Trae Young and his Atlanta Hawks have nowhere to hide against the Boston Celtics
BOSTON — The Celtics led the Hawks by 30 points at halftime in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series when Cedric Maxwell called to Dominique Wilkins across the media dining area in TD Garden's underbelly.
"Nique!" the former Boston star turned broadcaster, holding his laughter, hollered to his Atlanta counterpart.
"I give," the Hall of Famer responded, conceding the game and maybe the series 24 minutes into it. "I give."
It took all of 11 seconds for the Celtics to establish dominance in the opener. Jaylen Brown stole Hawks point guard Trae Young's first pass attempt, stalled in transition, surveyed four defenders and parted them like the Red Sea, laying in the first of his 29 points with an ease usually reserved for pregame warmups.
"Just letting them know from the jump it's going to be a long night," said Brown.
Two possessions later, Derrick White rejected Young's first shot attempt, and an avalanche ensued. Boston ran a layup line in the first quarter, drilled 7-of-8 3-pointers in the second and led 84-52 by the third. Atlanta cut the deficit to 12 a few minutes into the fourth quarter, but hope was fleeting. The Celtics simply recalled they can create whatever shot they want and bend the Hawks to their will on the defensive end.
"I don't think we were really ready," Atlanta guard Dejounte Murray said of a Game 1 any No. 7 seed should know is crucial to beating a No. 2 seed. "Just that competing word. I don't think we were really competing."
The final score settled at 112-99 in favor of Boston, but the performance gap was far wider. All the failed comeback accomplished was convincing the Celtics they should obliterate Atlanta in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Asked if he was worried his team let the Hawks off the mat, rookie Boston coach Joe Mazzulla's laugh cracked his customary stoicism. "Yeah, I'm very concerned," he joked. "No, I'm not concerned at all."
"For us to be able to get a win and know we can play better is good," added Mazzulla.
The Celtics know what the Hawks want to do, since Young uses a third of their possessions, and Murray expends another quarter of them. Neither guard has anywhere to hunt. White, who warrants an All-Defensive selection, began the night on Young. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart drew Murray. Beside them are the long arms and All-NBA athleticism of Brown and Jayson Tatum. Behind them are Al Horford, Robert Williams III or both paint protectors. The 6-foot-1 Young is a sapling among redwoods.
Young missed his first six attempts and ended his night with 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting, good for a team-worst -14 rating. Murray needed 25 shots to get his team-high 24 points. They committed five of their six turnovers in the first half and recorded the majority of their 16 assists once the outcome was apparent.
Ask Hawks forward John Collins if the ball needs to find the frontcourt more, and his frustration is palpable.
"It definitely benefits us in large ways to attack mismatches and get easy buckets," he told Yahoo Sports. "Sometimes the game just doesn't roll that way. I wish it would more, but I can't really elaborate on that too much. Everyone getting involved and us getting easier buckets makes the entire offense more fluid."
Meanwhile, Atlanta executed roughly none of its defensive game plan, which Young and coach Quin Snyder revealed was to coerce Boston into long 2-pointers — not exactly a novel strategy. The Celtics attempted 82 of their 88 shots from either the paint or the 3-point line, registering an effective field-goal percentage of 56.7%. Five of their six midrange attempts occurred after halftime, when they took their foot off the gas.
Said Collins: "Defensively, it's just the will." Or a lack thereof.
When Smart took a break from hunting Young's defense to switch off of him and onto Collins with equally advantageous results, the Hawks had to have realized they bargained for a long night — and a short series. Young was searching for answers in the game's immediate aftermath and found little of substance.
"They made shots. We didn't get stops, and they were making shots," the 24-year-old reasoned. "We've got to do a better job of not letting them make as many shots, but also we've got to make some shots. ...
"We've got to do a better job collectively of staying in front of our man and not letting them get layups."
You think?
Snyder echoed his two-time All-Star point guard's oversimplified refrain that their Game 1 loss was just bum luck in a make-or-miss league. While it is true the Hawks may not miss 19 of their 21 3-point attempts through three quarters again, that does not entirely explain a 32-point deficit. Snyder acknowledged there are challenges in this series beyond their control. He failed to mention the heart of the matter, which is that the Celtics are equipped to generate open looks on one end against Atlanta and prevent them on the other.
That reality leaves the Hawks with no room for error if Wilkins ever wants to rebut Maxwell. As Collins said, "It takes a full game of us playing with everything we have in us to win a game, especially on the road."
The Hawks could start by lasting more than 11 seconds before getting their soul snatched in Game 2 (7 p.m. ET Tuesday, NBA TV).
