Seventh sign

Just remember that both teams have the same amount of playoff experience even though the C's have almost twice as many wins. If it stays close, it is gonna be getting tight around their necks!

Boston should win Sunday not because they are so good but because Hawks are so bad. Take away J. Johnson and they have no one that can create their own shot. Smith can't shoot and if KG would just back off and play his left hand, he's toast. Rondo is so far up BIBBYS' backside he can't see straight. The only real question is, in this watered down, can't touch anybody, get fined for "gestures" league how good are the C,s?????? answer is...... As good as the rest of the teams where soft starting 5, average bench play and over hyped players reign. Which is the whole league.... C's in a run away on Sunday

As soon as pierce started missing free throws with regularity the past few games, then he loses his composure during that same stretch, I KNOW it's C-H-O-K-E time in green town...and I'm not happy saying that at all..It's just true...and I noticed last night that several times when it came time to take a shot when the game was tied, or only a few points seperated the teams down the stretch, NO ONE on the green team wanted to step up...no one.....I fear this will not end well for the C's....I'm sure they'll smoke the hawks Sunday....but beyond....they have a lot to learn....and a lot to prove...mostly to themselves.....and put a leash on that childish pierce...he acts like a fool when the pressure is on!

We're waiting. Look forward to it.

-LBJ, Cleveland, OH

we really do not know how good the Cs are folks. KG still has a lot to prove. Playoffs are a different animal. They have to play smart and they really have to want it. They will come thru this sunday. They will have a tougher time against Cleveland. Who do you want defending Lebron?

Give the young atlanta hawks some credit, they have played with the boston c's and boston had better be concerned because of the big three none of them have a ring so why are they the pick to win it all

They should give more playing time to Leon...

Doc not coaching well in the playoffs. . .check

Pierce not making free throws. . .check

The lack of winning playoff experience on the part of the Big 3 causing them to be tight in close games. . .check

All of this was very predictable. When you have a veteran team whose key players have not experienced real victory before (losing in the conference finals doesn't count) AND whose coach has never experienced real victory before AND whose coach is not exactly a late-game genius, you are bound to struggle.

The Celtics are great frontrunners. That makes them a great regular season team and a likely failure in the playoffs. To win in the playoffs with the Celtics roster you either need a great learning experience (which hopefully this series will be, rather than exposing a critical design flaw), or a coach who can help the Big 3 make it through. Point is -- the Celtics would be better without Doc. The regular season just masked what everyone had thought for years anyways.

Far cry from the glory days! Imagine Larry Bird, Dave Cowens, John Havlicek, or Bill Russell flashing a gang sign, getting a technical in closing minutes or committing a stupid reach in for a final foul? If they win, it will be on the back of Kevin G and Ray Allen, They should look for a new member to join the big 3, and ship the captain elsewhere. Hopefully, he won't be doing a press conference wrapped in tape like he did a few years back. What a joke / choke!

The pressure is building. The Hawks have nothing to lose and the Celtics stand to lose everything. Just because we dominated in the games at home means very little for game 7. The Hawks are going to come out with a vengeance! We missed our shot to wrap this up.

The thing about that Hawks team is they are too young to know any better. It is just like March Madness for those kids. 2008 is going to be a bad year for the Pats and the Celtics.

Mr. Mike Mann,

You have no idea. Your Boston will be blungeoned tomorrow, whatch out!

Kalihi Ona

Come on now Celts. We're suppose to revive the great Lakers vs Celtics rivalry. How's that gonna take place if you can't even beat a lowly Hawks team???

Go Hawks,

We needed this to bring the team together. the Celtics are great but don't know it yet. The Hawks aren't but are playing with everything they have. The Key is Al Horford plays mean and for keeps. Watch him in the years to come..C Fans it's been great. You got spoiled over the years but everyone else is catching up! Wish you the best!

Rondo had been on the bench for 7 minutes, and he's the guy chosen to hit the last-second three? not posey or allen? i'm sorry, but doc is as bad as a lot of us have thought for the past few years. Add in his refusal to double johnson in game 4, and he needs to go when this year is over.

You can't win in the playoffs as a perimeter team. You can get away with it in the season. The fouls are high because the Hawks are inside the paint, while the Celts are throwing bricks from 25 feet. Pierce is vastly overrated. Another Antoine. He's great when ahead. When games are close, he looks for the jumper, not the drive. Please pray that he does not have to make a free throw at the end. 84% in season, around 50% in playoffs. These kill the teams momentum.

I do believe it was a bad gesture of sorts. Truly many and most of today's basketball and football players have some hood story to share. Just scratch the surface it will be there. These guys will eventually break the team down. I'm sick of gangster sports.

I'd like to see Baby in there for some inside offense. He can maneuver and create shots from the post (he's good at keeping the ball alive, too). When the Hawks collapse on KG the C's are forced to take lower percentage shots.

Part of me wanted to leave the room when Atlanta came back within 6 pts...you just knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. They did a decent job defending Johnson throughout the game, but when the Hawks were making their run with about 10 mins to go, it seemed the double coverage was more cursory than real.

Horford is a terrific player and has a confidence that some of the Celtics seem to lack. I think he steps up big in game 7. Bibby also seemed to be a lot more aggressive in game 6 and more of a floor general than in the other games (it felt like he had more than the 6 assists in the box score). Some other things for the soon-to-be-blown-up coaching staff to solve - Childress working unimpeded around the baseline, Johnson's motivational dunks and Pachulia playing like Shaq.

I'm also a little worried about Pierce. The technical at the end of the game was not good and the first thing I thought about at the time was the press conference with his head wrapped up. I think this guy is feeling a ton of pressure (free throws?) and not handling it that well. Thank God they didn't lose by 1.

I think they should have put Lebron on the cover of SI with Kobe instead of KG.

I might work in the yard instead.

doc rivers is a moron and will be fired if we lose this series. when will pierce, kg, and allen learn to stop settling for jumpers and take it to the hole! we look confused and weak. so much talent, so little smarts

This has become a one game series. The Celtics should win, I expect them to, but it never should have come this far. Anything can happen in one single game despite the home court advantage. Let's hope the Celts wrap this one up relatively early in the game.

Hawks haven't really been playing THAT well...just Celts have been playing pretty poorly. Watch for Horford to carry the birds in game 7 through to the next round...he's played 12 of these 1 and done games over his last 2 seasons at Florida. Yeah, they were just in the NCAA tournament, but the experience of winning cannot be overlooked. Hawks in the biggest upset in NBA history (they didn't even win 1/2 their regular season games)

The Celtics are soft. Ray Allen and P. Pierce are as good at nailing a shot in the open floor as anyone in the NBA, but you have no inside presense at all. If you get by us tommorrow you won't get far in the playoffs b/c you can't respond when youre punched in the nose - the Duke Blue Devils of the NBA.

I think we win tommorrow.

The "BIG THREE", especially KG, disappear when the game is on the line. Cs will be very bad in the next few years as the "BIG THREE" only going to get older.

I have never been a huge fan of Rivers going back to when he was a Hawk player. He brings Rondo to the dance all year who plays stellar including dominant performances against Billups and Hamilton and then they go and get Casell and he starts taking quality time from Rondo. Why?

That 1 point from the technical foul Pierce caused was huge! Instead of needing only 2 points to tie they needed 3. They had 7 seconds to work the ball inside and get a good shot... instead Rondo has to take a 3. Pierce has got to learn to control himself- he only hurts the team when he does one of his stupid things (bandages, gang signs, throwing his headband)

CELTS WILLKICK ...THE DOGGG-DOOOO OUT OF... AT-LANNAH... IN GAME 7...THEN TAKE CARE OF... QUEEN-LAJAMEZZEEE... IN...FOUR...THEN-MOTOWN IN...FIVE...AND FINALLY... THE-PINK&YELLOW-LAKEREETTES... IN..FOUR...AND PARTAY-HARDDAAY...ON CENTRE-COURT...FROM THERE ALL THE WAY TO......MUSCLE-BEACH...ON THE VENICE STRIP..ALL SUMMER-LONG...

Pierce has pretty much sealed his fate as a front running, playoff choker. Doc Rivers will too if Game 7 is lost. I can't believe we are even at this point. If it happens, Rivers should be fired and Pierce should be traded ASAP.

It almost seems like it's bad to be the favorite now. That's why I hope the Sox are a wild card team and the Patriots finish 11-5. They'll have more of a chance of winning.

I have watched the Celtics all season, and this isn't a surprise. When the C's are leading, Doc Rivers is up, pacing the sidelines, yelling instructions. When the other team makes a successful run and even takes the lead (which happened rarely in the regular season), Doc Rivers blends in with the seats. He folds his arms, he says nothing, he walks away from the team during time outs. That's not a coach.

A coach who has his team under control is in there, sleeves rolled up, drawing up plays and engaging his players. Doc Rivers isn't a coach, he's a former player in a suit. Doc was out-coached in this series by an unknown who is on just as many NBA team's wishlist for coach as I am. What does that tell you?

Hey Boston - You have had a great season. You may win today but - Give Atlanta our due. We have played hard and shown what a team on a mission can do. Looks to me like Boston overlooked us big time and is paying for it. Thinking ahead to the winner of the Cleveland/Washington series may cost the Celtics. And the best of it all - Atlanta will be back with a vengence next season. Game 7 should be a great one. Go Hawks.

have watched KG herein Minnesota for 11 years, you can have him. He'll shoot jumpers when it gets physical or tight. Best front runner in the game. can beat his chest in the first 3 periods with the best of them. Big Al Jeff had more hoop attacks in the 4th quarter in one year than KG had in 11 years. AL at 23 or KG at 32...... No contest..... I hope you're up 8 in the 4th then you can see a great display of front running and chest pounding..... If not 15 foot jumpers steady. Good luck.

About 10? years ago, teams\GM's started to realize that the players in the NBA refuse to be coached. They must be \handled\ 24x7x365. This is what has led to ex-players taking the bench. Doc is not a coach, he's a players rep, so we can't blame him when tactics break down. However, when EMP#34 acts out to this extent, Doc is failing at his masseause responsibilities.