sure (considering that the Hawks didn't make a national TV game all season long) whether or not this is as well as the Hawks can play, but it sure seems that way. And while they've been juiced by theirhome crowd and have evened the series, they didn't blow the doors of the Celtics by any means.  Last night's game was very, very close, and if Paul Pierce hadn't boffed that gimmie-layup at the end, the result could have easily been a win for Boston and a hammer-lock on the series.  Similarly, if the Hawks hadn't had a 33-18 free throw advantage (did David Stern perhaps place a call and remind the refs that he likes competitive series, not yawners), the Celtics could have easily won last night.  

I'm not trying to play the what if? game too much, or blame the refs or David Stern for hosing the Celtics last night (ok, ok, maybe just a little), my point is that despite some controversial calls, the stellar play of the Hawks, and the mistakes of Pierce and the Celtics, Boston was right there with an opportunity to win the game in crunch time.  And while it doesn't matter how much or how little you lose by, it's not like the Celtics are overmatched in any way or are incapable of making the necessary adjustments to win the series.  

Additionally, the play of the Hawks in game 3 and especially game 4 was very wild and inconsistent, though they came away with two wins in the end.  The Celtics, on the other hand, have been very consistent and have executed their game plan well on offense, though it's hard to get buckets when Josh Smith is allowed to mug KG, Pierce or Rondo every time they get into the paint.  Still, the Celtics were right there and can go home knowing that the Hawks won't have the crowd on their side in game 5.  Also, now that they've taken the Hawks' best punches, the Celtics can feel confident in making their adjustments and finding a way to force the Hawks out of their comfort zones.

One of the biggest things that I noticed in game 4 (aside from the lopsided officiating) was the poor perimeter defense on Mike Bibby, Josh Smith and Joe Johnson.  All three got pretty much anywhere they wanted to go on the floor and found themselves with many open looks and uncontested shot opportunities.  Smith was mostly ineffective on the perimeter and "earned" nearly half of his points from thecharity stripe, but there were stretches where he killed the Celtics with mid-range jumpers. 

Bibby and Johnson had room to drive and shoot all night, thanks to some uncharacteristically loose defense from Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.  That's not to say that the burden or blame falls solely on Rondo and Allen, however the defense on Bibby and Johnson was suffocating in games 1 and 2, and very lackluster during the two games in Atlanta.  If the Celtics are going to put Atlanta away, they need to really clamp down on Johnson, Bibby and Smith and force Atlanta's other players to beat them. 

This is easier said than done, considering how talented all three of them are, however the Celtics have the ability to do this and have done so in the past, so I expect them to return to form for game 5 in Boston.  If the Celtics can turn the screws a bit on defense and execute the offense a bit better (maybe some home cooking from the officials as well?), they should put Atlanta away with relative ease.  I

'll admit that I underestimated the Hawks, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut or two every now and again.  Believe it or not, the Hawks are a professional basketball team, and they'll beat the best every once in a while.  Now that Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics know what they're dealing with, they'll make the necessary adjustments and beat Atlanta like they know they should.