Both teams are terrible at rebounding, and both are pretty much even as far as three-point threats are concerned. But Boston has the edge in experienced players who can create their own shots like KG and Paul Pierce can and often do. But Johnson, an ex-Celtic, and some of Atlanta's other young shooters can neutralize that aspect with their own outside shot if they get hot and the Celtics (and their so-so offensive output at under 92 points per game in 2011-2012) run cold.
The way I see it, with the Celtics bench players coming within five points of beating the Atlanta Hawks starters last week in a game that meant more to the latter team than the former, I just don't see them faring well against Boston now that the starters and other key players have been rested up for the postseason. I'm not great at getting right who wins in what amount of games, but it's safe to say that with three of the Big Four healthy enough to play, plus the emergence of Bradley (on offense and defense), shot blocker Greg Stiemsma, and key offensive contributions from the likes of Brandon Bass, it's safe to say the C's will have more than enough to eliminate the Hawks from the playoffs yet again.
Article comments
1 - Charlie Doherty
As soon as it is official that Rondo is suspended for Game 2, I may very well change my mind and update this article to picks the Hawks as the team to win this series (which I'm not happy about in the least).