POST GAME MIL BUCKS AWAY - PART 2

Celtics Wrap: Boston Snaps Bucks’ Win Streak With 122-114 Victory
A much-needed win for the Boston


NESN by Lauren Campbell

The Milwaukee Bucks were bound to lose again at some point, and the Boston Celtics were the ones to snap their eight-game win streak.

The Celtics handed the Bucks a 122-114 loss on Friday night at Fiserv Forum behind a full-team effort and a strong showing from the starting five.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 34 points and shot 72.2% (!) from the field, while Marcus Smart (23), Kemba Walker (21) and Jaylen Brown (18) all reached double-figures.

Robert Williams probably had his best game for the C’s with six assists, nine rebounds, five blocks and two steals.

With the win, the Celtics moved to 22-23, while the Bucks fell to 29-15.


Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Robert Williams


GOOD START AGAINST A GOOD TEAM
Walker made all three of his free throws to open the game before he laid it in off a nice pass from Williams. Tatum buried a jumper before a 3-pointer from Walker gave him eight points in under three minutes and a 12-6 Celtics lead.


It was the Walker show as he put Boston up 20-13 with his 10th point of the quarter, but Milwaukee made it a two-point game with three minutes left in the first.

A nice block from Williams kept it a six-point game, and the Celtics had a 32-26 lead after 12 minutes.

Walker led all shooters with 10 points, while Tatum was just behind him with eight.

TATUM STAYS HOT
Tatum continued his strong half with his 12th point on 5-of-7 shooting to help keep the Celtics in the lead to begin the second.


Tatum hanging out around (and on) the rim a lot tonight

Milwaukee would come to close to either tying the game or taking the lead, but every time it did, Boston found a way to extend its lead.

A Tatum triple made it a 41-33 game and forced the Bucks to call a timeout to regroup.

Milwaukee brought it within three, but Walker stayed hot to extend the Celtics’ lead back to six with his second 3-point shot of the night for the 44-38 lead.

Tacko Fall finished a pick-and-roll with a dunk, but was dunked on by Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Bucks’ next possession.


Boston held onto its slim lead, but the Bucks remained in striking distance by keeping it a one-possession game in the final five minutes of the half, and tied it up at 55-55 in the final two minutes.

A Smart triple gave the C’s back their lead back before Tatum and Brown connected for the 60-55 edge — a lead they’d take into halftime.

Time Lord said nope. Then the Jays said yep. #Celtics Rewind presented by @tmobile pic.twitter.com/l74z4ATHqp

Walker and Tatum paced all shooters with 15 points, while Williams was crucial with with five assists, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals in the first half.

NOTHIN’ BUT C’S
Milwaukee, as it had done most of night, made it a one-possession game with the first shot of the third quarter, but Tatum continued his strong game. Couple that with Walker and Brown hitting everything in sight and Boston found itself up 16 just four minutes later.

Williams also decided to get in on the offensive fun:

Rob doing a little bit of everything tonight pic.twitter.com/L5WPNXpPBb

Brown’s pull-up 3 in transition made the Bucks call a timeout.


"They are at the circus right now!"#Celtics Rewind presented by @tmobile pic.twitter.com/TYyqlQQOPV

There was no third-quarter meltdown this time around for the C’s, as they kept their momentum high all night with 3’s from Smart, Walker and, of course, Tatum to open up the game 96-79.

Boston really ran away with the quarter and had a 103-89 lead after three. Tatum led the way with 30 points, while Walker racked up 21 and Smart with 20.

C’S SEAL IT
Moe Wagner, playing in his first game after being traded to the Celtics, hit a corner 3 to help extend the Celtics’ lead in the fourth.

It was more of the same with Boston hitting shots from deep left and right, never letting the Bucks take the lead.

The Bucks did come within nine in the final two minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Celtics put them away.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Time Lord always provides the highlight-reel plays.


Starter Time Lord is showing off tonight.#Celtics Rewind presented by @tmobile pic.twitter.com/8tGVvWeifN

UP NEXT
Boston is right back in action Saturday night when it takes on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip-off from Chesapeake Energy Arena is set for 9 p.m. ET.

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ALL I CAN SAY IS DANNY SHOULD DO A TRADE - A -WEEK!

There was some promising ball movement which was encouraging and the Celtics 3 point shot feel tonight which usually = a win.

This kid Wagner is tough and does not back down and it appears that he likes to be physical. Could be a player we have been looking for who can come off the bench to give you some rim protection, rebounding and offense both from the outside and within the paint.

3 teams lining up for Drummond are Knicks, Celtics and LAL. We shall see.

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It’s all about Kemba.

I believe he’s the driver here. He’s hot, team’s hot.

I’ll be interested to see how things look with him off tomorrow night.

Rob Williams reminds me a bit of Bill Russell. Before you all jump down my throat, I'm not claiming that he is as good as Russell (who averaged 22.5 rebounds/game).

But Williams game against the Bucks last night was Russellesque. Russell dominated the game defensively, he really didn't score that much. Because of his presence his teams dominated the league for years.

Williams last night didn't score that much, but his presence dominated the game in a similar way as Russell did. If he can play like that consistently, I don't care if he ever scores again, because we could be on the way to a new Celtics dynasty.

Berlin-T

I agree Berlin-T. RWill made a huge difference against the Bucks.

We are 2 games out of 4th place. Let's go Celts. 27 games left. Win at least 18 of them and I will be very happy.

Our current record stands at 22-23. 45 games played.
That leaves 27 games left to get to 72.

Our home record stands at 13-7. 20 home games played.
That leaves 16 home games left to get to 36.

Our away record stands at 9-16. 25 away games played.
That leaves 11 home games left to get to 36.

Last night, they said we had the biggest disparity in the league between home and away records.

Most of our remaining games are at home, so our future is bright.

Great game obviously, the whole team played as a team, making the extra pass, we were hot from 3, but they were uncontested ones because everyone was moving the ball for the right look. RWill played great impactful defense, besides all the great blocks, he got his hands on a few key steals and good board work. Marcus Smart with his best game of the year, also had some typical Smart defensive plays, always in the middle of the action defensively.

Jaylen and Kemba played really well, not forcing anything and letting game come to them. The real offensive star of the game was Jayson Tatum, deadly efficient, scoring in so many variety of ways and a few great shots right in Giannis’s face. Can’t wait to see Frenchy give us even more ball movement and another 3 point shooter. That’s 2 games in a row we played with the best and hottest team in the East and we were right there, almost won in the previous one. We match up well with this team, they don’t scare me, hope we can play them in playoffs.

Sometimes it is hard to listen to the ESPN feed.

Last night, there was a 50-50 ball on the floor.  The Freaks' brother and Nesmith went to the floor to get it.  It got tapped to another Celtic player, so you would think they would be talking about our guy, right?

No, they (Doris?) went on and on about the other guy, how he's so scrappy and does the dirty work, on and on.  It's almost like she had a pre-written script in front of her with those comments written down for her and used that bit at the first opportunity.  She isn't quick enough to actually just swap out the name and use the name of the guy who actually won that round.  

Nesmith is our scrappy guy, he does the dirty work.  His shot will come along with time, but he already has the Celtic DNA.

Sometimes it is hard to listen to the ESPN feed.

Berlin +2

When he was drafted I said he would be the most athletic and defensive minded center since Bill Russell.

I guess drafting centers born in Louisiana is a good thing (Russell, Parrish Williams)

When I looked at the schedule, I hoped for at least a split.  The Bucks have been a well oiled machine.

Last night was a pilot for a new series with RW in at starting center.  I think this new series will do quite well.

Collectively, the Celtics shot the lights out.

When this team plays hard no one can or should complain about the outcome,  The challenge is to come around this last stretch and put it on High.

Play of the game.  There were several but the save out of bounds by RW was more than worthy of a Tommy point.  Gee he can really move.  All I was thinking is "please don't snap something"

The team just looked more settled spiritually.

Marcus Smart needs to shoot more 3 pointer:  

gyso

Nesmith, Grant and PP are 3 young guys that bring intensity everytime they hit the court. Now if we can find Romeo we could roll out our all intensity squad. Wagner is pretty intense too.

Sounds like Brad finally read all our posts about starting RWIII!! It's really amazing what we know here!!

RWIII was close to a poor man's 3D. Nice work. It's a bit of a different dance starting against GA than coming off the bench! Good steady work, though. Bench was still a little light. But starters came alive for sure.

My only bad flashback was Mo Wagner taking that pick or whatever truck it was he ran into/whoever ran into him and crumpling to the floor. Was I the only one that thought of Gordon Hayward?!! Maybe that's a good sign in that the injury curse is over!!

db

P.S. Do we get to see Evan Fournier tonight?!!

dboss wrote:Berlin +2

When he was drafted I said he would be the most athletic and defensive minded center since Bill Russell.

I guess drafting centers born in Louisiana is a good thing (Russell, Parrish Williams)

When I looked at the schedule, I hopped for at least a split.  The Bucks have been a well oiled machine.

Last night was a pilot for a new series with RW in at starting center.  I think this new series will do quite well.

Collectively, the Celtics shot the lights out.

When this team plays hard no one can or should complain about the outcome,  The challenge is to come around this last stretch and put it on High.

Play of the game.  There were several but the save out of bounds by RW was more than worthy of a Tommy point.  Gee he can really move.  All I was thinking is "please don't snap something"

The team just looked more settled spiritually.

Marcus Smart needs to shoot more 3 pointer:  

Butt not when his shot is off....

Last night showed our 23 point comeback (from a 25 point deficit) wasn't a fluke or even an implosion by them.  We really can do it.  We really do have the talent to compete.  What we don't have is the luxury of having an off night because we don't have Gordon's firepower available to fill the hole created by an underperformance by either J and/or Kemba.  We need all 3 of them to deliver now but, when they do, we get results like this.

Our ball movement is just SO much better now.  I'd like to say it's the return of Smart but our passing still sucked after he came back.  I don't what it is, I don't know why it is but I can see it.  The ball isn't sticking in any player's hands for long and we are very tough to stop when we play like that.  27 assists on 43fgm is 62.7%.  Sam would be very happy with that stat, and so am I.

Our bigs were down to RWill, Tacko and two newbies that just showed up with the last drop of rain.  Tremendous pressure on The Time Lord to prove he was worthy, not only as a bigger contributor but also to be the starter even after Tristan comes back.  Done and done.  A phenomenal game by RWill.  He only scored 7 points but he had 9 rebounds, 3 offensive, 2 steals and 5 blocks in 27 minutes.  But the stats I love the most are his 6 assists and zero turnovers.  I've been spouting off about how underrated his passing game is, so here is where I take a little victory lap (or maybe do an Irish jig?  I'm a little too old to try Michael Flatley Riverdance moves).  Only Tatum, with 7 assists, had more.  



Tacko got early minutes and showed he is still not an NBA player.  He appeared lost out there.  He really doesn't know how to use his height to his advantage.

Danny got us Mo' for our money!  Wagner got 10 minutes in the late game.  He was only 1-4, a corner 3, but he had some very nice moves down low that just didn't drop for him.  His handle is better than RWill's, better than Thompson's.  He had 5 rebounds in those 10 minutes, and what's not to like about that?  He also had 3 turnovers but that has to be expected from a player who literally just showed up and probably hasn't even read the playbook yet.

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
yesterday
Moe Wagner says he's been trying to copy the Daniel Theis - Marcin Gortat seal for a while now, so it sounds like we'll be seeing more of that.

Grant has had a couple of good games.  I know I'm one of the relatively few supporters of his on this board but he played well last night.  With Semi out with his left hip contusion it feel to Grant to be our designated "Giannis Killer".  What that means is staying in front of Giannis and forcing him to take jump shots from outside the paint.  You have to give up something to him, give up a jump shot because if he gets the ball going north-south, especially with any head of steam, and your goose is cooked.  Grant did that, he moved his feet like Semi does and stayed in front of one of the most dangerous players in the NBA.  He was also 3-3 for 7 points and had 4 rebounds, 3 of them of my beloved offensive rebounds.  He is now shooting 42.7% from 3 on the season and 47.4% in the last 10 games.

Nesmith was 0-5, but got at least one Tommy Point and some wood burns.  I'm still not worried about his shot, it's his calling card, but I'm liking his effort.  He always plays hard and is not afraid to stick his nose in there and compete for rebounds.  Despite his shooting woes he's still shooting 34.5% from 3 on the season.  Consider that.  He's shooting is way off and he's still shooting just under the league average.  He's only going to get better as he settles down and the game slows down for him.  The weakest part of his game, right now, is the strongest part of his game in general and the cream, and all those thousands of hours of practice, will always eventually rise to the top.  He's going to score a ton, maybe not this year but next and the year after next.

Pritchard with some very tough defense.  Both of our young'uns are scrappy lil' mofos.

Smart went nuts.  He was 7-10 from 3 and, effectively broke their backs.  Imagine Coach Bud's dilemma when he had to worry about Tatum, Brown and Kemba to begin with and now he can't even fall off of Smart.  If only he was more consistent.

Tatum with one of his All-Star games.  34 on 13-18 (72%) and 4-7 from 3.  He also lead the team in assists.  On our board Zoom meeting 2 days ago we talked about Tatum's step-aside/back 3s and were they good shots or not and I volunteered to keep track of his fg% on those shots.  Last night he took 3 of them (ONLY the step-aside or step-backs, not straight catch-and-shoot 3s) and he was 2-3.

Without Gordon we cannot afford to have Kemba have poor games, especially considering he doesn't play SEGABABAs.  Last night he was on.  He also took some charges.  Excellent game by Kemba.

Khris Middleton with 19 points but, I swear, it felt like 39.  He is a great, great shooter.



https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401307474


Bob


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Yes Bob, Tacko looks lost out there and does not know how tomuse his height. I am a big fan of his and really want him to succeed, but I don't see it. Conversely, I have not been a fan of Grant, but I must admit, he is a playa'. Very good defense and a fine 3 point shot. I especally liked when he chased down Middleton before the Bucks star could drive to the basket and then fould him intentionally, with a foukl to give. That play saved us a probable sure Milwaukee bucket. Grant is smart and he hustles, hustles, hustles - almost always getting into prope position. A starter? No. But a valuable bench player.

Pritchard is the real deal. A gritty defender, rebounder, and scorer.

Nesmith is scrappy and a willing and eager defender. His shots will fall like rain in time.

Mo is definitely gonna become Mo Betta - his new nickname? Sure glad we have him. I've been a fan of him since he was at Michigan. Glad we picked him up.

Kemba - very good game. Jaylen, Jayson, Marcus - BRAVO!

And how could I forget Rob? What savvy, hustle, and skill. Such a gifted athlete, rebounder, defender, passer, and scorer. Whew! Glad he is back, healthy, and has learned so much about how to make an impact.

PP is a guy I really like. That steal he made on Middleton was veteran level.

This team is still not up to speed in getting RW more looks. They are so use to the pick and pop that they are not so good in the PNR. Rob was rolling all night but they just would not get him the ball. I hope that Brad gets the team to recognize those scoring opportunities.

I am going to start tracking missed PNR opportunities and who is looking or not looking to feed him the ball off that action.

Once the Celtics really establish that option it is going to open up even more shots on the perimeter for us. Think Miami and how they use Bam and how that puts a lot pressure on the defense.

I saw that too Dave. Rob was looking around for a ball that never came.

dboss wrote:gyso

Nesmith, Grant and PP are 3 young guys that bring intensity everytime they hit the court.  Now if we can find Romeo we could roll out our all intensity squad.  Wagner is pretty intense too.

I don’t know anyone named Romeo thats displays intensity worth mentioning and if this one does either I turned away for a sec or just simply forgot because its been so long ago.

Ktron wrote:

dboss wrote:gyso

Nesmith, Grant and PP are 3 young guys that bring intensity everytime they hit the court.  Now if we can find Romeo we could roll out our all intensity squad.  Wagner is pretty intense too.

I don’t know anyone named Romeo thats displays intensity worth mentioning and if this one does either I turned away for a sec or just simply forgot because its been so long ago.

Romeo Montague committed suicide over unfulfilled love. That's pretty frippin' intense.

Romeo Langford? Who knows, but hopefully a shade calmer than the Italian.


Bob


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Just managed to watch the game and a couple of things:

• Jason Tatum had a great game. If he can play like this or even better build on this type of performance going forward the Celtics will be ok regardless. Just all around good and solid superstar outing by JT.
  

• I do NOT like how Jaylen's game has transformed. I like he is so comfortable shooting the three now, but chucking away is NOT how all stars play Jaylen. He passed several times in this game quite open lanes to the basket to shoot a semi contested 3. He is going further away from his great leap at the beginning of the season where he was penetrating and looking for a strong finish or another opportunity to make a play. On his drives he looks hesitant and loses the ball often due to this and in my opinion this is directly linked to his tendency to shoot away which inhibits the "drive it" mentality.
  

• What I like the most in this game was that they showed effort. Again. It has a been a couple of games now? Both JB and JT showed consistent effort on defense, Rob was tremendous. He is basically what Tristan Thompson paraded himself to be - a Marcus Smart type of player for the front court! He also has great vision and made some great passes - 6 assists, wow. If he can stay healthy he is pretty much the center we have needed for so long imo.
  

I would make the prediction that if they manage to keep that intensity and effort on the defensive end, regardless how they decide to play the offense the Celtics will not go worse than 65% win rate for the rest of the games, maybe better. Which should cement their 4th place and maybe, just maybe get them into a play for the 3d if one of Philly, Bucks or Nets slip towards the end of the regular season.
And if they manage to right the ship the only team from the top 3 I am afraid of in the playoffs is the Nets so I like our chances for yet another ECF... IF the direction of the team can be changed to look like the team we saw yesterday on defense

Vankisa, you match my views exactly, and I too am hoping for 65% plus for the rest of the year and getting the 4th seed or better.

Vankisa I thought I heard Mike or Scal or somebody say the coaching staff was encouraging Jaylen to look/take more 3’s, that they wanted more 3’s and rim attacks and less midrange shots....