Bucks (1-3) at Celtics (3-1) 11/3 Game 5

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Milwaukee Bucks (1-3) at Boston Celtics (3-1)
Wednesday, November 3
8:00 PM ET
Game #5,  Home Game #3
TV: ESPN, NBAC, FSNWI, CSNNE
Radio:  WTMJ, WEEI
TD Garden 


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings

Shooting Guard
  vs 
Ray Allen vs John Salmons

Small Forward
  vs 
Paul Pierce vs Carlos Delfino

Power Forward
  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs Drew Gooden

Center
  vs 
Jermaine O'Neal vs Andrew Bogut 


Boston Bench Mob
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
Semih Erden
Delonte West (Suspended)

Injured
Kendrick Perkins (knee) out
Avery Bradley (ankle) questionable
Shaquille O'Neal (knee) probable



Bucks Bench
Corey Maggette
Jon Brockman
Keyon Dooling
Larry Sanders
Luc Mbah a Moute
Earl Boykins

Injuries
Chris Douglas-Roberts (eye) out
Darrington Hobson (hip) out
Michael Redd (knee)  out 

Team Connections:
 Assistant Coach Joe Wolf played for the Celtics during the 1992‐93 season
Ray Allen played for the Bucks from 1996‐2002…Bucks
Bucks Trainer Marc Boff worked for the Celtics for eight seasons as an assistant trainer and physical therapist
Armond Hill played for the Bucks during the 1982‐83 season
Brandon Jennings and Rajon Rondo both attended Oak Hill Academy
Ersan Ilyasova and Semih Erden are both from Turkey
Jon Brockman and Nate Robinson both attended the University of
Washington
Drew Gooden and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Corey Maggette played for Doc Rivers in Orlando during the 1999‐2000 season
Shaquille O’Neal and Keyon Dooling were teammates in Miami during the 2004‐05 season
Von Wafer and Corey Maggette were teammates on the Clippers during the 2006‐07 season
Delonte West and Drew Gooden were teammates in Cleveland during the 2007‐08 season

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Jennings is a good young PG who is working to make a name for himself in the league.  Rondo should remember Jennings spouting garbage at KG as they walked down the tunnel after a Bucks win last season and let him know who is in charge right from the start. 

  vs 
Jermaine O'Neal vs Andrew Bogut 
With Shaq still not getting a practice in, JO will probably get the start once again.  Bogut is one of the best young centers in the league and Jermaine will have his hands full trying to contain him and keep him off the glass. 

Game Notes
Last Season these two teams split  the series 2‐2 with both teams winning on the other’s home court.   Kevin Garnett led the C’s with an average of 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in his two  appearances while Rajon Rondo averaged a double‐double with 16.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.   Andrew Bogut led the Bucks with an average of 25.0 points, 15.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.   John Salmons averaged 16.3 points per game in his three contests against the Celtics.

Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and both had to travel the night before so neither will have the advantage of playing on a day's rest.  The Celtics are coming off a fairly easy win over the Pistons while the Bucks are coming off a loss to the Blazers. 

Doc has said that he expects Shaq to play in this one but that will probably be a game time decision, or at least after shoot around.  Whether Doc will put Shaq back into the starting unit or bring him off the bench will be interesting to see. Semih Erden played well in his debut and may see minutes as well.   

Keys to the Game
Limit Turnovers - The Celtics have to take better care of the ball.  If they can get their turnovers under control,  it would make winning games much easier for them. 

Bench Play - Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games.   Both will need to get quality minutes from their bench and the strongest bench may very well be the difference in this game. 

Defense -  The Celtics won the 2008 championship with their defense.  They need to get back to that lock down defense, limiting teams to one and done and preventing any easy shots.

X-Factor
Back to Back
Both teams are playing in back to back games.  That shouldn't be an advantage for either team, but the last time the Celtics played in a back to back situation, they were very sluggish vs the Cavs.  Hopefully we see a better effort in this one. 

Odd Fact
In a name the team contest R.D. Trebilcox, was one of 45 persons who suggested the name "Bucks." His reasoning: "Bucks are spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile." Mr. Trebilcox won a new car for his efforts in picking the name.

[nba is the worst]

Bucks having a very poor start, losing to the Blazers, Twolves, and Hornets. While Bogut has averaged 12.3/10.5, Salmons has been just awful with just 7.8 ppg on 26.8% FG shooting.

This one should simply be a matter of showing up...

[WeMadeIt17]

Celtics Hoorah!
Celtics Hoorah!
Celtics Hoorah!

1
2
3

UNBUTU!

[Donoghus]

This will be a fun one to watch.  There's some guys on that Bucks team that I enjoy following.

[Jon Niednagel]

I'd like to see KG stay agressive and punish Gooden. I think he and Baby could have a field day tonight.

[ACF]

All I want for my birthday is a win 

TP and Go Celtics!

[celticinorlando]

Bougut has gutted boston in recent games...without Shaq and and an iffy JO....this will be tough down inside...also...can't allow delfino to just stand out there and shoot 3's all night

[Prof. Clutch]

TP FLCeltsFan.

I expect a good game tonight.  Bucks are a scrappy, tough, competitive defensive team.  Go C's!

[Celtic]

Three in a row, here we go!

[Chris]

OVER-RATED!!!

Seriously, way too much hype for a team that is destined to disappoint.

[RAcker]

For some reason, this team always plays well against us.  Do we know for sure that Shaq is out again tonight?

[Evantime34]

Bougut has gutted boston in recent games...without Shaq and and an iffy JO....this will be tough down inside...also...can't allow delfino to just stand out there and shoot 3's all night

Is Bogut 100%?

[Chris]

For some reason, this team always plays well against us.  Do we know for sure that Shaq is out again tonight?

I kind of hope he is.  Bogut would not be a good matchup for him.  Shaq is really only effective against true bangers like Dwight Howard.  He is kind of a like a poor man's Perkins defensively. 

Bogut on the other hand has a very versatile offensive repertoire, and the footwork and touch to go around or over him. 

I think JO is the best matchup the C's have for Bogut (and that is including Perk), so hopefully he is starting.

[clover]

I predict 15 dimes for Rondo.

[Fafnir]

Bogut and Maggette the only players that worries me in a match up with the C's.

Both teams are coming off back to backs as well.