Next Up - Celtics @ Bucks, round 2, game 2 Tuesday 4/30/2019

Game one produced an exhilarating win.  

The Celtics contained Giannis and also managed to do a very good job defending the 3 point shot.  The Bucks went 13/39 or 33.3%.  The Celtics won the battle in the paint because Giannis was turned back over and over again.  The Celtics played even on the glass.  They moved the ball on offense and shot 42% from deep going 13/31.

Big mouth Paul Pierce declared the series is over.  Someone should remind him about the Nets series many years ago when Boston was up 2-1 and then proceeded to lose the next 3 games and the series 4 games to 2.  See 2002 playoffs.

This series is over when one of these teams wins 4 games.

If you are coach Bud you have a lot of things to adjust to.

You MVP candidate got smacked down.  Your starting point guard Bledsoe was flat footed all night long.  Your backcourt got killed 45-9.  Your team could not stop Boston's pick and pop offense which was run to perfection with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford.  Boston looks decidedly quicker all around to your guys.  Your team scored 30 points below their average at home after vanquishing Detroit in 4 straight.

If coach Bud is as smart as I think he is he will first need to figure out how to stop that lethal pick and pop offense that was the bread and butter of Boston's offensive attack.

One thing is clear as day.  The Android Brook Lopez cannot rotate out to check Al Horford.  He is too slow.    Offensively Brook has been a vital component to the Bucks offensive schemes because he is a stretch 5.  You cannot play him in the post because that is where Giannis feeds.  You could sit him down and start Mirotic.  You could just let Kyrie abuse one on one defenders.  You could change the rotation and have someone else play Horford up top.  I think the solution will be to start Mirotic in place of Lopez because Mirotic can also stretch the floor.  Al however would likely take him inside.  Pick your poison.

Kyrie Irving cannot be checked one on one so I think you have to crowd him and force him to give up the ball.  I think you may see more double teams coming after Kyrie.
 
Defending the Celtics wings is a chore in itself.  Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Morris can all make shots from the outside and they can all dribble penetrate.  If they are shooting well Boston becomes damn near impossible to defend.  And since there are multiple wing options one or two can be off their games and you still can get burned by the other ones.

The Bucks should play more zones to help them contain Boston's attack.

Boston needs to be a creature of habits.  If something is really working good for you just keep doing it.

Boston should prepare themselves for a more aggressive Bucks team.  I have seen Bledsoe take guys off the dribble and get to the rim all year.  They should be mindful of this and be prepared to bring help when needed.

Boston started off playing a lot of zone and that worked well.  Baynes and Horford both did excellent work on Giannis 1-8 against Baynes and 1-7 against Horford.  Jaylen Brown played excellent defensive safety  he was also very solid on offense.   Kris Middleton is option 2 and you cannot give him an inch of space.  He is not a super quick athlete but he has a decent first step and is quite crafty with those up fakes.  The Celtics need to keep him at bay by limiting his touches by playing him tight away from the ball.

Boston needs to limit turnovers, block out on the glass and move the ball on offense.  The Buck really look slow to me.  That is the one thing that popped out after watching them.  If Boston moves the ball and takes good shots the Bucks will find it difficult to stop them.

Make no doubt about it.  This is a must win game for the Bucks.  They should play with fury and Boston needs to be prepared to match fury with more fury.  The Celtics are a confident bunch right now but they are not cocky and they are not arrogant.  They need to go about the business of playing Celtics basketball which begins at the defensive side of the ball.  Play great defense and the offense will flow.

The Celtics flipped this series on its' head like a car accident.  Beat the Bucks in game 2 and they will be needing the jaws of life to extricate themselves from the wreckage.

Rosalie

I think the Celtics were just being carefull with Baynes. It is a long post season and his value increases as we move forward. He keeps tweaking that ankle so it cannot heal properly but it can be managed.

Let's go Celtics!