Celtics vs. Bucks, Round 2 Discussion
- Thread starter tims4wins
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A reminder that Boston’s 3 pt shooting was mediocre vs the Nets while BKN shot extremely well…and it didn’t matter.
Games 1-4,
BOS 3pt% vs BLN 3pt%
36.4% vs 45.8%
35.5% vs 47.6%
31.8% vs 41.4%
40.0% vs 37.1%
Not sure how MIL’s defense compares to BKN in 3pt% allowed, but I don’t think everything will be rising and falling on it.
Games 1-4,
BOS 3pt% vs BLN 3pt%
36.4% vs 45.8%
35.5% vs 47.6%
31.8% vs 41.4%
40.0% vs 37.1%
Not sure how MIL’s defense compares to BKN in 3pt% allowed, but I don’t think everything will be rising and falling on it.
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Well, the story of this game is simple: the Celtics embarrassed themselves, their fans, the organization, and all of the past Celtic champions. They were not ready for a tough game and played with no fight.
Payton Pritchard shot 2 of 8 from three in 11 minutes. That says a few different things. One, that he had a rough shooting day and missed some of shots he would normally hit. Two, the guys on the floor with him were content to let him bomb away. Three, their strategy for climbing back into this one was “hope”.
Adding injury to insult, Brown was grabbing at his hamstring, Marcus and Rob also got banged around in this one.
Objectively, the Bucks have to be considered the favorites at this point.
Just a dismal, dismal excuse for an effort from the Celtics. They shot 10 of 34 from 2 and one of the males was in garbage time.
Payton Pritchard shot 2 of 8 from three in 11 minutes. That says a few different things. One, that he had a rough shooting day and missed some of shots he would normally hit. Two, the guys on the floor with him were content to let him bomb away. Three, their strategy for climbing back into this one was “hope”.
Adding injury to insult, Brown was grabbing at his hamstring, Marcus and Rob also got banged around in this one.
Objectively, the Bucks have to be considered the favorites at this point.
Just a dismal, dismal excuse for an effort from the Celtics. They shot 10 of 34 from 2 and one of the males was in garbage time.
True statement: View: https://twitter.com/keithsmithnba/status/1520853398333145089?s=21&t=DCzSef5ZXN1FkLBE7NjxPw
Keith Smith: Ime Udoka: "I don't think we played with the best poise and composure."
Keith Smith: Ime Udoka: "I don't think we played with the best poise and composure."
Speaking only for myself, I am not embarrassed by the Celtics play.
Predictions aside, which are worth about as much as we pay for them, Milwaukee is a very good basketball team led by the one of the best players on the planet. They had a great gameplan and executed it to perfection. This happens in games and playoff series on the regular so its not new.
The Cs have to counter the Bucks interior D. Some of that is just making easy looks which they didn't do. However they need to change things up or they are going to be down bad real quick. Its doable even if some are already resigned to a series loss.
Predictions aside, which are worth about as much as we pay for them, Milwaukee is a very good basketball team led by the one of the best players on the planet. They had a great gameplan and executed it to perfection. This happens in games and playoff series on the regular so its not new.
The Cs have to counter the Bucks interior D. Some of that is just making easy looks which they didn't do. However they need to change things up or they are going to be down bad real quick. Its doable even if some are already resigned to a series loss.
The C’s allowed the Bucks to dictate the terms on which this game would be played (50 3PA). It’s not about home court advantage. Udoka is either going to convince this team to play its game, or it will be eliminated. It will not beat Milwaukee at Milwaukee’s game, even without Middleton.
The only highlight you need to see for this game. View: https://mobile.twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1520847394199404544?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Holy shit dude. They played terrible, but this is like the hottest hot take ever.
Looking at the shot chart, the Celtics were 0-4 on shots not in the paint or 3s (maybe some of those 3s are long 2s?).
Either way, I'm usually all for attacking the rim or shooting 3s. But if the other teams D is all about packing the paint and you can't make 3s.... an open pull up 16-18 footer (especially Tatum and Brown) is still a good shot.
Seems like we basically refuse to take that shot. It's better than getting swallowed at the rim by Lopez and Giannis.
Either way, I'm usually all for attacking the rim or shooting 3s. But if the other teams D is all about packing the paint and you can't make 3s.... an open pull up 16-18 footer (especially Tatum and Brown) is still a good shot.
Seems like we basically refuse to take that shot. It's better than getting swallowed at the rim by Lopez and Giannis.
You are turning yourself into the Dan Shaunessey of SoSH with these takes. They lost a playoff game to the defending champions becuase they couldn’t make a shot for 90% of the game. It’s not like they ran into fight the crowd.
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Cs were +18 for 3 and shot the ball better, they didn't lose because they shot a lot of 3s. In fact they probably should have shot more.
Welp, guess this is their only loss at home then!
gotta shoot better, let GA get his but close out the shooters.
They also turned the ball over 18 times (13 by Brown, Tatum, and Smart) and let the Bucks mandhandle them. This wasn't just not getting the shots to fall - it was settling for the shots Milwaukee wanted them to take.
The Bucks have a ginormous front line, which makes it easy for them to close off the paint. So you’re right, Tatum and Brown are going to have to start making mid range shots. This always profiled as the toughest series for Boston. I still think they’re going to win it, but they’re definitely going to have to adjust for the Bucks size.
If only they had known the Bucks were this tall ahead of time...
View: https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1520860771466551296?s=20&t=DswoVjrXZW61rqCC7icZaw
Keith Smith: Al Horford on the Bucks physicality: "Give them credit. They came out and set the tone. It was one of those games where the refs let us play, which was great. But we took a step back from the things they were doing. It had an impact on the game for sure."
View: https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1520861271234695175?s=20&t=DswoVjrXZW61rqCC7icZaw
Keith Smith: Al Horford" They played harder than us. They were better."
Paraphrase: "They played us tough and we folded."
Edit: Al is speaking very honestly and forthrightly about this game.
They played good defense and were never fully out of the game until the PP miss-parade midway through the 4th. They lost by 12 which is mostly representative of how it went.
Hardly a performance to declare that they have forgotten the face of their fathers or some such.
Hardly a performance to declare that they have forgotten the face of their fathers or some such.
I think they lack the mental and physical fortitude to compete!
But, really, Milwaukee is really good and has the best player in the NBA, it’s gonna be a long, tough series.
But, really, Milwaukee is really good and has the best player in the NBA, it’s gonna be a long, tough series.
I mean, if this was Game 3 at 1-1 or 2-0 I think the optics are different.
Now if the Bucks win Game 2, the odds simply start tilting against the C’s to win 4/5 games, but we ain’t there yet.
I know HRB has noted the impact that the 1pm start time can have on teams. Not using that as an excuse, but the Celtics beat the Bucks by 22 on their home court in Game 1 of the 2019 series in similar circumstances. Bucks came to play; Celtics had difficulty adjusting and got beat up in the process.
Game 2 becomes a must win affair for Boston. Adjustments will be made by both coaches and players, so I'm not ready to give up.
Game 2 becomes a must win affair for Boston. Adjustments will be made by both coaches and players, so I'm not ready to give up.
They were +18 for 3 because they took 16 more 3PA. The C’s are at best an average 3 point shooting team and are not going to win by taking more than 50 of them. Udoka needs to find a way to create better offense than the shots Milwaukee wants the C’s to take.
View: https://twitter.com/brohrbach/status/1520865777741668353?s=20&t=61kVSWOXbg32hAiB9ys7bQ
Brian Rohrbach: The Celtics did not make a two-point field goal against the Bucks’ defense in the final 19:25 of Game 1.
That's actually false. Tatum had a dunk at 2:44 and Fitts had one at 1:45 of the 4th. But from Smart's basket at 7:25 of the third until Tatum's dunk was a stretch of 17.5 minutes without a 2-point basket.
Brian Rohrbach: The Celtics did not make a two-point field goal against the Bucks’ defense in the final 19:25 of Game 1.
That's actually false. Tatum had a dunk at 2:44 and Fitts had one at 1:45 of the 4th. But from Smart's basket at 7:25 of the third until Tatum's dunk was a stretch of 17.5 minutes without a 2-point basket.
This will be the anti-2019 series. Celtics will shoot better, still keep.playing awesome.defense, and win in 5.
Your take was absolutely ridiculous. It’s one bad game.. the idea that the C’s embarrassed blah blah blah is so over the top it’s hard to take it seriously. It was a horrible game, they didn’t shoot well… all the ‘embarrassing’ talk is Felger/Shaugnessy nonsense.
Bucks held Chicago to 100 or less in four out of five games. Obviously that was a much diminished Bulls team, but I think we can expect these games to be bloodbaths.
I think the shot chart indicates there was some bad shooting luck and that the Bucks are a very good defensive team, especially around the rim. They've got tough guards and a ton of size. Still, Celtics have a quite a few guys, esp Jaylen and Horford, that are usually nails on mid-range shots. And you can see they made zero zip nada of them.
Celtics got sub 50% shooting from everyone but Rob (3 of 6) and Theis (1 of 1) and Fitts. Everyone else shot 33% or worse. They hit even a few of those mid-range shots and few more shots at the rim and they're right in it.
Gonna be a fun series.
I think the shot chart indicates there was some bad shooting luck and that the Bucks are a very good defensive team, especially around the rim. They've got tough guards and a ton of size. Still, Celtics have a quite a few guys, esp Jaylen and Horford, that are usually nails on mid-range shots. And you can see they made zero zip nada of them.
Celtics got sub 50% shooting from everyone but Rob (3 of 6) and Theis (1 of 1) and Fitts. Everyone else shot 33% or worse. They hit even a few of those mid-range shots and few more shots at the rim and they're right in it.
Gonna be a fun series.
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Look at Horford's post game comments - he was honest. The team was not mentally or physically prepared for this game and when Milwaukee pressured them they rolled over and quit.
Too many turnovers (18). Bucks put pressure on the ball from the jump full court and created a few TOs/fouls that way, never let the C's get into their offense. Boston needs to show ball pressure themselves. 36% from 3 isn't bad, they can live with that on volume. I'm fine with them spreading the floor. Play TL when Lopez sits. Also Smart can't leave Grayson Allen to help. They'll adjust
And I that's the overall % - I imagine teams that lose games 1 and 2 at home are even less likely to come back playing 3 of the final 5 games on the road.
happened 4 times last year though. I dunno about the home thing, I don't have time to look through them.
https://www.landofbasketball.com/statistics/playoff_series_2_0_recovered.htm
https://www.landofbasketball.com/statistics/playoff_series_2_0_recovered.htm
Yup. Our realistic expectations/hope has to now be 2-2 coming back to Boston for 2 of 3. Lose on Tuesday and you’re probably looking at a 3-1 deficit. Or worse. Today’s loss is like using up all of the schedule float in a construction project.
I don't think they can just "find a way" to get easy paint buckets against this Bucks team. They are designed to stop that. They have the best personnel in the league to defend the paint.
What they have been vulnerable to all year is allowing open three pointers. That is how you beat them.
Sometimes a team is going to take you out of what you do best. Championship teams can adjust and punish a team for overcommiting the way the Bucks are. They have to take and make open 3s. That is the path to victory in this series.
They shot a higher percentage while taking those 16 more 3s, every 3 they took was worth more than every 3 Milwaukee took, pretty sure that isn't what Milwaukee wants to happen. And yet they lost by double digits because they couldn't score at all inside.
This one didn't feel good early. Brown looks a bit out of sorts. The C's were missing shots at the free throw line. Smart was really banged around. TimeLord got kicked in the groin. PP was missing from 3 (at least some of those were good looks), but DW actually did reasonably well from 3. I'm not at all saying the Celtics weren't trying or they weren't ready - they certainly were trying. It just didn't seem like it was their game.
I don't recall many good looks at the rim that didn't go in, the Bucks size just made it tough. Even RW got stuffed at the rim. They did miss some mid range shots, particularly Brown, that often go down. Bottom line is that Milwaukee's defense made life miserable for them inside, and they didn't shoot well enough on the open 3 looks they got.
I don't know what the answer is to better looks inside, they've got to find a way to get Milwaukee more spread out. Watching Memphis/GS now, and it's amazing how much more space there is inside than either team saw in the previous game. Maybe drive, kick, drive again, kick again, get the bigs scrambling.
Just got home after watching the game after playing golf today. Read the game thread, and now this one, but here's my thoughts.
Jaylen was terrible. Yes. We all know that. But I truly, truly believe his fasting for the past 30 days has had a large effect on him. I think his "hamstring" issues are really cramping due to a lack of hydration, but they aren't going to say that. He was noticeably better throughout the Nets series in the 4th quarter of the night games, you know, after he was able to get a bite to eat and a drink at halftime or so. I do not expect to see this Jaylen again in this series, unless he's truly injured, which I don't think he is. He ain't jumping over Giannis and smashing a put back dunk if his hamstring is a problem.
Marcus was playing great, particularly defensively, until the shoulder injury, and then seemed to get a bit tentative, especially on offense, after that.
Tatum was almost as bad as Jaylen today, 6/18 isn't going to cut it.
Derrick White was terrible in the 1st half, played better in the 2nd half, but then PP started missing his shots.
The C's defense as a whole, particularly Al and TL, was fantastic. If they defend like that every game, and start making some shots, they will beat this team.
Speaking of shooting, this was the Celtics 87th game of the year. They shot 33.3% from the field. That was their worst shooting percentage from the field in all of their 87 games this year. I can't imagine what the odds are that they do that again.
Sucks to lose this, the refs were atrocious, but everyone that saw Foster and Malloy get assigned the game had to know that was coming, and doubly so when they are playing against a guy in Giannis that literally is officiated differently than anyone else in the league, and different than what the rule book says.
We got this.
Jaylen was terrible. Yes. We all know that. But I truly, truly believe his fasting for the past 30 days has had a large effect on him. I think his "hamstring" issues are really cramping due to a lack of hydration, but they aren't going to say that. He was noticeably better throughout the Nets series in the 4th quarter of the night games, you know, after he was able to get a bite to eat and a drink at halftime or so. I do not expect to see this Jaylen again in this series, unless he's truly injured, which I don't think he is. He ain't jumping over Giannis and smashing a put back dunk if his hamstring is a problem.
Marcus was playing great, particularly defensively, until the shoulder injury, and then seemed to get a bit tentative, especially on offense, after that.
Tatum was almost as bad as Jaylen today, 6/18 isn't going to cut it.
Derrick White was terrible in the 1st half, played better in the 2nd half, but then PP started missing his shots.
The C's defense as a whole, particularly Al and TL, was fantastic. If they defend like that every game, and start making some shots, they will beat this team.
Speaking of shooting, this was the Celtics 87th game of the year. They shot 33.3% from the field. That was their worst shooting percentage from the field in all of their 87 games this year. I can't imagine what the odds are that they do that again.
Sucks to lose this, the refs were atrocious, but everyone that saw Foster and Malloy get assigned the game had to know that was coming, and doubly so when they are playing against a guy in Giannis that literally is officiated differently than anyone else in the league, and different than what the rule book says.
We got this.
One thing is Tatum and Brown (and others like Horford and Theis if he plays) can look for some midrange shots.
He was Mr 4th quarter in Brooklyn series game 1, a day game, though.