ATLANTA – When the Boston Celtics lost Game 1 to the Atlanta Hawks, it was a tough loss but one that players really didn’t have to work too hard to overcome mentally.
But following their 89-72 Game 2 loss on Tuesday, the Celtics find themselves at their lowest point of the season.
And their struggles come down to making shots.
No, I’m not talking about the defender-in-your-face variety.
I’m talking about driving lay-ups, open 3s and mid-range jumpers that are wide right, wide left even when the Celtics are left wide open.
They’re not giving themselves a shot at success because they can’t make open shots.
While there are several contributing factors to Boston returning home down 2-zip in this series, their inability to make shots has been the biggest factor in this series thus far.
Boston Celtics
“They come out, we’re missing shots and they’re making shots,” said Marcus Smart who missed 10 of his 11 shot attempts on Tuesday. “We just let that snowball effect into the defense. We have to fix that before Game 3.”
Here’s are the Stars, Studs, and Duds from Tuesday night’s game.
STARS
Kyle Korver : You had to count on him bouncing back from his 1-for-10 shooting night in Game 1. Oh he was better … a lot better. He finished with 17 points which included knocking down five of his seven 3-point attempts in the first half.
STUDS
Al Horford: The Celtics showed signs of offensive life in the fourth only to have Horford snuff it out with 7 of his 17 points coming down the stretch.
Amir Johnson: The one positive for the Celtics most of the night, Johnson had 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds and a blocked shot.
Thabo Sefolosha: The Hawks once again got an unexpected bump from a bench player. On Tuesday it was Sefolosha who had 12 points off the bench, nine of which came in the fourth.
DUDS
Celtics offense: The C's stuggled offensively struggled during the regular season and appear to be even worse in the postseason. In addition to setting a new NBA-low for the fewest points scored in a quarter of play in the postseason (7 points, first quarter).
Isaiah Thomas : You’re not going to win games let alone playoff ones when you’re best player shoots 4-for-15 from the field and scores 16 points with most coming after the game was well out of reach. He has to play better, plain and simple.