Celtics (2-0) at Bucks (0-2) Game #3 4/20/18

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (2-0) at Milwaukee Bucks (0-2)
Friday, April 19, 2018
9:30 PM ET
Round 1 Game [HASH]3 Road Game [HASH]1
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, FSWIS
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 103.3 FM WTMJ
BMO Bradley Center


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Terry Rozier vs Eric Bledsoe

Shooting Guard
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Tony Snell

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Khris Middleton

Power Forward
vs
Al Horford vs Giannis Antetokounmpo

Center
vs
Aron Baynes vs John Henson


Celtics Reserves
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Greg Monroe
Guerschon Yabusele
Shane Larkin
Marcus Morris

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Daniel Theis (knee) out
Kyrie Irving (knee) out
Marcus Smart (thumb) out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens





Bucks Reserves
Malcolm Brogdon
Sterling Brown
Matthew Dellavedova
Brandon Jennings
Thon Maker
Shabazz Muhammad
Jabari Parker
Jason Terry
DJ Wilson
Tyler Zeller

Injuries
None listed

Head Coach
Joe Prunty

Game Notes
After two Celtics wins in Boston, the series now moves to Milwaukee. In the regular season, the Celtics split the 2 games in Milwaukee, winning one and losing one. The Celtics had a 28-13 record on the road this season while the Bucks were 25-16 at home. The Bucks are 22-19 all time in the first round at home.

Even though they won the first two games, the Celtics are going to have to play much better in this game to get a win. They allowed the Bucks to shoot 59.7% on Tuesday while Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 75% from the field. The Celtics must play better defense if they want to get a win on the road.

There are a few side stories developing in this series. When asked about his matchup with Terry Rozier, Eric Bledsoe claimed that he didn't know who he was. Terry is taking the high road, saying that he doesn't have a problem with Bledsoe, but Bledsoe continues to insist that he doesn't know who Rozier is.

Jabari Parker has made his discontent about his lack of playing time known, saying that the way to get playing time was to be on the coach's good side and that he didn't think he was. Another side story is that Greg Monroe played for the Bucks for over 2 years and knows their tendencies and plays and can be a big help to the Celtics in planning their defenses for the game.

Marcus Smart got bad news that his mother has cancer and that has to weigh heavy on him and his teammates. His mom told him to go back to the team and that seeing him play would make her smile. He's at least a week away from being back on the court. Along with Smart, Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Daniel Theis are all still out. The Bucks remain at full strength.

Key Matchups
vs
Al Horford vs Giannis Antetokounmpo
Once again, this will be the key matchup. Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals in Game 1. He followed that up with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists while shooting 75% from the field. Al has been great for the Celtics as well. He will need another big game on both ends of the court if they want to get a win in this one.

vs
Jayson Tatum vs Khris Middleton
In Game 1, Middleton had 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. He shot 60% from the field and 71% from beyond the arc. In game 2, Middleton finished with 25 points, shooting 71% from the field and 66% from beyond the arc. It goes without saying that the Celtics need to do a better job defending Middleton in this game. Tatum struggled on the offensive end in game 2, scoring just 4 points. Hopefully he will find his touch again in this game.

vs
Terry Rozier vs Eric Bledsoe
Rozier clearly outplayed Bledsoe in Games 1 and 2 and has gotten in his head prompting him to say he didn't know who Rozier was when asked about him. Terry has refused to get into that and said he doesn't have anything against Bledsoe and is just working to help make the Celtics better. Hopefully Terry can once again hold Bledsoe in check while continuing to play well on the offensive end.

Honorable Mention
Celtics Bench vs Bucks Bench
With all of the injuries, the Celtics bench has been depleted but that doesn't mean they haven't been effective. Shane Larkin, Greg Monroe and Marcus Morris have come up big for the Celtics off the bench. Guerschon Yabusele also pitched in 10 points off the bench in Game 2. The Celtics reserves scored 27 points to 23 points for the Bucks reserves in Game 1. In Game 2, the Celtics reserves put up 41 off the bench while the Bucks reserves scored 25 points. The Celtics reserves will need to continue to contribute if they want to get a win on the road.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning. The old adage that Defense wins Championships is very true, especially as teams go into the playoffs. Even though they have 2 wins so far in the series, the Celtics have let their defense slip. They have allowed the Bucks to shoot 48.2% from the field in the first game and 59.7% in the second game. If the Celtics want to win on the road, they are going to have to tighten up their defense, especially on Giannis and Middleton.

Rebound - Next to defense, rebounding will be key for the Celtics. The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. 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. The Celtics barely out-rebounded the Bucks in game 45-43 in Game 1. Both teams had 38 rebounds in Game 2. The Celtics must continue to crash the glass as a team and give even more effort on the boards in this 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. They need to be the team that wants it more for all 48 minutes. The Bucks' coach has mentioned several times that the Celtics play harder and want it more. They need to continue that in this game.

Move the Ball Carefully - When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man, they are tough to beat. However, the Celtics must make careful passes as the Bucks are 2nd in steals with 8.8 per game and 2nd in points off turnovers with 18.3 per game. The Celtics did a good job of this in Game 1, turning the ball over 15 times to 20 turnovers for the Bucks. They did an even better job in Game 2 with 5 turnovers to 15 for the Bucks. They need to continue to take care of the ball and play unselfishly.

X-Factors
Coaching - So far, Brad has been able to push all the right buttons and use the right strategies to win Games 1 and 2. The players have given him the credit for preparing them for the games and giving them the right plays at the right time to pull out the wins. He has been careful to keep minutes down as much as possible and he has the team playing well together. The Bucks have some discord going and haven't been able to match the Celtics' intensity so far. Hopefully that continues.

On the Road - The Celtics were a good road team this season with a 23-18 record away from home. The Bucks were also pretty good at home with a 25-16 home record. The Celtics need to stay focused on playing their game and not let the hostile environment distract them. The Bucks' young players will likely play better at home and so the Celtics need to be ready for them with tougher defense.

Officiating - So far, the officiating has been decent. There have been bad calls and missed calls going both ways. Of course, Giannis gets away with travels and offensive fouls but they have let Horford get away with a few things also. Hopefully they will continue to let them play and call the games evenly.

[Roadrunner]

I would like to see a road win tonight.

[mev17]

That first quarter could not have been worse (2-18 shooting and 9 turnovers), second quarter not much better. Apparently, not much focus tonight. It's stretches like this that has people writing us off -- too many 10-20+ minute stretches where we can't do anything right on offense and end up burying ourselves.

[mev17]

Nothing good to say about tonight. I'm afraid nights like this will be our eventual undoing -- for every good game that Brown or Rozier or Morris or Tatum have, they are likely to have a game where nothing works. Outside of Kyrie no one who will score dependably on a nightly basis. Add an absolute lack of defense and you have an old fashioned butt-kicking.

On to game 4, hopefully they can turn the page and play well. This series is still ours for the taking!!

[afceltic]

We didn't match their intensity and was a no show. If there was ever a "good" time for it, then today was the day because they played pretty much their perfect game and it likely won't happen again. They are one of the worst 3 point shooting teams this year and average 8 makes a game and today they made 16 of them. Even a guy I have never heard of named Thorn Maker was 3-4 from three point land. No big deal, it is only one loss and move on to game four.

Did anyone else feel embarrassed for Milwaukee for having confetti come from the celling for a win in the first round? That is reserved for Championships and it shows how bad the mindset for that franchise is.

[jmost]

The Bucks (and crowd) came out with great intensity and kept it up throughout the game. I expect the same for Game 4, so we better find a way to stay calm but still be aggressive. No question the Bucks were the more aggressive team and the calls always seem to go to the aggressor. I think they (the refs) even got caught up in the energy and were calling everything Milwaukee's way. On one play Giannis took 3 giant strides, didn't get called for an obvious travel and then Horford still makes a clean block that the refs call goaltending. Come on. Then we can't make a shot and the Bucks were shooting way over their heads. Basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

We've seen blowouts in the playoffs before, on both sides, and one bad loss, even a really bad loss, doesn't mean anything. Based on Brad's reaction, he felt a lot of what happened was our own fault and therefore correctable. I'm sure he'll have the full attention of the guys and I expect a lot more poise under pressure in Game 4. We have a tendency to forget how young a lot of our key guys are and this was their first road playoff game for some, and first road playoff start for others. They'll learn.

[Roadrunner]

Apr 21, 2018 7:58:19 GMT -5 jmost said:

The Bucks (and crowd) came out with great intensity and kept it up throughout the game. I expect the same for Game 4, so we better find a way to stay calm but still be aggressive. No question the Bucks were the more aggressive team and the calls always seem to go to the aggressor. I think they (the refs) even got caught up in the energy and were calling everything Milwaukee's way. On one play Giannis took 3 giant strides, didn't get called for an obvious travel and then Horford still makes a clean block that the refs call goaltending. Come on. Then we can't make a shot and the Bucks were shooting way over their heads. Basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

We've seen blowouts in the playoffs before, on both sides, and one bad loss, even a really bad loss, doesn't mean anything. Based on Brad's reaction, he felt a lot of what happened was our own fault and therefore correctable. I'm sure he'll have the full attention of the guys and I expect a lot more poise under pressure in Game 4. We have a tendency to forget how young a lot of our key guys are and this was their first road playoff game for some, and first road playoff start for others. They'll learn.

I got to see this game on TV, since it was an unusually late start (even my folks were surprised to see me at their house). The offense was a mess, and it seemed like BOS forgot the plays. The defense was just as bad, allowing wide open looks. Add Thon Maker to the list of opponents who are bad then have the game of their lives versus the Cs.

Giannis is in my NBA top 5 players. He has a lot of everything. However, that 3 stride move which he attacks the paint is an obvious travel never called. I agree, Horford had a clean block. ESPN even replayed the play showing the ball pinned against the glass.

Finally, the camera panned on Stevens a few times. He looked angry.