BOSTON -- Kevin Garnett liked what he heard in the Boston Celtics locker room.
There was intensity, focus, and dialogue taking place among teammates. All the talking was music to the vocal leaders ears.
There was a lot of dialogue today, Garnett said following the Celtics 101-79 win over the Atlanta Hawks. You could tell through the layup line, when I came in here, guys were focused in, you could feel it. Not only were we just like that, but we carried it over to the court, so thats big.
The communication reminded Garnett of some of the things weve done in the past. The end result was a critical Game 4 win to give the Celtics a 3-1 lead over the Hawks in the first round series.
I just knew that when we went over schemes and some of the new stuff that we wanted to correct, we were all locked in, said Garnett. Sometimes, individually we kind of get a little dysfunctional at times but for the most part, everybody was very communicative in what we were talking about, guys were giving tips.
On Sunday the Celtics committed 11 turnovers in Game 4, their fewest since Game 1. They communicated in transition, scoring 21 fast break points (79 FG) compared to 20 in Games 2 and 3 and up from 11 in Game 1.
With every active member of the team playing at least six minutes, the Celtics talked through lineup changes and gave advice on matchups.
Boston Celtics
When you talk, everybodys in tune, what we called initiated, explained Garnett. You cant use the excuse that you didnt hear it or you didnt know. When guys are talking fluently, loudly -- we have a very loud building so you have to say things continuously over and over.
Sometimes the guards give us crap from a big-man standpoint for us not talking loud. But we try to say it repeatedly, and it helps. It helps a guy, gives him confidence that he guard the guy in front of him. Everybodys been on an island where youre one-on-one with a guy, so if you try to put yourself in their perspective, in that guys shoes, help him out in as best a way as you can.
Even among 18,000 screaming fans, the communication among the Celtics was music to Garnett's ears.