Zaza Pachulia was asked yesterday after practice what the Hawks needed to do to stop the Celtics, and therefore win the game.

"It's not about what we do or don't do to stop them," said Pachulia. "It's about us. If we do what we are capable of doing, play the way we are capable of playing, then we can win."

I couldn't agree with Big Z more. This Hawks team has shown this season that when they execute on both sides of the ball they are capable of beating anyone in the NBA. In Breaking Down The Celtics, Hawks coach Jim Todd basically reiterated that point, saying the Hawks biggest focus needs to be on themselves, not on what the Celtics try to do.

Tonight's game is interesting on many levels. On one level, we are looking at two teams that despite a 29-win difference in the regular season a year ago went toe-to-toe for seven games in the Eastern Conference playoffs last April. The Celtics won the series and eventually the title, but they didn't get a single win here in Atlanta. It was that performance by the Hawks that gave them confidence and catapulted them forward to where they are now, 15-9 and sitting in fourth place in the conference standings. As many Boston fans will tell you, the Celtics were a little more nervous going back to Boston for Game 7 of that series than they'd like you to know.

There are a couple reasons why that series went the way it did, and it bodes well for the Hawks tonight. For one thing, there is the Atlanta crowds. Long the butt of jokes around the league, this city's fans showed what kind of passion they have for winning basketball, and were really the story of the opening round of the postseason. Though it is only the regular season, I fully expect the same kind of atmosphere in the building tonight. Joe Johnson expects it as well. Secondly, the athleticism of this team causes all kinds of problems for the Celtics. The Hawks used that advantage in taking the three games at Philips, and they'll need to do the same to win tonight. The more they can get out and run, especially off turnovers, the better chance they'll have. The more the game slows down into a halfcourt affair, the more it favors the visitors.

The Hawks played well in Boston earlier this season, nearly beating the Celtics in their own building without the services of Josh Smith (and Zaza Pachulia, who got hurt during the game), losing only after a last-second game-winner from Paul Pierce. And as well as the Celts are playing right now (and make no mistake about it, they are playing exceptionally well - you don't get to be 23-2, with an ongoing 15-game winning streak, without playing some tremendously inspired basketball), there are signs that they may be blinking.

Normally, the visiting team holds shootaround at 11:00 am at the Arena on the day of the game. Today, the Celtics chose to go a different route, holding practice at Georgia Tech at 10:00 am. It's probably nothing, and it probably won't have any effect on the game tonight, but NBA players are creatures of routine, and it does make you wonder why Boston would choose to alter that routine at the last minute. Or at least it makes me wonder.

When the schedule came out this past summer, the first Hawks-Celtics home game was the first matchup I looked for, as I imagine most of you did. Now it's finally here. The Hawks are on the big stage, on ESPN, with a chance to show everyone the progress they've made since the end of last season.

Boston's 15-game winning streak is daunting, but the Hawks aren't scared - they snapped Cleveland's 11-gamer just this last Saturday.

Come out tonight for what should be one of the biggest regular season match-ups in Philips Arena history, and cheer on your Hawks to pick up right where they left off last Spring.

Go Hawks!