Hawks Shipping Up To Boston

I'm not much of a fan of modern punk music or the Dropkick Murphys specifically, but I can't help but get a shot of adrenaline when they play "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" in the fourth quarter of games at the TD Banknorth Boston Garden (you might also recognize the song from the movie "The Departed").

The Hawks are the surprise team of the young NBA season, being the only undefeated team left in the East and the only unblemished NBA team other than the Los Angeles Lakers. After a long night of law school reading, I decided to unwind with a TaB while watching some of Tuesday night's 113-108 victory in Chicago, the first I've seen of the Hawks this season.

Atlanta made headlines in May by pushing Boston to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Wednesday night, as they were Tuesday, they'll be without power forward Josh Smith. However, they will have Joe Johnson, who absolutely torched Ray Allen and the Celtics in the spring, including a 35-point effort at home in a 97-92 Hawks win in Atlanta. Doc (rightfully) took a lot of criticism for leaving Ray on JJ for most of the fourth despite the fact that Ray had no chance of stopping him (the same way Raptors coach Sam Mitchell took flak for leaving an overmatched Jason Kapono on Paul Pierce in Monday night's Celtics victory). The Celtics will need to do a better job of containing Johnson Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern; no national TV).

In Smith's absence, Zaza Pachulia has been starting, with Al Horford sliding over to the four spot, which may be his more natural position. Horford is the more dangerous offensively of the two, and it will be interesting to see which of those two Kendrick Perkins starts out on and which Kevin Garnett takes. (Bulls coach Vinnie Del Negro opted to start power forward Tyrus Thomas on Pachulia, with center Joakim Noah checking Horford, his old friend and college teammate). The Celtics are better defensively when Garnett is assigned to someone who isn't much of an offensive threat, so he can roam around and wreak havoc. If it were me, I'd put KG on Pachulia and be ready to switch if Horford proves too quick for Perk.

For what it's worth, the Hawks did not hesitate to go to either Horford or Pachulia in the post against the Bulls, though it was Horford, with 27 points to go along with 17 rebounds, who had the much better game. In some ways, Smith's absence helps them offensively; for all his athleticism and talent, Smith fancies himself a much better shooter than he actually is, and you can put him down for a few wasted possessions a night as he tries to find the shooting "touch" he displayed in 2005-2006 (a modest 30.9 percent mark from behind the arc, but he's a career 26.6 percent guy from that distance).

It's a different story on the defensive end, where Smith is one of the league's elite. He's good for a couple of blocks and a couple of steals per game. The Hawks came into the game against Chicago giving up something like 86 points per game; the Bulls -- who haven't been a particularly potent offensive team this year -- got 108 on Tuesday. That number is inflated a bit by the pace of the game, as both the Hawks and Bulls like to push the ball up the court, but Atlanta didn't look to be anything special defensively. Rookie point guard Derrick Rose was the biggest beneficiary, putting up 26 points -- are you paying attention, Rajon Rondo? -- but the Hawks gave up a lot of open looks and didn't get back particularly well.

Boston's bench is better than Atlanta's, although Maurice Evans' 17 points may have been the key to Atlanta's win on Tuesday. Evans is about all the Hawks have on the second team, however, and that may prove important in the second night of a back-to-back, particularly since Horford played 41 and a half minutes Tuesday and Johnson played a tick under 42.

Unlike the Lakers, who haven't really been tested, the Hawks have already shown their mettle against stiff competions, with wins in Orlando and New Orleans and home triumphs over Philly and Toronto. Atlanta was far from winning a game in Boston in last season's playoff series -- Boston's average margin of victory in the four games was more than 25 points -- but even without Smith, this seems like a different, more confident team. The Celtics will have to bring everything they've got if they want to win.