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Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« on: April 02, 2018, 11:12:17 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Boston Celtics (53-23) at Milwaukee Bucks (41-36)
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #77, Road Game #39
TV:  NBCSB,  FSWIS,  NBA-LP 760 DTV/757 Xfinity
Radio: 100.7 WZLX, 105.7 The Fan
BMO Bradley Center




Probable Starters
PG SG SF
PFC
Kadeem Allen...Jaylen Brown... Jayson Tatum
Al Horford...Aron Baynes

Celtics Reserves
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Greg Monroe
Guerschon Yabusele
Jabari Bird
Xavier Silas

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle)  out
Daniel Theis (knee) out
Kyrie Irving (knee) out
Marcus Smart (thumb)  out
Shane Larkin (illness) out
Terry Rozier (ankle)  out

Two Way Players

Kadeem Allen
Jabari Bird

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters
PG SG SF
PF C
Eric Bledsoe...Tony Snell...Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo...John Henson

Bucks Reserves
Sterling Brown
Brandon Jennings
Shabazz Muhammad
Jabari Parker
Jason Terry
DJ Wilson
Tyler Zeller

Injuries

Matthew Dellavedova  (ankle) day to day
Thon Maker (groin) day to day
Malcolm Brogdon (out) 

Two-Way Players
Xavier Munford
Marshall Plumlee

Head Coach

Joe Prunty

Game Notes
The Celtics and Bucks meet for the 4th and final game this season.  The Bucks came to Boston for the Celtics home opener.  It was the day after the Celtics lost Gordon Hayward to the gruesome injury and the Celtics were playing in back to back games and just didn't have enough to overcome the Greek Freak and company.  The Bucks won that game 108-100. 

They met a second time on October 26 when the Celtics avenged their opening loss  with a 96-89 win over the Bucks in  Milwaukee.  They met for the third time on Dec 4 in Boston with the Celtics coming away with a 111-100 win.  The Celtics have a 2-1 lead in the series. 

The Celtics have won 6 straight games in spite of all the injuries.  They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are a good road team with a 28-10 record on the road.  The Bucks are coming off a loss and are 5-5 in their last 10 games.  They are decent at home with a 23-15 record at home. 

The Celtics are still 2nd in the East.  The Cavs are 6.5 games back in 3rd with no chance to move up into 2nd place.  The Cavs are just half a game ahead of 4th place and 1 game ahead of 5th place and there is a chance that they could slip further down the standings.   

The Bucks are currently 8th, 4 games ahead of Detroit, who are in 9th.  Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is any combination of 2 Bucks wins or Pistons losses.  The Bucks are tied with the Heat for the 7th best record but Miami owns the tie breaker.  They are just 1 game behind the Wizards, who are currently 6th. 

Marcus Smart (thumb), Kyrie Irving (knee), Daniel Theis (knee), and Gordon Hayward (ankle) are all still out as expected.  Shane Larkin spent a couple of days in the hospital with the flu and is also out.  Terry Rozier missed Monday's practice with a tweaked ankle and has also been ruled out for this game despite his assurances that he planned to play.  My guess is that they are going to be cautious and will play him on Wednesday vs the Raptors.

I'm going to guess that Kadeem Allen starts at point guard since he's the only actual point guard left on the roster that can still walk.  I expect to see a lot of point Tatum and point Horford in this one as well.  For the Bucks, Matthew Dellavedova has been out over a month with an ankle injury and is listed as day to day.  Thon Maker has been out with a groin injury but plans to play in this game.  Malcolm Brogdon is listed as out with a quadriceps injury.

Games to watch that may affect the standings in the east are Toronto at Cleveland,  Washington at Houston,  and Atlanta at Miami. 

Key Matchups 
  vs 
Kadeem Allen vs Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe has been playing very well for the Bucks since they brought him in at the trade deadline.  He is averaging 17.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.  He is shooting 34.3% from beyond the arc.   It will be important for Allen to play well on both ends of the court.  He has to limit Bledsoe's offense and also give the Celtics a scoring boost on the offensive end.  It's a lot to ask of a rookie who spent the season in the G-League, but he should get some help from Jason Tatum and Al Horford who have both handled the ball with some success. 

  vs 
Al Horford  vs Giannis Antetokounmpo
"The Greek Freak" is a tough cover for anyone and Al Horford will get the job of trying to slow Antetokounmpo down.  Horford is a good defender and he will definitely have his hands full trying to slow Antetokounmpo down. He lit the Celtics up in the first 3 games for 37 points, 28 points, and 40 points.    Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.  He is shooting 53.5% from the field.   Hopefully Al is up to the task. 

Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Khris Middleton
Middleton is averaging 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.  Both players are good defenders and will look to make it difficult for the other to have a big game in this one.    This should be a good matchup to watch. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning.   The Celtics have been playing good defense this season, still at the top of the league with a 101.2 defensive rating.  The Bucks' defensive rating is 107.2, which is 19th.  The Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority, especially since they remain shorthanded. 

Move the Ball - The Celtics have shown some very good ball movement at times and at other times, the ball seems to stick and players try to do too much.  When the ball sticks, it rarely ends well.  When the Celtics move the ball and find the open man,  they are tough to beat.   They have been moving the ball very well in their 6 game win streak and they have to continue that in this game. 

Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball.  The Celtics struggled to rebound last season but have been rebounding much better this season.  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 are 10th in the league with 44.4 rebounds per game while the Bucks, in spite of having Antetounmpo attacking the glass, are last with just 39.5 rebounds per game.  If the Celtics continue to crash the glass as a team, they give themselves a much better chance to get a win. 

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.  They have been winning with effort and it will take a big effort to win in this one. 

X-Factors

Road Game - The Celtics are on the road and will need to block out the hostile crowd and focus on playing Celtic basketball.  The Celtics are a young team and typically, young players struggle on the road.  The Celtics' young players this season have shown maturity beyond their years and hopefully that continues as they hit the road for this game. 

Injuries
- The Celtics are still very short handed with 5 key players out and another questionable.  They are pretty much out of point guards and will once again have to find a way to get every player to come up big to make up for all the injuries.  They have somehow won 6 in a row while shorthanded but can they do it a 7th time with even more injuries? 

What's on The Line?
-  The Celtics are locked in to the 2nd spot and can't drop lower but they can move up to first with a win tonight and tomorrow night and a loss by the Raptors to the Cavs.  The Bucks are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the playoffs but they can move up out of 8th.  They have a lot on the line and will come into this game playing like it. 
« Last Edit: April 03, 2018, 03:57:36 PM by FLCeltsFan »

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2018, 11:24:11 PM »

Offline MattyIce

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lets gooooooooooooo! keep it going C's! revenge Monroe!

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2018, 11:24:21 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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FIRST!!!

UGH SO CLOSE. TP to @matteo and of course, FLCeltsFan for another great thread!  ;D
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2018, 11:25:19 PM »

Offline MattyIce

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FIRST!!!

UGH SO CLOSE. TP to @matteo and of course, FLCeltsFan for another great thread!  ;D

 ;)

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2018, 11:30:37 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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FIRST!!!

UGH SO CLOSE. TP to @matteo and of course, FLCeltsFan for another great thread!  ;D

 ;)

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2018, 11:30:39 PM »

Offline SparzWizard

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Potential Round 1 opponent.

Let's start getting used to winning in the Bradley Center now.


#JTJB (Just Trade Jaylen Brown)
#JFJM (Just Fire Joe Mazzulla)

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2018, 02:05:47 AM »

Offline trickybilly

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I am record saying that Jabari Parker is much much more dangerous than people realize.

I think we probably go down in this one.
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2018, 02:34:19 AM »

Offline SparzWizard

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I am record saying that Jabari Parker is much much more dangerous than people realize.

I think we probably go down in this one.

He looks inconsistent. 8 points against the Lakers the other night.


#JTJB (Just Trade Jaylen Brown)
#JFJM (Just Fire Joe Mazzulla)

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2018, 06:13:01 AM »

Offline playdream

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Semi will make Gianns see nightmares again

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2018, 06:56:22 AM »

Offline ChillyWilly

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Silly me thought game was yesterday so I got myself all hyped up only to turn on CSNNE to see not Celtics on TV  :(

Good news is Celtics on tonight Chilly! GO CELTICS!
ok fine

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2018, 07:13:10 AM »

Offline Surferdad

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7th man up.  I only counted one post each for SparzWizard, matteo and Phantom255x.

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2018, 07:47:05 AM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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TP to matteo and Phantom255x for being first to post in the game thread!! 


Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2018, 07:53:39 AM »

Offline PAOBoston

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Cs legit may not have a single healthy guard tonight. Rozier and Larkin are iffy to play.

Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2018, 08:13:17 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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Cs legit may not have a single healthy guard tonight. Rozier and Larkin are iffy to play.
More injuries? Ha,ha I say. This simply increases the odds of the Celtics winning the game.  ;D

Thanks to flc for the fabulous game thread and the suggestion at the top of the page to drink heavily. I appreciate both.

And once again......

Goooooooooooooooooooooooo Celtics!! (Which in French is geaux Celtics of course.  ;D )
I believe Gandhi is the only person who knew about real democracy — not democracy as the right to go and buy what you want, but democracy as the responsibility to be accountable to everyone around you. Democracy begins with freedom from hunger, freedom from unemployment, freedom from fear, and freedom from hatred.
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Re: Celtics (53-23) at Bucks (41-36) Game #77 4/3/18
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2018, 08:19:14 AM »

Offline Surferdad

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Cs legit may not have a single healthy guard tonight. Rozier and Larkin are iffy to play.
At least not a regular rotation guard.  Looks like Nader gets time.   >:(  Get ready for Kadeem Allen, Jabari Bird and Xavier Silas!