Celtics (28-18) at Bucks (21-25) Game #47 1/28/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (28-18) at Milwaukee Bucks (21-25)
Saturday, January 28,2017
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]47, Road Game [HASH]24
TV: CSN-NE, FSNWI, NBA-LP 754(DTV)/756(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WTMJ 620AM, Sirius 213
BMO Harris Bradley Center



Probable Starters
PG SG SF
PFC
Isaiah Thomas...Jaylen Brown...Jae Crowder...Jonas Jerebko...Amir Johnson

Celtics Reserves
Marcus Smart
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Jordan Mickey
Kelly Olynyk
Gerald Green

Injuries
Al Horford (groin) questionable
Avery Bradley (Achilles) out
Demetrius Jackson (Red Claws) out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF
PF C
Matthew Dellavedova...Tony Snell...Giannis Antetokounmpo...Jabari Parker...Miles Plumlee

Bucks Reserves
Michael Beasley
Malcolm Brogdon
John Henson
Thon Maker
Greg Monroe
Steve Novak
Mirza Teletovic
Jason Terry
Rashad Vaughn

Injuries
Khris Middleton (hamstring) out

Head Coach
Jason Kidd

Game Notes
The Celtics travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks for the first of 3 meetings this season. The Bucks are the last team in the East that the Celtics have yet to face. The Bucks are just 3-7 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10. The Celtics are 13-10 on the road while the Bucks are 13-11 at home.

Both teams are playing on the second night of back to back games. The Celtics played at home against the Magic and had to travel after the game to get to Milwaukee. The Bucks faced the Raptors in Toronto and also had to travel after the game to get back home to take on the Celtics. The Celtics are 7-3 on the second night of back to back games while the Bucks are 2-7 on the second night of back to back games.

Al Horford missed the game against the Magic with tightness in his groin but he traveled to Milwaukee with the team and will be a game time decision for this game. Avery Bradley is still out with the Achilles injury but is making progress toward a return. Khris Middleton is out for the Bucks with a hamstring injury.

Key Matchups
vs
Jae Crowder vs Giannis Antetokounmpo
Antetokounmpo, aka the Greek Freak, is like no other small forward in the league. He is 6'11" tall and very athletic. He is averaging 23.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. It will be a challenge for Jae to have to deal with him on both ends of the court.

vs
Jonas Jerebko vs Jabari Parker
Parker is playing very well this season, averaging 20.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He is also shooting 39% from beyond the arc. Whether it is Al Horford or Jonas Jerebko or someone else guarding him, they will have a tough assignment.

Honorable Mention
Bench vs Bench
The Bucks have two former starters coming off their bench in Greg Monroe and Michael Beasley. Both are in the top 5 in field goal percentage for reserves. Monroe is shooting 51.6% while Beasley is shooting 51.4%. The Celtics bench will be weakened with the injuries, especially if Horford is out and so the remaining reserves must step up and take up the slack on both offense and defense.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning. So far this season it seems as though the defense of the Celtics has been hit or miss. At times, like against the Wizards, it seems as though they just can't get any stops and allow teams to get to the basket at will and play soft. Other games, like against the Rockets, they come out with energy and play tough defense. Let's hope that the Celtics come out strong on defense and show their grit.

Run! - The Celtics are very effective when they run on every possession and run on defense as well. They need to run on offense to get easy shots before the defenses get set up. They also need to run on defense to get set up to prevent the Bucks from getting easy baskets. With both teams playing back to back, if the Celtics can have more energy to keep up the pace, they may be able to wear the Bucks out.

Take Care of the Ball - The Bucks are very long and athletic. The Celtics need to make careful passes and take care not to allow the Bucks to force turnovers. This also includes hitting their shots and making the extra pass to find the open man. They can't play hero ball as that never ends well.

Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. As was said, the Bucks are long and athletic and so the Celtics are going to have to work to win the battle of the boards. It takes effort to rebound and when the Celtics put out that extra effort to get rebounds, it usually translates to other areas of their game.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be the more aggressive team from start to finish. They have to be aggressive in going after loose balls and on defense and going to the basket and grabbing rebounds. The more aggressive team usually gets the benefit of the calls also. They need to be the team that wants it more for all 48 minutes. No let up.

X-Factors
Back to Back With both teams playing back to back games and having to travel after the previous game, the team that can summon more energy and play hard right up to the end will get the win. The Celtics had an easy win over the Magic and so the starters got to rest some in the 4th quarter. The Bucks lost to the Raptors but limited all but Antetokounmpo and Parker played less than 30 minutes. Hopefully the Celtics won't rest on their laurels and will still be hungry for a win in this game. And also hopefully the loss the night before won't push the Bucks to play even harder in this game.

Officiating - The officiating is always an x-factor. Whether because of the tendencies of individual refs, or an agenda on behalf of the refs or the league, each game is officiated differently and that can favor or throw a team off on any given night. The Celtics have to be able to shake off bad calls and just play their game.

[afceltic]

Nice win on the road without Al and Avery. We are tied for second in the East and 3 games out of the [HASH]1 seed with 10 games before the AS Break. We have an even split of 5 at home and 5 on the road. The good part is that the road games are not against great teams with Utah being the best of the bunch as 4 of them are on a West coast trip. The only problem with that is our on inconsistency so we can't take anyone for granted.

[Roadrunner]

Nice win. Back to back too. Can the NBA fix the schedule so there is even flow?

[jmost]

As the Celtics built a 15 point lead at the half I noticed that Smart had barely shot the ball at all, and I was aware that he hadn't shot the ball many times in the previous two wins either. So I pulled up his game log and looked to see if there was a pattern connecting how many shots he took and W/L record, and this is what I found.

Counting last night, the C's are now 19-5 when Smart takes fewer than 10 shots, and 5-12 in games when he takes 10 or more. (There were also a few games in which he didn't play.) I suppose you could argue that he winds up shooting more in games where the ball movement is poor and he winds up having to chuck up buzzer beaters, and those are games we're more likely to lose. But it could also be that he's just a bad shooter and we are better the less he shoots. I know I'm beating a drum here, but it drives me crazy when he shoots a long jumper with 18 seconds left on the shot clock. He can be a very effective player if he would just stick to what he does well. Rant over.

[FLCeltsFan]

Very interesting jmost. I'm with you when he comes down and shoots a 3 early in the shot clock. What you say makes a lot of sense. Perhaps part of it is that his defense and hustle are important to the team and when he tries to be the offensive star, those things suffer. Whatever it is, let's hope that he has figured it out and doesn't try to lead the team in FGA.