BOSTON -- Mike Bibby thought the Celtics' crowd was loud in the playoff opener. He should get an even bigger earful in Game 2 after slamming the fans.
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Bibby called Boston's backers "fair weather" fans who jumped on the "bandwagon" when the Celtics grew from one of the NBA's worst teams last season into the one with the best record in the league this season.
"I wouldn't say it's the smartest comment," Kevin Garnett said Tuesday.
Bibby heard it from the crowd Sunday night when the Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-81. He scored only five points on 2-for-10 shooting.
"It's good that they know I'm here," he said before practice Tuesday on the same floor where he missed all those shots. "Fair weather fans if you ask me."
The Celtics drew decent home crowds last season despite their 24-58 record, the second-worst in franchise history. Bibby played in front of one of them Jan. 19 when he was with Sacramento, which won 96-91.
He scored 11 points in that game, Boston's sixth consecutive loss in an 18-game slide that is the worst in franchise history.
The crowd Sunday was "kind of loud at the beginning," Bibby said calmly, "but a lot of these fans might be bandwagon jumpers. They try to get on this now. Because I played here last year, too. I didn't see three-fourths of them so it might be that.
"I remember them having bags on their heads," he said. "Are they the ones that had bags on their heads last year? It's just a different look, but I guess that happens when you win."
Winning one game in the best-of-7 series that will resume Wednesday night will be tough for the Hawks.
Top-seeded Boston had 29 more victories than eighth-seeded Atlanta, the biggest discrepancy between first-round opponents since 1996.
And Bibby, a 10-year veteran with the most playoff experience of any Hawk, got outplayed by Boston point guard Rajon Rondo, who had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his postseason debut.
Several Celtics said they didn't want to get into a verbal exchange with Bibby. Some of them, though, managed to slip in a few jabs.
