Willie Green News

It's difficult to evaluate Rick Sund's tenure as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks because the worst parts of his tenure are essentially conditions of his employment.

The Hawks had some terrific offensive options at their disposal this season. They had strong spot up shooting from Kirk Hinrich, Willie Green, Joe Johnson, Jeff Teague and Marvin Williams.

Apr 29, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce shoots over Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague during the second half of game one in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena.

The new luxury tax penalties that kick in after next season have put some NBA teams in a bind, no longer will teams only pay dollar-for-dollar when spending too much, these new rules will cause some serious pain.

As Drew awaits word from the team if it will pick up his contract option for next season, he cites his relationship with players as his strong suit.

For the Hawks, the list is as long as their perpetual injury report and as painful as the handful of plays that led to a first-round loss to the Celtics.

Marvin Williams is a bona fide bust. The Atlanta Hawks didn't select the 6'9", 245-pound wing second overall to be nothing more than a capable starter.

When Rajon Rondo intercepted a Hawks pass in the final seconds of Game 5, he had a chance to add to the list of memorable Celtics playoff steals.

Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.

The Hawks had thought that the return of Josh Smith would be the difference in Game 4 Sunday against the Celtics, that they could contain Rajon Rondo, that they could bring the series back to Atlanta tied at two games apiece.

In Game 3, Kirk Hinrich failed to score in 26 minutes and registered only 1 assist.

Rondo scored the first four points for Boston in the extra session, but a Joe Johnson layup had the Hawks within two with under two minutes to play.

In our meandering, not totally complete recap of the Boston Celtics' 2012 season , we wrote of how Rajon Rondo's mid-January wrist injury threatened to close the book on the likely final run of the Garnett Era before it could well and truly get going.A The Celtics had started the season 4-8.A They had just lost five in a row.A They had scored 33 ... (more)

Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.

They had everything going for them: home court, an opponent without arguably its most important player, and an 11-point lead late in the third quarter.