The seemingly invincible Boston Celtics have shown a weakness

When you really think about it, the playoffs are truly the NBA’s second season.

Seeding really just equates to home court advantage, as all sixteen teams records are the same 0-0.

Some teams see it that way. Others just follow the proverbial script.

Enter the match up between the first seed Boston Celtics and the eighth seed Atlanta Hawks.

The Boston Celtics (66-16) are the NBA’s most prolific team this year—breezing through the regular season and finished as the top dog (along with the highly coveted home court advantage throughout the playoffs). Their match up with the Atlanta Hawks was projected to be a laugher—a sweep. But after the Hawks won all of their home games and clearly diverted from the “script,” the Celtics are in the fight of their lives and “adlibbing” from here on out.

If not for quirky NBA Eastern and Western Conference Playoff format, the Atlanta Hawks (37-45) really don’t have any business being in the NBA Playoffs (especially with a team like the Golden State Warriors that finished with a 48–34 record and still didn’t make the playoffs). But here they are and they are showing that they belong after sending the Celtics to their third loss in a week to even their best-of-seven first round series at three-a-piece.

What are these highflying Hawks doing right?

Well, they are attacking the basket strong on offense. Going for offensive rebounds. And most importantly, they are running.

Running.

The kink in the vaunted Boston Celtics defense has been exposed.

Don’t get me wrong, the Celtics play a great brand of basketball, but I believe that they haven’t been in enough of these situations wherein they play the same team over-and-over again. A team—these eighth seed Atlanta Hawks—that have had some medium of success over them.

I’ve always wondered if the bench of the Celtics would be good enough this year to lend a helping hand to “The Big Three” of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen.

So far, it’s been sketchy.

The Boston Celtics are 27-0 lifetime whenever they have lead 3-2 in a best-of-seven series.

The Atlanta Hawks have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Come game seven, their records will be 0-0.

Can these Hawks become only the fourth team since 1994 to upset a first seed?

Watch.

It could happen.

Just ask Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks.

Addendum:

•Only three eighth seeded teams have managed to win a series versus a first seed: These are the 1994 Denver Nuggets when they finished off the George Karl led Seattle SuperSonics in six games; the underdog New York Knicks that went on to the 1999 NBA Finals after they eliminated the Miami Heat (3-2) in the first round; and most recently, last year’s feel good team—the Golden State Warriors who trumpeted the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in their 2007 First Round Western Conference match up.

•With their win over the 67-15 Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors also became the first eighth seed to beat a first seed in the best-of-seven format.

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The Gary Payton Rule

Jerry Stackhouse to the New Jersey Nets in a potential deal involving Jason Kidd and Devin Harris?

A possibility if both parties cooperate and crunch up the right figures.

Stackhouse being released and the Mavericks welcoming him back with open arms?

Yet another possibility, given Stackhouse's relationship with Mark Cuban and the Mavericks organization.

So right now, this is all said in a hypothetical tone.

Let's say it did happen, the trade goes through and the Nets were even nice enough to release Stackhouse on or before March 1, 2008 in order for him to still be eligible for the playoffs.

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Enter. The Gary Payton Rule.

The aforementioned rule is unofficially named after then Boston Celtic-Atlanta Hawk-Boston Celtic Gary Payton when he was moved a few years ago (2005) by Boston in order to re-acquire Employee #8 Antoine Walker (whom they chose not to resign anyway at the end of the season). The newly acquire point guard was immediately released by the Hawks and the next thing you know, three days later, Payton is back in Bean Town.

Now those leprechauns sure earn their pay over at Boston.

So back to the "Gary Payton Rule."

Since the summer of 2005, players who are traded and then waived by their new team are forced to wait 30 days before re-signing (while only a spell of 20 days during the off-season) with the team that had just let them go.

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NBA Gems (This early into the NBA 07'-08' Season)

The Scintillating Six:

1) Brendan Haywood (Wizards) - With the exit of his arch rival (Etan Thomas) due to open heart surgery, the center spot of the Washington Wizards belongs solely to Haywood and he hasn't disappointed by coming up with the first three game double-double of his career. Brendan is currently averaging 10 markers, 13.7 boards, and 3 rejections per game.

2) John Salmons (Kings)- With Mike Bibby out with an injured thumb and Ron Artest serving a seven game suspension, someone had to step up. Enter John Salmons and his 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Now I know why he turned down that deal with the Raptors to sign with the Kings last year :)

3) Kelenna Azubuike (Warriors) - Hard surname to spell but his game is everywhere with 20 points and 1.7 3's per game. Golden State coach Don Nelson loves Azubuike's work ethic and this bodes well for Kelenna, especially when Stephen Jackson returns from his seven game suspension (that was imposed by the NBA following his guilty plea to a felony charge of criminal recklessness for firing a gun into the air outside an Indianapolis club).

4) Carlos Delfino (Raptors) - Finally free of the Motor City's overcrowded backcourt, this native of Santa Fe, Argentina is making Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo an early candidate for GM of the Year with averages of 7.7 points, 5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2 steals, and 1.7 3 pointers made per contest.

5) Ronnie Brewer (Jazz) - A first-round pick of the Utah Jazz a season ago (he went 14th), Brewer has supplanted Gordan Giricek as the team's starting SG to the tune of 16 points and 2.8 steals through four games.

6) Al Horford (Hawks) - Taken with the 3rd pick in the 07' Draft that featured Oden and Durant. Florida's Al Horford needs to early shake off foul trouble (4 fouls in less than 4 minutes into the second half of their opening night game against the Dallas Mavericks) and make the most of his minutes on the floor while Atlanta Hawks center--Zaza Pachulia--is out (until mid-November with a sprained knee).

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The Atlanta Hawks may rue the day they didn’t sign Josh Smith to an extension

All in a day’s work for the man known as J-Smooth: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 90% from the line, 1-1 from three-point distance against the New Orleans Hornets on the road--and that was in 16 minutes. Josh Smith, the high school to pro, do-it-all guard forward (who’s link to his profile page at NBA.com doesn’t seem to be working at the moment) is probably the Hawks most versatile asset offensively (aerial acrobatic shots) and defensively (2.9 blocks per game last year…for a guard!) after Atlanta legend Dominique “The Human Highlight Film” Wilkins.

Josh Smith is currently represented by two agents: Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather who were unable to come to an agreement with the Hawks’ brain trust this past Monday. With that said, both parties have decided to suspend talks until the end of the upcoming season.

Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution added:

“At this point let's just say negotiations have stopped," Prather said. "They made their one offer in July, we didn't agree with it, and they really haven't shown any interest in doing anything else."

NBA teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers (Anderson Verejao and Sasha Pavlovic this year, and Drew Gooden last summer) and Golden State Warriors (Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barns this year) seem to be more discerning these days as to whom to “break the proverbial bank” with. If you notice, I didn’t put the Hawks in that category because they overpaid Joe Johnson (to the tune of $70 million) a couple of years ago when they lured him away from the Phoenix Suns.

Speaking about Varejao and Pavlovic, Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon Journal breaks down the specifics of NBA dollars in one of his recent blog entries:

“Here is the nitty gritty: Money is so tight in the NBA right now that agents are getting radical. Only two free agents got more than the mid-level exception this summer while changing teams, Rashard Lewis and Darko Milicic. Guess how many free agents got the full mid-level exception for max years this summer? Try zero. Three years ago, there were around a dozen, last year there were just four. They were Joel Pryzbilla (Blazers), Nazr Mohammed (Pistons), Vladimir Radmanovic (Lakers) and Jared Jeffries (Knicks). Think any of those teams are happy with those deals at this point? Well, it’s showing in the marketplace.

Last season, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban correctly predicted this summer would be a “nuclear winter” for free agents. For the most part, he was right. Guess what, a peek at next summer looks like it will even be worse because there is less money and better free agents. After heavy spending from 2004-2006 (including a big salary-cap jump in ‘05), many teams are very close to the luxury tax these days and spending likely isn’t going back up until the summer of 2009.”

In my mind, someone (the Hawks or someone else) will eventually give Josh Smith a contract with a lot of zero’s on it. However, I anticipate that it won’t be the kind of compensation he was expecting.

Will someone then break the bank for him?

Possible. If he has a monster year in 07’-08’. Heck, Jerome James got his paycheck after two monster playoff series a couple of years ago, and has done little (far too little) since then. So why not J-Smooth, who has done (WAY too) much to this point, get his due?

I don’t make the decisions upstairs, but signing people like Speedy Claxton (who’s knees may keep him out of action for awhile) and not Josh Smith just doesn’t make any sense!

The Hawks may end up ruing the day they let Josh walk…because he can next year, as he will be a restricted free agent who can sign with any team he wants.

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