ROUND #2 PLAYOFF > POST GAME #5 Mil Bucks - Away- Boston - 91 - Mil Bucks - Home - Mil - 116 Final

Celtics Wrap: Boston’s Season Ends In Ugly Game 5 Loss Vs. Bucks

NESN by Chris Grenham on Wed, May 8, 2019 at 10:26PM

Bad shooting nights are inevitable in the game of basketball, but Wednesday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was not ideal timing for one.

That’s exactly what the Boston Celtics got, alongside a lack of effort and urgency (amongst a host of other things), as the Milwaukee Bucks closed out the series at Fiserv Forum with a 116-91 win.

The Celtics shot 31.5 percent from the floor. No matter who you’re playing, that isn’t going to get you a win. Kyrie Irving had a rough showing in the loss, but still led Boston with 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting.

Jayson Tatum (14 points), Marcus Morris (14) and Jaylen Brown (12) all finished in double figures.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 20 points on the night.

The Bucks advance to the Eastern Conference finals and will await the winner of the Toronto Raptors – Philadelphia 76ers matchup.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG:  Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

TOUGH START, BETTER FINISH
The Celtics didn’t show a ton of urgency out of the gate, allowing Milwaukee to jump out to a quick 8-0 lead. This, combined with Boston opening 1-for-6 from the floor sparked the Fiserv Forum crowd.

Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris came off the bench and immediately provided a much needed spark of energy, especially on the defensive end. That defense turned to points, creating a 12-0 Celtics run over 4-plus minutes, but the Bucks would ultimately lead 22-19 after one.

Irving led all scorers with six first-quarter points, but was just 2-for-9 from the field.

TRYING TO HANG ON
Milwaukee used an 7-0 run to extend their lead to 10 early in the second frame. 14 minutes into this one, the Celtics were down to 19.4 percent shooting.

Irving’s ugly shooting night continued, with his shot selection slowly falling to an ugly place. Brad Stevens made the wise decision to move him to the bench, electing to go with a lineup that included Smart, Morris and Gordon Hayward.

The Celtics did manage to hang around, but back-to-back Milwaukee threes helped the Bucks head into halftime with a 13-point lead. Boston shot 13-for-51 in the first half.

Irving had a game-high 13 first-half points. He was 5-of-16 from the floor.

NOW OR NEVER
The Celtics entered the second-half fighting for their playoff lives, and managed to stay within striking distance thanks to a cold start to the third quarter from the Bucks. Unfortunately, they still struggled to get over the hump.

Every time the Celtics would cut the deficit to nine or 10, the Bucks would answer with a run of their own. They were simply too much on both sides of the ball.

Khris Middleton had a game-high 17 points after three quarters.

ELIMINATION
The fourth quarter began just like this game started — with no life, no energy and poor shooting.

The Celtics ended their rollercoaster season without a fight. All season long we tried to identify this team. They ultimately ended up as a team with no identity, which became their downfall.

PLAY OF THE GAME
There wasn’t many, but this was a nice take.

UP NEXT
The NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday, May 14. After that, the real fun of the offseason begins.

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Celtics season ends with a thud thanks to Game 5 rout

WEEI Nick Friar

May 08, 2019 - 10:38 pm

Looks like that switch the Celtics flipped when the playoffs started was a little faulty.

With the exception of Marcus Morris (14 points and 11 rebounds) and a few hustle plays from the laboring Marcus Smart, this team may have had its worst showing in all of 2018-19 against the Bucks in the 116-91 Game 5 loss. The Celtics had themselves another miserable shooting night, especially from three. But Boston continued to jack up the long ball, even after going 4-for-23 in the first half, finishing 7-for-39 from three.

Worst of all was Kyrie Irving, who’s next movie role may be as a member of the First Order in Star Wars: The Last Skywalker. He went 6-for-21 from the floor and 1-for-7 from deep.

As much as it’s easy to claim the Celtics gave up in this one, both the eye test and the numbers show that was the case. There was little to no discipline on the offensive end. They still couldn’t take advantage of the Bucks’ so-so shooting early in the game. Not that Milwaukee’s poor shooting was a result of tough defense from the Celtics. The Bucks still shot 40.9 percent from the floor at the half and finished with 42.9 field goal percentage on the night. Not to mention the possession in the closing two minutes of the third quarter where the Celtics let up four offensive rebounds, followed by a loose ball foul from Al Horford.

All around, the loss felt similar to those where the Celtics drama was at its height this season — though this one was over at tipoff.

The Bucks, on the other hand, were exactly what everyone thought the Boston Celtics would be to start the year. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 20 points, while six of his teammates finished in double figures, as well.

Up next for the Celtics: possibly the messiest free agent season the franchise has been a part of.
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RECAP: Kyrie No-Shows AGAIN, Celtics Season Ends in Ugliest Way Possible

REDS ARMY By: KJ Kourafas | May 8, 2019

Well, that sucked. This whole season has, really, but tonight in particular they looked like a team that was just assembled in the parking lot outside and decided “well, shit, we don’t have a chance so let’s just throw up a million 3’s”. It didn’t go well. They ended 7/39 from deep (17.9%) and shot just over 30% from the field the entire night.

Really, all of this was just the byproduct of a regular season that never saw the Celtics fully mesh for whatever reason, and tonight their flagrant lack of team-chemistry was on full display. But we’re not here for a post-mortem on the season- there’ll be plenty of those to come- we’re here to recap the ugliest Celtics game of the season.

Irving looked despondent and finished with the worst +/- (-25) and FG% (28.6) on the team. Hayward was once again doing his best impression of the Invisible Man (7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists in over 20 minutes). The Marcus’ (and maybe Al?) were the only players that brought their A game on both ends of the court from start to finish (more on that in the WHAT WENT RIGHT). It got so bad that the Bucks once grabbed FIVE (5!) offensive rebounds on one possession. This game was legitimately hard to watch for any Celtics fan as the Bucks straight up embarrassed them from tip to buzzer and managed to end this second round series in just 5 games. Final Score: 116-91.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

I’m tempted to list nothing in this area, and LordSmarf knows they’d deserve it, but I know a lot of us are grasping for something positive at the moment, so I did my best to pick out some good stuff:

After the Bucks went on their first quarter run, the Marcus’ came in and completely changed the complexion for the Celtics. Both were hustling on the defensive end, on the boards, and making plays on offense. Marcus Morris in particular left an indelible mark, and they both were catalysts in a 12-0 run put together by the Celtics, which got them back into the game before the end of Q1. (We should probably mention that Giannis was on the bench for all but 3 points of this comeback – and the Bucks ended up going into the 2nd quarter with the lead, 22-19)
During this run, the Celtics forced the Bucks to go without a point on 11 straight possessions at the end of Q1 (this during the 12-0 run, of course). Marcus, Marcus, Gordon, Al, and Kyrie were going to WORK

Did that feel good, reading that? I hope so. Cuz it’s about to get ugly…

WHAT WENT WRONG

I’ll try to narrow it down to a few key runs in the game.


The Celtics desperately needed to get off to a good start in this game, so naturally they started 1/7 from the field. This was just the beginning of a lonnnnng first half and an even worse game.

The Bucks began the game on an 8-0 run during this ugly offensive start for the Cs. Milwaukees’ hot start was thanks to a couple of 3’s from Mirotic and Bledsoe – They’re going to shoot either way, but these are two people you REALLY don’t want to give confidence. Looking back, we should have known then…

I tell you that the Celtics are shooting 24% from the field and you’d probably react – “gross. What a bad start to the game, huh? How much time is left in the first?” – but nah. The Celtics were still shooting 24% from the field AT THE HALF. As I stated above, things didn’t get much better as they only managed to knock down just over 30% from the field for the entire game.

I could go on, but we could be here all night. The point is the Celtics shot AWFUL. Sure, they were facing the #1 ranked defense in the NBA (not to mention the overall #1 seed), but that doesn’t excuse the countless open 3’s or gimme layups they continued to miss tonight DESPITE THE REPEATED NEED TO FOCUS HERE FOLLOWING A PISS-POOR PERFORMANCE IN THESE AREAS IN THE 3 GAMES PRIOR.

One last tidbit, since this encapsulates the end of this Celtics season well:
Kyrie Games 2-4: 4/20 from deep, 31% from the field, 20.3 points
Kyrie Tonight: 1/7 from deep, 28.6% from the field, just 15 points

WHAT THE HELL

This game had a million of ’em, so I figured I had a duty of sharing at LEAST two “WHAT THE HELL” moments.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

2. Also, lol.

112288

MERCIFULLY THE SEASON IS OVER!

DANNY PROBABLY WILL NOT FIRE THE COACH..............BUT MANY PLAYERS WILL BE MOVING ON DOWN THE ROAD..............................

It was a pleasure posting the majority of "POST GAME" wrap ups for the FORUM so as to set the table for debates, arguments and some good laughs along the way.

I hope each and every member has a wonder SUMMER OF 2019, may you have a safe and health one.............and don't forget the sun tan lotion!

Next up is The NBA Draft Lottery that will take place on Tuesday, May 14. After that, the real fun of the off season begins!

See everyone in the up coming debates about a championship season that was not.

112288

Outstanding effort by our own 82-game journalist crew.

dboss; pre-game
gyso; Game On!
112288; post game.

Throw in a healthy dose of Comments from the Other Side and various in-game and post game stats and commentary from BobHeckler.

TNT has nothing on these guys.

16 for 80 on threes the last two games. A nice tidy 20%.

Of the many story lines to play out following this game and heading into the off-season, one of the most interesting may involve Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris. Tonight, just as when they were inserted into the starting lineup earlier in the season, they took the Celtics to their most competitive level. Smart and Morris; best of '18 -'19? Sign Morris and bring 'em both back? As starters? It could end up a worthwhile debate. They were arguably the brightest spot of the season.

I went to a funeral today, and not just the Celtics game. A close friend's 26 year old daughter had been in a near fatal motorcycle accident three years ago and barely survived after many operations that left her with multiple metal parts inside. She struggled with much physical pain afterwards and that only exacerbated the opioid dependency she had even before the accident. In the end she was just suffering too much emotional and physical pain and ended her own life. The rabbi read the 23rd Psalm, The Lord is My Shepherd, to close out the service, and that put things in a brighter light, but still it was a very sad day, and I feel quite sorry for my friend, his family, and his daughter's departed soul. May she rest in peace.

Then I watched the Celtics end their season. Sad, but not that sad. In perspective, basketball is just a game. Some of our guys - MM and MS especially - really put their hearts into it tonight, and I still absolutely love this team and the whole organization. I also very much love all you folk on this website who make part of my every day a joy when I read your missives. Thank you for all the effort and thought you put into it. We'll have a lot of fun May 14th, July 1st, and thru the summer managing the team amongst ourselves.

Peace.

Well I probably will upset some people with this post, but I don't feel like putting a gloss on this season or putting it in perspective with life's challenges. I'm just too PO'd with what I have just seen.
So here goes:

Just get rid of KI, I don't care how.

The man doesn't know what Celtics pride means, what team ball means, it is always me, me, me.

And then when it counts, he doesn't show up.
I have felt all year that Kyrie was the main problem when it came down to team chemistry and his occasionally brilliant games haven't made up for it.

There are of course other problems as well with this team, but the main problem is Kyrie Irving.

I am 79 years old and have been a Celtics fan since the late 1950's, but I don't know if I can stand another season with KI on this team. He is not a Celtic, he is a selfish, egomaniacal prima donna and I am totally sick  of him.

Berlin-T

If Danny signs Kyrie for five more years I doubt very much I will watch a Celtics game for the entire five years.

The dude has to go.

I think Kyrie has been exposed lacking a lot of qualities that you look for in tight playoff basketball he just can’t do, he so can’t carry a team, he stunk up the joint worse than some of Antoine Walker’s worst playoff games. I can’t believe how fast the worm turned in his game as his decision making was worse than his play if that’s possible, he couldn’t figure out how the hell to not to get trapped and so many bad putrid plays over and over. Everybody they put on him shut him down, he got shutdown at all 3 levels. He’s gonna be like Deron Williams once he went downhill, his game turned to junk, all his moves just didn’t work against these guys....

I hope we'll all stay Celtic fans no matter who wears the Uniform year to year.

we are all disappointed, probably due to the expectations everyone had about this years team.

maybe we should just be glad this team is now done and we can hope, hype and dream about our ideas of an improved product for next season

The post season has begun for the Celtics and their fans.  

Even in the best of times, we always expected changes. Danny will be getting down to business but know this, there will be pros and cons throughout.

Players will get their final report card and a list of things to improve on.  Coach Stevens will immerse himself into countless film watching sessions as he tries to wrap his head around a body of work that was not presentable and can easy be challenged on so many levels.  I have every confidence that him and his team will continue to grow and represent a legacy that each of us cherish.

But now is a great time to enjoy being with your family and friends, get to the beach, have some fried claims, and check out a few concerts.  I will be making my annual pilgrimage up to Boston in July.  I have truly enjoyed the amazing experience of being part of this forum.  I care about each and everyone of you.

Trading our young stars so AD on a one year rental can join KI will really take the heart out of Celtic nation. I hope it doesn't happen.

These playoffs and this last game summed up our season. 5 game wins followed by 4 games lost. It was apropos with this last game that MIL kindly served up our asses on a platter with a thorough beat down. Nothing will leave a better (or worse) taste in Celtic mouths all around than what unfolded last night and the previous 3 games.

I think it has all been said and now all eyes turn to Danny. Time to punch the clock and go to work. I can't seem to figure out if he has dug himself a hole he can't get out of but we will see. He gets paid, we get to analyze via the armchair. Thank you all for a great season of posting. It has been a complete joy to hang with some of the greatest basketball minds I have ever had the pleasure of being associated with. 5 days to the next hurdle!

db

Well, that was a disappointing end to the season.  Of course, being Celtic fans, any season that doesn't end with another banner being hung from the rafters is a bit disappointing.  We set our expectations high for good reasons, and you can see those reasons every time you go to the Gahden and look up.

We shot 31.2%.  Our all-time worst playoff fg% was 29%.  Thank God for a final flurry.

There was only one Celtic who shot 50% and that's Marcus Morris.  He was 4-8, 2-4 from 3 (so he even shot 50% from 3) for 14 points, 11 rebounds and played hard all game.  In a game where we only had a paltry 19 assists he had 3.  This season he has only averaged 1.5/game, so he even elevated this aspect of his game.

Our starting 5 were 16-53, 30%.  We know about Kyrie with his Ko-MEesque 6-21 but how about Tatum's 3-10, Horford's 4-13 and Brown's 3-9?  And, off the bench, how about Hayward's 3-9, Rozier's 3-9 and Smart's 0-4?  I don't know what year that all-time horrible fg% game was but I don't remember it.  I'll remember this one for a long, long time.

19 assists might be close to a season low for this team.  The chemistry is palpably poor.  Nobody thinks they're going to get the ball back if they pass it.  They are obviously not enjoying playing together. There is no joy.

I hope Danny's family took him out for a nice dinner where there was no TV, or a walk to get a couple of hours of fresh air and a little exercise because if he watched this game he's a goner.  He took a chance and stood pat at the trade deadline with this team and they let him down.  Expect Trader Danny to show up with a vengeance.  


bob


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WHAT MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND................................... WHEN ALL THINGS SAID ...............................KYRIE IRVING WAS FOR KYRIE IRVING AND NO ONE ELSE.

HE IS A GIFTED SHOOTER AND SCORER............A LEADER OF MEN ON AN NBA TEAM..........FAR FROM IT

I THINK THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO IMPEDE HIS GROWTH AS A PERSON AND TEAM LEADER WAS HIS HITTING THAT SHOT AND WINNING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP.

WHAT HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND IS THAT ALL GIFTED PLAYERS PULL A RABBIT OUT OF THEIR ASS AND ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE, BUT MOST, NOT ALL KNOW IT AND DO NOT CARRY IT FORWARD AND BELIEVE AND LIVE IT THAT THEY ARE GOD'S GIFT TO THE NBA.

THINK ABOUT HONDO WHEN HE STOLE THE BALL IN 1965 PLAYOFF GAME.........HE SHRUGGED IT OFF AND JUST ACTED LIKE WE ALL CAME TO KNOW HIM AS ......... A QUIET LEADER!

112288

112288 wrote:WHAT MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND................................... WHEN ALL THINGS SAID ...............................KYRIE IRVING WAS FOR KYRIE IRVING AND NO ONE ELSE.

HE IS A GIFTED SHOOTER AND SCORER............A LEADER OF MEN ON AN NBA TEAM..........FAR FROM IT

I THINK THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO IMPEDE HIS GROWTH AS A PERSON AND TEAM LEADER WAS HIS HITTING THAT SHOT AND WINNING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP.

WHAT HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND IS THAT ALL GIFTED PLAYERS PULL A RABBIT OUT OF THEIR ASS AND ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE, BUT MOST, NOT ALL KNOW IT AND DO NOT CARRY IT FORWARD AND BELIEVE AND LIVE IT THAT THEY ARE GOD'S GIFT TO THE NBA.

THINK ABOUT HONDO WHEN HE STOLE THE BALL IN 1965 PLAYOFF GAME.........HE SHRUGGED IT OFF AND JUST ACTED LIKE WE ALL CAME TO KNOW HIM AS ......... A QUIET LEADER!

112288

100% agree with all of that. He has to go. sadly, it may be that this season and Kyrie has so damaged Rozier that he needs to rebuild his career elsewhere as well.

Kyrie obviously blew off any game plan Brad may have had, his strategy was I shoot and do whatever I want....cause it’s my team. If he was playing the right way and missing shots, that’s one thing, he was dribbling into triple coverage, posting on 7 footers, he just sucked the life out of the team, always giving up ball leaving players in the worst positions, what a clown, what a pathetic display of me ball, he wasn’t playing basketball....

cowens/oldschool wrote:Kyrie obviously blew off any game plan Brad may have had, his strategy was I shoot and do whatever I want....cause it’s my team. If he was playing the right way and missing shots, that’s one thing, he was dribbling into triple coverage, posting on 7 footers, he just sucked the life out of the team, always giving up ball leaving players in the worst positions, what a clown, what a pathetic display of me ball, he wasn’t playing basketball....

Then he didn’t play D on the other end of the court.

Only by the unreasonably high bar set by pundits could anyone consider this Celtics season a failure. They have an incredible talented young core, a great coach and unlimited room for growth

They finished as one of the 8 best teams in the nba and unlike many other teams that also won’t win the title, did it while retaining all their assets and rising stars.

The future is bright and no loss to a really good Milwaukee team can undo that. Onwards and upwards. Go Sox

KyleCleric wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:Kyrie obviously blew off any game plan Brad may have had, his strategy was I shoot and do whatever I want....cause it’s my team. If he was playing the right way and missing shots, that’s one thing, he was dribbling into triple coverage, posting on 7 footers, he just sucked the life out of the team, always giving up ball leaving players in the worst positions, what a clown, what a pathetic display of me ball, he wasn’t playing basketball....

Then he didn’t play D on the other end of the court.

Good point, he was our worst defensive match up, whoever he ended up on was just taking it to him repeatedly over and over, what a defensive liability....they attacked him, it’s a copycat league, wherever he goes, they will attack him, move him off the ball, that guy/match up will take him even easier. We couldn’t hide him on defense, good coaching strategy by Bucks....

Kleen do you want Kyrie wearing Celtic green moving forward or not?

cowens/oldschool wrote:Kleen do you want Kyrie wearing Celtic green moving forward or not?

I was on the fence earlier in the season, but over time I see he is toxic and am frankly over it Cow. Too much hero ball, too much drama. Not worth a max deal.

mrkleen09 wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:Kleen do you want Kyrie wearing Celtic green moving forward or not?

I was on the fence earlier in the season, but over time I see he is toxic and am frankly over it Cow.  Too much hero ball, too much drama.  Not worth a max deal.

+1 we are in agreement, I’m happy with Smart starting next year and bringing in a vet or drafting a younger point and developing him....

When his hero iso ball doesn’t work, he has no counters, at least I didn’t see any in last 4 games where he just did what he wanted with the ball on a whim, driving into triple coverage, throw the ball away, how many times did he get his shot blocked with a few defenders on him....???? Basketball 101, if your double or triple covered someone else is open you dumb arrogant flip!!!!!

Fock