NBA play-offs: Defensive Hawks sink their talons into Celtics – Tuesday takeaways

Throughout the NBA play-offs, The National's resident NBA experts Jonathan Raymond and Kevin Jeffers will be breaking down the key talking points of the night before.

Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks, rights, defends Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics during Game 2 of their NBA play-offs series on Tuesday night. Erik S Lesser / EPA / April 19, 2016

Throughout the NBA play-offs, The National's resident NBA dudes Jonathan Raymond and Kevin Jeffers will be breaking down the key talking points of the night before. Below, the takeaways from Tuesday night's action in the 2016 post-season:

• Read more: 2016 NBA play-offs – Previews, predictions and what we learned day-by-day

Tuesday, April 19 scores:

Atlanta Hawks 89-72 Boston Celtics (Hawks 2-0)

San Antonio Spurs 94-68 Memphis Grizzlies (Spurs 2-0)

Hawks defend their nest

“Nothing is working for Boston on offence.”

It was an obvious enough statement of fact, made by the TNT announcer Ian Eagle, in the middle of the first quarter on Tuesday night.

The Celtics were losing 24-3, in the midst of the worst opening quarter in a play-off game in the shot clock era, which began in 1954.

But it wasn’t quite just that. “Every shot has been contested. It has been a swarm defensively for Atlanta,” Eagle added later.

The Hawks, a blur of long arms and quick feet, were everywhere defensively in Game 2. They challenged outside shots, interrupted passing lanes, established a no-fly zone around the rim and poked at Boston ballhanders like they were E Honda from Street Fighter.

It also helped that when the Celtics did create open looks, which they managed to do reasonably enough, they wouldn’t have been able to drop a rock in the ocean the way they were shooting.

The first quarter finished 24-7, with the Hawks tallying an absurd six blocks and four steals as Boston shot 3-for-23 from the field.

It didn’t really matter what happened from there.

“Because of their energy and effort we missed the shots that we missed,” admitted Celtics coach Brad Stevens in a broadcast interview following that harrowing first quarter. “We’re gonna have to battle uphill, which is unfortunate, but that’s the position we’re in.”

They stayed in it. Boston and Atlanta were even 65-65 the rest of the way. But a seven-point quarter? There's just no real coming back from that, is there?

The Hawks were the second-best defensive team in the league this season, allowing just 98.8 points per 100 possessions. They play superb team defence, Paul Millsap and Al Horford commanding the middle with a deep collection of active, aggravating wings making life miserable outside.

It’s really easy to appreciate the interconnectedness and fluidity of, say, the Golden State Warriors offence. Against the Celtics on Tuesday night the Hawks gave us a look at the defensive equivalent.

He said it

What do you really say about the Grizzlies and their helplessness against the Spurs? Is there anything?

“We’re coming to a gunfight with some spoons,” actually does it pretty well.

Memphis forward Matt Barnes put it so starkly, and aptly, after Game 2, a 26-point loss to follow their 32-point defeat in Game 1.

No Marc Gasol, no Mike Conley, no chance for the Grizzlies.

The fiercely antagonistic team, who went to the 2013 Western Conference Finals and took two games from eventual champions Golden State a year ago in the second round, are on their way with out a whimper. What else, really, can they do?

The Spurs are firing on all fronts, and the Grizzlies don’t even have any forks or knives to fight back with.

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