Smith: Hawks plan to pressure Bradley

ATLANTA -- There's no mystery what the Hawks will try to do to Avery Bradley in Game 2 with Rajon Rondo serving his one-game suspension.

"Do what he does to us," Hawks' forward Josh Smith said. "He’s one of the great defenders in this league at a young age. Just see if he likes it a little bit, picking him up fullcourt, turning him a little bit and making it hard for him to initiate their offense."

The Celtics have anticipated that and plan to use Paul Pierce to help relieve pressure in the backcourt. There's no doubt that not having Rondo alters the dynamic for the Celtics. 

"It changes a lot for them," Smith said. "He’s the distributor on their team. He gets them in a lot of their sets. Without him, he’s the head of the snake. We’re going to try and take advantage of that tonight. Knowing they’re still a capable team without him, but their chances of winning are at a higher percentage with him on the court."

Still, Atlanta is wary of letting Bradley to get into a groove.

"We’ve got to cut Bradley’s water off early," Smith said. "We can’t let him get confidence. When he plays with confidence he’s a tough player to guard."

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