POST GAME MIL BUCKS - ROUND 1 - GAME #6 - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Bucks Force Game 7 In Boston With 97-86 Game 6 Victory

NESN by Logan Mullen on Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 10:36PM

The Boston Celtics had a chance to close the door on the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series, but they fell short, dropping a 97-86 decision at BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday night. Now, the two teams will meet for a decisive Game 7 on Saturday in Boston. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 22 points. Terry Rozier (18), Jaylen Brown (14), Marcus Morris (12) and Al Horford (10) also registered double figures. Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of three Bucks in double digits, leading the way with 31 points. Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE PG: Terry Rozier SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Semi Ojeleye C:Al Horford

ENCOURAGING FIRST Early on it appeared as though Boston’s offense was off to yet another underwhelming first quarter, but they recovered nicely from a slow start and finished the quarter ahead 24-22. It took Boston some time to settle in, with ball movement and shooting proving to be an issue early on. With the Celtics trailing a mere 4-2 with 9:34 to go, head coach Brad Stevens called a timeout to try and get his team to regroup. It worked, as they responded with an 8-0 run on the other side. But after the C’s controlled most of the first, the Bucks closed out the quarter well, posting a 7-0 run over the last 1:28 to chip into Boston’s lead. Rozier hit three of his four 3-point attempts, finishing the first with a game-high 11 points.

CARELESS SECOND The Celtics started the second quarter strong, but that went out the window as the period drew on, with the Bucks taking a 48-39 lead into the half after outscoring the C’s 26-15 in the frame. After letting Milwaukee chip away at the end of the first, the Celtics responded with a 7-2 run over the first three minutes of the second to open their lead back up to seven points. Over the next three minutes, however, the Bucks would respond and claim the lead. As the period started to draw to a close, the Celtics again got sloppy with the ball, and the Bucks made them pay, posting nine unanswered points to go ahead by six with just over two minutes left in the half. Milwaukee ultimately entered the half with all the momentum after outscoring the Celtics 14-2 over the final 4:34. Rozier had a game-high 14 points at the half.

COMEBACK WASTED Boston came out of the half slow, recovered well, then finished slow again to trail 74-65 after three. The Bucks put together a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 14 over the first 2:23 of the third quarter, forcing Stevens into an early timeout. The stoppage seemed to work though, as the Celtics responded with a 12-3 run in just under three minutes to cut the lead to five. Later, after doing so well to tie the game at 61 with 4:21 left, Boston squandered it away with poor shot selection and weak defensive efforts in the final minutes. That allowed Milwaukee to account for 13 of the final 17 third-quarter points and replenish their lead. Tatum heated up in the third quarter, however, and was an integral in the Celtics remaining competitive. He registered 10 points while playing all 12 in the frame, due in large part to quality cutting and finishing well at the rim.

BUCKS FINISH STRONG Boston put a quick five points on the board within the first 90 seconds of the fourth to pull within four, but as had been the case all game, the Bucks responded and built their lead back up. But the Celtics certainly were not going down without a fight. They kept things close through the midway parts of the game, oftentimes keeping it a one-possession game, but as the clock started ticking closer to zero Boston again got careless with the ball. The Celtics struggled to establish their offense, and while they missed some important shots, the Bucks countered with timely shots of their own. Milwaukee opened their lead to 10 with just over two minutes left, and it was clear they were not going to let Boston back in it.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT The fake and the finish from Al.

UP NEXT The two teams will meet for the decisive Game 7 at TD Garden on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

112288

Poor shooting by the C's, especially Rozier and Morris, who combined, shot 10 for 31. Al only had 8 FGA's and that's just not enough. They need to get the ball to Al to take on the Freak as Al is able to score on him.

The C's only allowed 97 pts. by the Bucks but they only scored 86 themselves. So, it wasn't the defense, but the offense that did them in. They are better off when they attack and go to the hoop instead of just taking 3's. Challenge the defense where they have to react and/or possibly commit a foul.

At least the C's will be playing at home where the home team has won every time in this series.

I believe the core problem for the Celtics is their front court 4 & 5 position. They are not dominate both on the offense and defensive ends of the court.

Simple solution ....get a dominate #5 and move Hordford to PF

112288

Too much iso and 1v1 .

KJ

That Too!

I saw at least 8 times Tatum or others passed on an easy jump shot in or near the paint only to take and miss a 3 pointer.   This is all Bull Shxt basketball a-la the NBA 2018.  There is very little creativity anymore inside.   Mil showed some of that last night inside and killed us.

112288

112288 wrote:I believe the core problem for the Celtics is their front court 4 & 5 position.   They are not dominate both on the offense and defensive ends of the court.

Simple solution ....get a dominate #5 and move Hordford to PF

112288

not easily done now.

no cap space
no high draft pick
to get a high end NBA center, Danny will need to move someone and if he does Celtic fans will likely be up in arms about it.

Yes Danny needs to trade and move players. Haywood will not solve the problems the Celtics are experiencing now. He is a good shooter, but when you do not have an inside game...........Haywood will be under more pressure from the outside.

How about the coaching staff implementing pressure on the ball when taken out after a bucket..............never once has Brad implemented ball pressure on each basket made by us. they move the ball really well and set up quickly. Pressure will cut the time down for their possession.

112288

This game fell down on two things for me. An off night on the offensive end. And desperately missing Kyrie and Hayward, and to a lesser extent Theis.

1) Turnovers and bad shots the turn into long rebounds = fast break chances for a Bucks team that really can only score that way. The Bucks are not a good shooting team, but if you let them run out and get easy scores, they will win every time.

When a team scores a lot of transition baskets, this is more of an OFFENSIVE problem than a defensive one.

2) Minus Kyrie, Al Horford is the only real facilitator on this team and the only person that can confidently run the offense. In the second half, with Al leading the offense from the top of the key - they not only erased the deficit, but built their own lead. As soon as Al came out, the Bucks came roaring back. When Al came back in the game - the Celtics made a game of it. Plain and simple.

I will continue to say this - this is a great run, win or lose considering the fate the team is facing. You take ANY team in the NBA and remove their two best players, and they would have a hard time winning a playoff series.

Celtics will win tomorrow night in Boston and I think, they give the Sixers all they can handle. But lets not forget that this is all gravy and they are way ahead of schedule.

Growing pains obviously much too many missed shots by Morris, Rozier and Smart. Jaylen too tentative in first half, Brad has to figure out a way to get him some easy baskets early to get him going. Olidipo and Russell Westbrook have had off games, was bound to happen at some point for Jaylen, plus Bucks are keying on him more. Still a great experience for Jaylen and Jayson to fight thru the physicality.

I know he can get on a roll, but hate how the offense seems to come to a screeching halt when Morris gets in, so much less movement, cutting, sharing the ball. Rozier tiring as game went on, maybe he doesn’t have stamina to be a starter, no big steals and sprint down other end dunks anymore, he must be tiring....Smart has to figure out how to not hurt the offense, he’s not the limited snail Morris, set up other players, get us some easy baskets with driving and passing.

Even with our deficiencies we should still be better than Milwaukee... we're just not executing.


KJ

kdp59 wrote:

112288 wrote:I believe the core problem for the Celtics is their front court 4 & 5 position.   They are not dominate both on the offense and defensive ends of the court.

Simple solution ....get a dominate #5 and move Hordford to PF

112288

not easily done now.

no cap space
no high draft pick
to get a high end NBA center, Danny will need to move someone and if he does Celtic fans will likely be up in arms about it.

Though he isn't the shot blocker or defender everyone wants, Monroe is pretty damn crafty under the basket. Brad is obviously a great coach, but whatever it was they were trying last night wasn't working. Why not give Moose some minutes, feed it to him down low, and let him work his magic? If nothing else, it might have changed the flow of the game a little. We had been outrebounding them all series, but didn't last night. Fewer 3's would have cut down on those long rebounds and subsequent fast break points by the Bucks. Not saying this should be our regular style of play, but might be useful occasionally.

Bob H did a great job breaking down how poorly we shot. Without Gordon and Kyrie, a lot of shots have opened up. Not really sure I want Marcus, Terry, and Morris taking so many of them.

It is very frustrating watching these guys keep passing out for 3's when they are not falling, especially when players seem to pass up good looks at a 2. However, this is the style the Celtics play, and which led to 55 wins. Given the rules of the game and the relative efficincies of 2 and 3 point shots, it is the smart way to play over the long run. It can be very frustrating to watch as fans though, especially during the playoffs. Although 3 pt percentage is usually somewhere in the high 30s, the distribution of makes and misses seems more clustered. You don't see one make, two misses, one make. Instead you see bunches of misses and makes. When you hit a bunch of misses, it is tough to watch, especially during the playoffs where every game counts.

And Bob is correct - Giannis travels very often on those huge eurosteps he takes.

Got back from our vacation with my son. Our last two days were spent at Chaco Canyon, Meteor Crater, and the Mogollon Rim.

We followed the first half on my cell phone and watched the second half from the comfort of my apartment.

The problems this team has are going away but not fast enuf for my taste. Actually the only real problem is that Gordon, Kyrie, and Daniel are not playing. Too soon back, despite his energy, for Marcus to do too much especially in his challenged offensive game.

Each team has held serve on their court. It is now a one game series for all the marbles. With the game in Boston, I like our chances.

dboss wrote:

k_j_88 wrote:Even with our deficiencies we should still be better than Milwaukee... we're just not executing.


KJ

I agree but Kleen nailed it when he identified that when Al rotated out of the game things just fell apart.

From a pace standpoint, the Celtics simply did not push the ball.  We need easy baskets too.

We do not have our ultimate go to guy. And Brown was primarily a passer during the first half.  In the 2nd half he became more animated.  Terry had great looks all game but he just could not make his jumpers.  Tatum contributed but has several ill advised drives that yielded no return.  Morris is a trick or treat player.  He is solid in the midrange game but we need more from him on defense.

We need for him to handle Parker as Jason is not strong enough.  I hate to harp on Jason but guys are taking him off the dribble as he appears to be a step too slow to control the driving angles.

Whenever Maker is in the game Al needs to be in there as well to pull him out away from the paint.

I prefer to see Al facing up on offense.  He needs more than 8 shot attempts.

Another problem is Semi. He does ok on defense, but his offense so shaky that the Bucks completely ignore him, and Giannis can play free safety

Jaylen was 1-7 to start the game when he went for 34 points, but the Celts kept feeding him and he got hot.
Last night he did not get many touches in the first half. In the 3rd Q they went more to him and Jayson and both scored more, pulling us even with the Bucks. Then it was more Rozier and Morris ball. When will the Celts learn to focus on AL, Jaylen, and Jayson? Keep going to our higher % scorers,and we will fare better.

Here's our shot breakdown, not a wise distribution at all:

Al - 4/8
Jayson 6/14
Jaylen - 6/15

Smart - 2/9
Morris - 5/14
Rozier - 5/17

The latter three guys are taking way too many shots and not passing the ball enough to the first three, who should be taking more shots.  Both Terry and Smart are missing the point of being an offensive point guard: Get the ball to your best shooters in good situations.

I sure miss Rondo. If we are going to play a "No Fast Break, amble up the court to set up a no motion half court" game, I would much rather have Rajon running the show than Rozier or Smart, although I do love the other aspects of Smart's game. Oh well. I am rooting for the Pelicans to upset GSW..

I look forward to trading Terry. He has no passing instincts nor skills but does have trade value.

worcester wrote:Jaylen was 1-7 to start the game when he went for 34 points, but the Celts kept feeding him and he got hot.
Last night he did not get many touches in the first half. In the 3rd Q they went more to him and Jayson and both scored more, pulling us even with the Bucks. Then it was more Rozier and Morris ball. When will the Celts learn to focus on AL, Jaylen, and Jayson? Keep going to our higher % scorers,and we will fare better.

Here's our shot breakdown, not a wise distribution at all:

Al - 4/8
Jayson 6/14
Jaylen - 6/15

Smart - 2/9
Morris - 5/14
Rozier - 5/17

The latter three guys are taking way too many shots and not passing the ball enough to the first three, who should be taking more shots.  Both Terry and Smart are missing the point of being an offensive point guard: Get the ball to your best shooters in good situations.

I sure miss Rondo. If we are going to play a "No Fast Break, amble up the court to set up a no motion half court" game, I would much rather have Rajon running the show than Rozier or Smart, although I do love the other aspects of Smart's game. Oh well. I am rooting for the Pelicans to upset GSW..

I look forward to trading Terry. He has no passing instincts nor skills but does have trade value.

+1

With Kyrie and Gordon down, there seems to be a little bit of chaos regarding preferred offensive options. Terry and Morris clearly are trying to step in and fill the void left by KI and GH, much to the dismay of many fans. I wonder what Brad thinks? Is it possible that he lets it go because he doesn't want to put to much pressure on the J's so early in their development? That would make sense to me - Brad is pushing an egalitarian offense, and Terry and Morris see this as a green light. Last night was definitely not Brad's finest coaching performance.

Interesting comment about Rondo. Say what you will, but the guy can run a half-court offense. I'm not sure the Celtics would have beat the Bulls in the 1st round last year if Rondo had not gone down. He seems to have found a great situation in NO setting up Davis and Holiday. I'm not holding my breath, but I would love to see the Pelicans upset Golden State.

Jayson and Jaylen can handle it. Just gotta give them the ball.


KJ

Don't forget to consider the possibility that the defense can play a big role on the shot availability process ?

swish

bobheckler wrote:We shot like shit.  37% is not going to win you many games.

Rozier and Morris shot a combined 10-31, which is a ghastly 32%, but when you throw in Marcus Smart's 2-9 and now you're not only at 12-40 (30%) but you're also talking about  almost 50% of the Celtics' total fgas (they took 81).  You cannot shoot 30% on half your fgas and think you can win with defense alone.

Another game where Jaylen reverted to mean.  14 points but an uncharacteristic 1-6 from 3.  Two phenomenal games and then he's back to what he was before the playoffs started.  Glimmers sparking into a dazzling display of virtuosity, then it's over.

Tatum had an icy cold start but then came on in the 2nd half.

Desperately needing offense, Brad swapped Semi out for Morris.  That's when our double-digit lead disappeared because Morris was icy cold in the beginning of the game and he does not defend the Freak as well as rookie Semi Ojelaye.  Semi's offense is still hesitant but his defense on an almost indefensible player has been remarkable.  He uses his feet to stay in front of him, which Morris cannot do, and he holds his arms out to his sides so the refs can see them and won't call a hold or grab on him.  This shows he is very coachable (which might be why Brad has played him all year).  I posted a video during the season of Celtics practice in which Brad was working on this specifically, where he was demonstrating how to slide through picks and how to body up and then "show your hands", all of which is what Semi is doing vs The Freak.  He is taking Giannis' physicality right in his sternum because his arms are to his side and not protecting himself.  

Giannis travels.  A Lot.  I love my Celtics but I am disgusted with the NBA allowing that bullshit.  That move that Giannis pulled last night when his Euro-stepped his way to a lay up and had the Bucks bench imitating it on the sidelines was a travel.  He had 23 fgas last night, the Bucks had 75 total.  That is not a good correlation for us.

Bledsoe finally gets a cold-shooting game from Rozier and he shoots 3-10 too.  He can talk as much smack as he wants, Rozier is still outplaying him this series.

Horford with 8 fgas.  He was Passive Al last night, trying to be a facilitator too much.  Nobody wanted to shoot except the people who were not having a good shooting night and Jayson Tatum.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Brad: "Whenever any one person had the ball for more than a second or two, it was bad news for us. We had a stretch there, middle of third to middle of fourth where we had some tremendous possessions. The ball was really popping and then we stopped. That was part of our undoing."

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Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Terry Rozier asked about what he took from the experience of last year’s Game 7. Replied, in part, “Kelly Olynyk helped us a lot.”

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Well, here we go.  Game 7.  Go Kelly!, er, I mean, GO CELTICS!!!


bob




.

I must admit that your boy Kelly looked like a better player whenever I saw him play This year. Still stumbles and bumbles at times but he looks like a more confident player.
Bledsoe (ass soe) is cooked. Overrated to begin with, He is completely psyched out in this series so much so that everytime he scores he looks around for applause(and begs for it) from the home crowd. Not a big time player which helps us because if the Yucks had a decent point guard ala Rondo or even Rubio, as much as I hate to say it, we wouldnt stand a chance this round. Bledsoe is weak minded and is playing scared. We need to take advantage of it.
That 32% must greatly improve tomorrow night. If not, we’re gone fishing. Go C’s!!!! Please!

Ktronic1 wrote:

bobheckler wrote:We shot like shit.  37% is not going to win you many games.

Rozier and Morris shot a combined 10-31, which is a ghastly 32%, but when you throw in Marcus Smart's 2-9 and now you're not only at 12-40 (30%) but you're also talking about  almost 50% of the Celtics' total fgas (they took 81).  You cannot shoot 30% on half your fgas and think you can win with defense alone.

Another game where Jaylen reverted to mean.  14 points but an uncharacteristic 1-6 from 3.  Two phenomenal games and then he's back to what he was before the playoffs started.  Glimmers sparking into a dazzling display of virtuosity, then it's over.

Tatum had an icy cold start but then came on in the 2nd half.

Desperately needing offense, Brad swapped Semi out for Morris.  That's when our double-digit lead disappeared because Morris was icy cold in the beginning of the game and he does not defend the Freak as well as rookie Semi Ojelaye.  Semi's offense is still hesitant but his defense on an almost indefensible player has been remarkable.  He uses his feet to stay in front of him, which Morris cannot do, and he holds his arms out to his sides so the refs can see them and won't call a hold or grab on him.  This shows he is very coachable (which might be why Brad has played him all year).  I posted a video during the season of Celtics practice in which Brad was working on this specifically, where he was demonstrating how to slide through picks and how to body up and then "show your hands", all of which is what Semi is doing vs The Freak.  He is taking Giannis' physicality right in his sternum because his arms are to his side and not protecting himself.  

Giannis travels.  A Lot.  I love my Celtics but I am disgusted with the NBA allowing that bullshit.  That move that Giannis pulled last night when his Euro-stepped his way to a lay up and had the Bucks bench imitating it on the sidelines was a travel.  He had 23 fgas last night, the Bucks had 75 total.  That is not a good correlation for us.

Bledsoe finally gets a cold-shooting game from Rozier and he shoots 3-10 too.  He can talk as much smack as he wants, Rozier is still outplaying him this series.

Horford with 8 fgas.  He was Passive Al last night, trying to be a facilitator too much.  Nobody wanted to shoot except the people who were not having a good shooting night and Jayson Tatum.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Brad: "Whenever any one person had the ball for more than a second or two, it was bad news for us. We had a stretch there, middle of third to middle of fourth where we had some tremendous possessions. The ball was really popping and then we stopped. That was part of our undoing."

reply retweet like


Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Terry Rozier asked about what he took from the experience of last year’s Game 7. Replied, in part, “Kelly Olynyk helped us a lot.”

reply retweet like




Well, here we go.  Game 7.  Go Kelly!, er, I mean, GO CELTICS!!!


bob




.

I must admit that your boy Kelly looked like a better player whenever I saw him play This year. Still stumbles and bumbles at times but he looks like a more confident player.
Bledsoe (ass soe) is cooked. Overrated to begin with, He is completely psyched out in this series so much so that everytime he scores he looks around for applause(and begs for it) from the home crowd. Not a big time player which helps us because if the Yucks had a decent point guard ala Rondo or even Rubio, as much as I hate to say it, we wouldnt stand a chance this round. Bledsoe is weak minded and is playing scared. We need to take advantage of it.
That 32% must greatly improve tomorrow night. If not, we’re gone fishing. Go C’s!!!! Please!

As a number 13 pick - he figured to be a role player with some minuses and some pluses - oftentimes a victim of expectations.

swish

I beg to differ, we breakdown everyone’s game that wears the C’s uniform regardless of draft position or how he got here.