It was one of the first questions for the Atlanta Hawks — what to do about GM Rick Sund and coach Larry Drew? Sund’s deal is up and Drew has a team option for next season.

Looks like Drew will be back, tweets Sekou Smith of NBA.com.

Hawks head coach Larry Drew has had third-year option on his contract picked up. Will be back for another year, per a source. Well deserved!

If Drew is back then you think Sund will return.

Drew is 84-64 (.568) in two seasons as the head man in Atlanta, leading them to the second round of the playoffs last year but they did not get out of the first round this season.

That answers just the first of many questions for the Hawks this summer. Next up is what to do about Josh Smith? The All-Star forward has requested a trade and is entering the last year of his contract. After that comes up the fact that pretty much the entire Hawks bench is a free agent this summer. The roster will see major changes.

But one step at a time, at least the coach is taken care of.

ATLANTA, May 18 (UPI) — Larry Drew will be back next season as coach of the Atlanta Hawks, the NBA team said Friday.

General Manager Rick Sund said the team was exercising its contract option to retain Drew for at least the 2012-13 season. Financial terms weren’t released.

“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” Sund said.

“The Hawks have reached the post-season in each of his years on the bench and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

Drew just completed his second season as the Hawks’ coach. Atlanta was 40-26 and advanced to the playoffs but was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in six games in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Hawks were 44-38 last season under Drew and were ousted in the second round of the playoffs.

ATLANTA (AP) — The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for publicly criticizing NBA officiating and making negative comments about an opposing player.

The NBA also on Saturday announced Hawks rookie Ivan Johnson was fined $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans.

Gearon was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as calling Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett “the dirtiest guy in the league” on Wednesday. Gearon also criticized officiating in the series, won by the Celtics in six games.

Gearon on Saturday said Garnett is “a great player.” He says Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a former Atlanta player, “has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years.” He says he wishes the Celtics success in the playoffs.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ATLANTA (AP) — The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for publicly criticizing NBA officiating and making negative comments about an opposing player.

The NBA also on Saturday announced Hawks rookie Ivan Johnson was fined $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans.

Gearon was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as calling Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett “the dirtiest guy in the league” on Wednesday. Gearon also criticized officiating in the series, won by the Celtics in six games.

Gearon on Saturday said Garnett is “a great player.” He says Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a former Atlanta player, “has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years.” He says he wishes the Celtics success in the playoffs.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ATLANTA (AP) The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for publicly criticizing NBA officiating and making negative comments about an opposing player.

The NBA also on Saturday announced Hawks rookie Ivan Johnson was fined $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans.

Gearon was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as calling Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett ”the dirtiest guy in the league” on Wednesday. Gearon also criticized officiating in the series, won by the Celtics in six games.

Gearon on Saturday said Garnett is ”a great player.” He says Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a former Atlanta player, ”has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years.” He says he wishes the Celtics success in the playoffs.

by

By Jimmy Golen, Associated Press

Atlanta Hawks

BOSTON — The banged-up Celtics and Hawks took Wednesday off to rest up for Game 6 of their first-round playoff series in Boston tonight.

The Celtics lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after missing a chance to close out the Hawks in the fifth game on Tuesday.

Al Horford scored 19 points, including Atlanta’s final two baskets as the Hawks beat Boston 87-86.

Rajon Rondo made a steal in the final seconds, then Horford trapped him and prevented Boston from making a potential game-winner.

Rondo had five steals to go with 13 points and 12 assists.

“I hate that the game ended the way that it ended,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after Atlanta held on for the victory in Game 5.

“I thought that Rondo willed us back into the game. He really did.”

Rondo already had 13 points and 12 assists when he grabbed his fifth steal of the game, intercepting an inbounds pass from Al Horford to Josh Smith with 10.9 seconds left and Atlanta leading by one.

Boston had no timeouts left, so Rondo moved up the court along the left side, where Horford trapped him.

Kevin Garnett stepped back to receive the pass, but Rondo lost control of the ball and Smith tipped it away as the buzzer sounded.

“My heart was racing a hundred miles an hour on the last sequence,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

“We didn’t make a smart play inbounding the ball, but I’m glad (Smith) had the presence of mind on the last play to step up on Rondo when he came flying up the court.”

The Celtics have a record 17 NBA titles and a lot of history over the years, and steals are prominent among their most memorable plays.

Johnny Most’s call of “Havlicek stole the ball!” in the 1965 Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia is one of the most famous in sports history, and Larry Bird’s steal against Isiah Thomas to beat Detroit during the 1987 playoffs was just as impressive.

Rondo’s steal had the potential to be remembered just as fondly, especially after he took control of the game during a 10-0 run that cut as 12-point deficit to a single basket at the end of the third quarter.

Instead, it all went for naught.

“I cornered myself,” Rondo said. “Give Al credit. I just didn’t come up with the shot.”

Although Rondo’s outside shooting has always been the weakest part of his game — he was 6-for-17 from the floor on Tuesday — he made 8 of 11 shots in Game 4 and Horford considered him dangerous.

“I didn’t want to lose the series in that way, with him hitting a jumper over me or something like that,” Horford said.

“So you’re fighting for your life out there. My thing was to force him to pass the ball, to bottle him up the best I could and then Josh made a great deflection.”

Rivers, a former point guard himself, said he thought Rondo should have gone up the middle of the court instead of the sideline. And he wanted Rondo to drive toward the hoop, instead of setting up on the perimeter.

“I was hoping he would attack the basket, but he lost control of the ball and that blew up any chance that we had,” Rivers said. “We didn’t capitalize on the situation.”

The Celtics will have another chance on Thursday night, and this time they can close the Hawks out in Boston. Game 7 would be in Atlanta on Saturday, if necessary, but the Celtics would surely like to finish it up early to rest their aging stars.

Rivers and Drew both gave their teams the day off on Wednesday to rest.

After missing almost three weeks with bone spurs in his ankle, Ray Allen returned for Game 3 and has avoided any setbacks. Paul Pierce tweaked his left knee in Game 4, but he said it wasn’t bothering him much on Tuesday.

The Hawks, meanwhile, are getting healthier.

Horford played in Game 4 — his first action since January — and was back in the starting lineup for the fifth game, scoring 19 points with 11 rebounds. Smith, whose sore knee knocked him out of Game 3, had 13 points and 16 rebounds.

“I know Josh is still having a little discomfort in his knee but he is playing through the pain,” Drew said. “I think everybody else is fine.”

Atlanta, GA – Al Horford and Josh Smith shook off injuries and posted double-doubles to keep the Atlanta Hawks’ season alive with a hard- fought 87-86 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Horford, battling through a still-bothersome pectoral injury that caused him to miss most of the regular season, totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Smith chipped in 13 and 16 despite dealing with a sore knee.

Smith nearly threw away a chance to seal the win when his inbounds pass with 10.9 seconds remaining was stolen by Rajon Rondo.

Down by one, Rondo pushed the ball up the court and dribbled into the left corner. Smith and Horford switched defensive responsibilities, and Horford disrupted Rondo’s dribble as time wound down.

By the time Rondo recovered and threw to Kevin Garnett at the top of the key, Smith tipped the ball away as the buzzer sounded, pulling the Hawks within 3-2 of a series that continues Thursday back in Boston.

“The whole thing was to force [Rondo] to pass the ball. I crowded him as much as I could, and Josh made a great tip,” recalled Horford of the final play.

The Celtics received 16 points apiece from Garnett and a hobbled Paul Pierce. Ray Allen added 15 points, and Rondo finished with 13 points and 12 assists in defeat.

Every time the Hawks made a run, the Celtics seemingly answered.

Down 66-54 following a 10-0 Hawks run late in the third, Boston scored the final 10 points of stanza to pull within two.

Atlanta tried to pull away again in the fourth as Smith powered a 14-3 spurt that gave the hosts an 83-76 edge with just over four minutes remaining.

The lead lasted less than two minutes, as consecutive field goals by Garnett and Pierce preceded Allen’s tying three-pointer with 2:41 on the clock.

Horford, who surprisingly returned from a four-month absence in Game 4, put in back-to-back buckets around a Garnett miss before missing a jumper with a minute to play.

Pierce, also limited due to a knee injury, followed by hitting a three- pointer, but airballed a potential go-ahead jumper with Joe Johnson in his face the next time down.

The Celtics used their foul-to-give with 10.9 seconds remaining, leading to the breathless final sequence.

Pierce scored nine points in the first quarter, pacing the Celtics to a 21-15 lead, but the Hawks battled back in the second and things were even at 40-all by halftime.

Game Notes

The Hawks shot 47 percent from the field compared to the Celtics’ 44% effort…Jeff Teague donated 16 points for the Hawks, who got 15 points apiece from Johnson and Marvin Williams….Atlanta won the rebounding battle, 41-33.

After winning a pair of tight games to take the series advantage, the Boston Celtics put the Atlanta Hawks on the brink of elimination with a dominant 101-79 win in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Playing at full strength for the second straight game, the Celtics took care of their home court behind outstanding efforts by Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. They propelled the Celtics to a 23-point halftime lead and never gave the Hawks a chance to come back.

This is the kind of game the Celtics were waiting for from Rondo. While his overall numbers were outstanding in Game 3, he didn’t really hit his stride until the fourth quarter and overtime. In Game 4, he dissected the Hawks early and never let up. He finished with 20 points, 16 assists, just one turnover and three steals in 35 minutes.

Pierce started the game shooting hot and got into a groove quickly. He knocked down ten of 13 shots for 24 points in fewer than 17 minutes of court time. He walked off the court gingerly in the first half after he and Josh Smith got their feet tangled in the second quarter, but he was able to return and continued his hot night in the third quarter. Boston’s huge lead, which ballooned to as many as 37 points, allowed Pierce to rest for most of the second-half rather than risk his availability going forward.

Beyond the Celtics’ phenomenal offensive performance, the key to the series continues to be the dominance of their defense and the inability of the Hawks to score in the half-court game. The Celtics have turned the ball over just 44 times through the first four games of the series and since the midpoint of Game 1, they have done a great job of limiting the Hawks’ opportunities in transition.

During the regular season, the Hawks were the NBA’s sixth most effective team at forcing turnovers, but going against a disciplined veteran team playing its most important basketball of the season, that strength hasn’t been able to manifest itself. If they are unable to force more turnovers and they can’t find a way to revitalize their transition game, the Hawks’ season will likely end in Game 5.

Game 5 will take place in Atlanta on Tuesday, May 8, at 8:00 p.m.

Sources:

Boston Celtics, Yahoo! Sports

Basketball-Reference.com

William Menna is a native New Englander and longtime Boston sports fan.

More from this contributor:

Celtics even series with Hawks in Game 2 win

Red Sox win sixth straight, get to .500

Celtics clinch fifth straight division title

Bruins take playoff opener over Capitals in OT

Bradley and Stiemsma giving Celtics a boost

The Boston Celtics won a very close Game 3 at home by the score of 90-84 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead. It appeared too close for comfort at times as Boston had all the advantages coming into the game. Josh Smith was out of action for the Atlanta Hawks and the Celtics were playing on their home court. Still, Atlanta took them into overtime, where they narrowly escaped with a victory.

The matchup on Sunday will be crucial for Boston. If they win, they take a 3-1 series lead before heading to Atlanta for Game 5. If they lose it becomes a best of three series with home court in Atlanta’s favor.

Now is the time for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo to show what they are made of. The playoffs will not get any easier moving forward and they know it. They have the talent and experience; they just need to prove it.

The matchup:

The Boston Celtics will take on the Atlanta Hawks at the TD Garden located in Boston, Mass. on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 7 p.m. EDT.

The standings:

Boston comes into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarters finishing the regular season with a 39-27 record. They were 24-9 on their home court this year.

Atlanta enters the matchup having finished the season with a 40-26 record. They were 17-16 on the road this year.

The playoff series:

The playoff series is currently stands at 2-1 in favor of the Celtics.

Where to watch:

The game can be watched live nationwide on TNT.

The playoff statistic leaders:

Boston: Paul Pierce- 23.0 points per game, Rajon Rondo- 11.5 assists per game, Kevin Garnett- 12.3 rebounds per game.

Atlanta: Joe Johnson- 20.7 points per game, Josh Smith- 4.5 assists per game, Josh Smith- 15.0 rebounds per game.

Injuries to note:

Boston: Avery Bradley (left shoulder), Chris Wilcox (aortic abnormality), Jeff Green (aortic aneurysm).

Atlanta: Al Horford (torn left pectoral muscle), Zaza Pachulia (foot), Josh Smith (Patellar tendinitis in left knee)

More Boston Celtics Commentary from Paul Rados:

Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, Eastern Quarters Game 3: Fan Playoff Preview

Boston Celtics should dominate with Miami trio likely to rest: Fan Preview

Boston Celtics prepare to take on Atlanta Hawks: Fan Preview

Takeaways from the Boston Celtics 102-98 win over the Orlando Magic: A fan’s perspective

Fan Preview: After a tough loss in New York, are the Boston Celtics ready to face the Magic?

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is an avid Boston Celtics fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia won’t play in Game 1 of the NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Coach Larry Drew announced before Sunday’s contest that third-stringer Jason Collins will start at center, sticking with the lineup that went 5-1 after Pachulia sprained his left foot on April 13.

Drew says Pachulia’s foot is getting better and it will be a game-to-game decision on whether he plays in the series. The Hawks already have played most of the season without top center Al Horford, who is recovering from pectoral surgery.

Marvin Williams will continue to come off the bench for the Hawks. The 7-foot Collins isn’t much of an offensive threat, averaging 1.3 points, but Drew is counting on the 10-year veteran to provide a defensive presence.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ATLANTA (AP) Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia won’t play in Game 1 of the NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Coach Larry Drew announced before Sunday’s contest that third-stringer Jason Collins will start at center, sticking with the lineup that went 5-1 after Pachulia sprained his left foot on April 13.

Drew says Pachulia’s foot is getting better and it will be a game-to-game decision on whether he plays in the series. The Hawks already have played most of the season without top center Al Horford, who is recovering from pectoral surgery.

Marvin Williams will continue to come off the bench for the Hawks. The 7-foot Collins isn’t much of an offensive threat, averaging 1.3 points, but Drew is counting on the 10-year veteran to provide a defensive presence.

(Sports Network) – The Atlanta Hawks take their latest shot at trying to solve the Boston Celtics in the postseason when the two teams kick off their Eastern Conference quarterfinals set at Philips Arena.

In the playoffs, this rivalry dates all the way back to the 1956-57 season when the Hawks called St. Louis home. Since moving to the Peach State in 1968, however, the Hawks have never beaten the Celtics in the postseason, losing six straight series (1972, ’73, ’83, ’86, ’88 and 2008.)

This time around in the East’s 4-5 matchup, Atlanta has earned home- court advantage over Boston even though it is seeded fifth, since the Hawks finished with one more win than the Atlantic Division champions.

“Well, we’d rather not (start on the road),” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Honestly. It would’ve been easier to open up at home, but we’re just not.”

The home floor was more than instrumental the last time these teams tangled in the postseason. The host prevailed each time during an entertaining seven-game first-round series in 2008 as the Celtics won in Game 7 by 34 points en route to the franchise’s 17th NBA title.

“It’s real big,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith of having home-court advantage. “We experienced that when we first made the playoffs five years ago and we had to play against a rowdy crowd in Boston. Having home-court advantage is definitely key.”

The “Boston Three Party” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen with the help of superlative point guard Rajon Rondo, turned it on at the right time during the regular season and left both New York and Philadelphia in the dust en route to a fifth straight Atlantic crown.

Most thought the lockout-shortened campaign would work against the aged Celtics but here they are again in position to make another, perhaps final run with this group.

The Hawks, even without All-Star big man Al Horford, are much younger and far more athletic than the C’s.

Horford, a two-time All-Star, missed most of the season recovering from surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, He had hoped to give the Hawks a lift in the playoffs but that was shelved earlier this week.

The big man was able to practice Monday but awoke sore the next day, a realization that his left arm isn’t where it needs to be to endure what figures to be a grueling playoff series.

“I realized that I’m not nearly where I need to be or want to be — not even to give the team anything,” Horford told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “That’s when we kind of decided that it was best for me to take some time off, keep working, see how I progress. But we are just not where we need to be yet.”

Meanwhile, Horford’s replacement in the starting lineup, Zaza Pachulia missed the last seven games of the regular season with a sprained left foot and will be a game-time decision on Sunday.

For the C’s, Allen has not played in two weeks due to a sore right ankle, and may not be ready for the series opener. The sharpshooter, who will probably need surgery after the playoffs, did take a cortisone shot in an effort to play.

Boston won two of three over the Hawks in the regular season and split a pair of games at Philips Arena.

“We played them recently a couple times, but we wanted to take one game at a time and focus on the other guys that we had to beat,” Rondo said. “We know the Hawks pretty well and they know us and its gonna be a tough matchup.”

ATLANTA, April 25 (UPI) — Injured Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford said Wednesday he won’t be available for the upcoming first round of the NBA playoffs.

Horford, who underwent Jan. 17 surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, said after competing in full-court drills Monday he determined he wasn’t sufficiently healed to return.

“I realized that I’m not nearly where I need to be or want to be — not even to give the team anything,” he told The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “That’s when we kind of decided that it was best for me to take some time off, keep working, see how I progress.

“But we are just not where we need to be yet.”

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound native of the Dominican Republic has missed 54 of the Hawks’ 65 games going into Thursday’s regular season finale. He was averaging 12.4 points and seven rebounds per game before going on the disabled list.

Horford didn’t rule out a second-round return should Hawks advance, the newspaper said.

Atlanta holds the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference entering the playoffs.