Celtics offer thanks to Atlanta for exhibition games

BOSTON, MA — In a class move by a class franchise, the entire Boston Celtics organization held a press conference early Thursday to thank the Atlanta Hawks for the past two practice games between the teams in Boston.

“We just want to show our gratitude to the Atlanta Hawks, easily the best semi-pro team in America,” said Danny Ainge, Director of Basketball Operations for the Celtics. “It’s just great of them to get together and play those two exhibition games against us. I think I can speak for the rest of the team when I say that we’re ready for the NBA playoffs now.”

Forward Kevin Garnett admitted to SSNN that he was skeptical about the games going in, but now he’s convinced it was the right move.

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“At first I was like, ‘Why are we playing a community college team?’ I didn’t want to waste energy right before the playoffs,” KG said. “But then I thought about it, and we did kind of slack off this year. We lost like 20 games this season, and that’s very unbecoming for any Boston team. We needed the practice.”

The Celtics spent quite a bit of the press conference praising the Hawks for their high level of play. Head coach Doc Rivers said that many of the Atlanta players, with a few more years of practice, might very well find a place on a legitimate NBA squad.

Paul Pierce, on the other hand, couldn’t get over the fact that Mike Bibby was a member of the Hawks team.

“I was shocked to see Bibby playing for them – I remember when that guy was in the NBA,” Pierce said. “And man, has his game deteriorated. No wonder he can’t catch on with a professional team.”

Ainge added that the Celtics are already in talks with the Hawks about returning the favor and coming to Atlanta for a couple of exhibition games, possibly as soon as this weekend. The main concern is that while Atlanta boasts a first-class mid-major college level team, they’ve had trouble getting fans to their games.

“We’ve got a lot of time to kill before the NBA Finals, so we’ve got to occupy our time somehow,” Ainge said. “I can’t think of a better way to spend that time than by thrashing the Hawks a few more times.”