Bad times for the Celtics

Published Apr 29 2008, 06:31 PM by Ryan Stewart

The Celtics, who won 66 games during the regular season, have now lost two consecutive games to the Hawks, a team that just barely sneaked into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record. As if that on its own wasn't indignity enough, the Celtics are getting a little hostile, perhaps feeling some combination of frustration and pressure. Paul Pierce has been fined for making a "menacing gesture" at Hawks rookie Al Horford (allegedly a gang signal, though Danny Ainge says otherwise.) But potentially more dangerous for the Celtics is what happened in the video above - Hawks forward Zaza Pachulia reacted to a perceived elbow from Kevin Garnett by headbutting the big ticket, and while Garnett didn't retaliate against Pachulia, he did shove an official, and Celtics center Kendrick Perkins did leave the bench - two offenses that have been suspension-worthy in the past.

While we're still not exactly worried about the Celtics' prospects in the series - hard to imagine the Hawks taking one in Boston - we still find the whole thing incongruous. The Celtics certainly aren't carrying themselves like the superior team that they are. They almost look a little frightened of the young Hawks. Give Atlanta credit for getting inside the Celtics' heads, and let's just hope that the Celtics remember who they are, and that Stern and Co. don't bring down the hammer. They probably won't - the TV ratings for a Hawks-Sixers Eastern Conference Finals would be abysmal.