In Green Colours 2: Cut Copy on the Celtics-Sixers series, defeating the Hawks, and the Atlanta media's 'character assassination'

It was one of the unlikeliest sports wagers in recent memory. CUT COPY were locked in a bitter dispute with Zonoscope mixer Ben Allen, a devout Atlanta fan (they exist!) who was repping his Hawks against the Australian electronic pop band's beloved Boston Celtics. When we last touched base with Cut Copy guitarist Tim Hoey, he divulged the details of the friendly bet -- a pound of coffee after each game -- but admitted the series was "bigger than Cut Copy and coffee." A few days later, Atlanta's Creative Loafing dubbed the band "electro pop tarts" and wrote: "Apparently the members of Cut Copy are also a bunch of coffee snobs, and to their discerning palettes and sensibilities, drinking an iced coffee is a disgrace that’s on par with going to a bar and ordering a wine spritzer."

Slow down, Coldlanta. Who needs coffee when, as Hoey pointed out over the weekend, "the Celtics brand of basketball is akin to drinking a fine wine."

We touched base with the band again over the weekend as Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers was wrapping up, getting Hoey's take on the series (Game 2 is tonight at the Garden), avoiding Miami or a Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls in the second round, and of course, beating Atlanta. Turns out Hoey wasn't too pleased with Creative Loafing's assessment. Maybe they're still bitter about losing the Thrashers to Winnipeg (though probably not).

Boston Phoenix: Hey Tim! Everyone in Boston is super jazzed up about Cut Copy's support, and beating Atlanta! How did the wager with Ben finish up? How was he in defeat?
Tim Hoey: Well some of you may have seen the article an Atlanta publication ran after my piece with you guys came out. That was disappointing. It was pure character assassination and had nothing to do with basketball. I finally felt what it must be like to be a politician.

I knew money had changed hands once I saw the photo they used of Ben doing a reverse layup. But Ben Allen was gracious in defeat -- although he did start lashing out later in the night, complaining about bad calls. He must have been laying in bed, unable to sleep, the image of KG floating in and out of his dreams/nightmares and decided to go on a late night twitter rant.

But that's OK. We all handle the grieving process differently. He has since been in contact with us and the coffee is making its way over here. I look forward to sampling some of Atlanta's finest. I told him to send a pound to the Hawks owner as well. He played a big part in fueling KG's fire.

So right now everyone in Boston is excited because 1) Philly took out a Derrick Rose-less Chicago, and 2) we avoided Miami for another round. Obviously the Sixers are a favorable matchup, but not one to be taken lightly.
Game 1 [of the Philly series] is in the books and you all know the result. And what a game it was! What is it about the Celtics in the clutch? This is one of my favourite things about this team, the composure they show in chipping away at a deficit and the way they play down the stretch. We saw that a lot in the Atlanta series and once again in Game 1 of this series.

Philly was always going to come out running. They handed it to us in the regular season and they were riding a wave of confidence after that Bulls series. But once again it came down to the composure of the Celtics in the dying minutes. Not to mention KG winding back the clock and Rondo commanding the floor after the first quarter. Paul Pierce is playing injured but he's still coming up with big plays. That chase down block in transition was big.

Ray is also finding rhythm. The ankle is still bothering him but he's still providing another scoring option (Mark my words-he will hit a game winning 3 this series.). I'm also loving Avery Bradley's hustle. A big key to winning this series is in how Doc Rivers is handling the rotation of the bench and choosing the moments when KG, Pierce and Ray are off the floor. It was a major factor in the regular season and is being highlighted again in the playoffs. Philly is going to try and outrun us because once it becomes a half court game, the Celtics defense is too composed, and it's forcing them into bad shots.

All signs are pointing to a Boston-Miami conference finals, which means the opportunity to prevent LeBron from winning a title. We’re salivating over that, but at the same time, they handled us pretty well last year. But KG seems fired up and dude is pissed everyone says he’s done and “old.” Amazing press conference [after the Atlanta series].
That KG press conference was amazing. What a guy! Like he said, keep talking age at him. He was just unbelievable in the last Atlanta game and the first game of this series. You know he's not done yet either. The guy is just intense.

The prospect of firing up that rivalry with LeBron is exciting, but they have to take care of the Sixers first. I read somewhere today that this series isn't as interesting as the others taking place around the league. I don't understand that at all. The Sixers are an exciting team to watch and the Celtics brand of basketball is akin to drinking a fine wine. Game 1 proved that.

Of course, I’m jinxing us by even mentioning Miami. Any special plans for catching the series?
Well we're in the thick of putting our new record together, so in between games (and time outs) we're working on that. But we tool down when the game is on. I’m not allowed to watch games with anything breakable near me though. So far I've smashed a glass and broken a pair of headphones in the post season.

Casualties of the playoffs, I guess.