There are trigger words and phrases that get Celtics fans sweating.
Rick Pitino.
Ish Smith.
Jaylen Brown’s hamstring.
So when Brown put his right hand on the back of his right leg at the end of Game 4 against the Nets , there were a lot of hushed whispers around Boston. Initially, the Celtics said he was fine, but they’ve since backed off to leave a little bit of doubt.
“I did some tests this week, got some treatment,” Brown said after the team’s Saturday practice. “Should be ready to roll for tomorrow.”
The “should be” won’t get many people to let go of the breath they’ve been holding for the past couple of days.
“Anytime you're dealing with a lingering injury, you want to be precautious and careful, but I think I'm ok,” Brown said, acknowledging this is part of an ongoing issue for him. “This one is on the lower end of the spectrum, so I'll be fine.”
The optimism is shared by the coach, who is confident he’ll have his star wing for Game 1 Sunday afternoon.
“Jaylen is doing well. He looked good the last few days, felt good,” Ime Udoka said. “Still will get re-evaluated after practice here by the medical staff, but all signs pointing in the right direction, looked good the past few days.”
It was good that Brown’s late-game pass in Game 4 wasn’t picked off and that Boston closed the first-round series out because it gave Brown what he called “essential” time off.
“It was great being able to have a couple days, especially trying to get healthy and make sure everything was taken care of,” he said. “It was essential to have a couple days off. So credit to us for taking care of business so we can have that.”
MIDDLETON IS A DIFFERENT STORY
The word on Milwaukee’s star wing is a little different. Khris Middleton is expected to miss the whole series with a Grade 2 sprained MCL in his left knee.
“It doesn't change a thing,” Marcus Smart bluntly said. “Still got Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and you still got everybody else who was on that team with them when they won that championship. Doesn't change anything, for them the next guy steps up and another great opportunity for them. We just gotta go out there and play our game.”
The Celtics are sticking to their script of focusing on themselves and their game plan rather than put any emphasis on what their opponent might be facing. There will be no Bruce Brown-like declarations on the podium from this group.
“They played well. Other guys stepped up, obviously take advantage of opportunity,” Udoka said. “They were running some different things with Middleton being out, but the one thing I did notice was the spacing. Seems like they have a lot more spacing. They have shooters kind of spread everywhere -- not that Middleton is not a shooter, but he does have his specific plays that they run to, and it’s more so open court, and so that presents a different challenge.”
Middleton is a shot-creator, so Milwaukee will miss that, but the offense still does flow out Giannis, and he has the ability to make everyone on the floor more dangerous.
"Grayson Allen and different guys take on a larger role,” Udoka said. “The way (Middleton) scores is different, but other guys will take more on their shoulders and other guys will have improved roles, and that's what you've seen so far from there."
WALLING OFF GIANNIS
As long as Antetokounmpo pulls a Bucks jersey over his head, the defensive strategy against Milwaukee was, is, and always will be preventing him from getting to the rim.
That's the ultimate “easier said than done” strategy considering he has the torso of a normal human, the legs of a 7-foot-tall grasshopper, and go-go gadget arms that seem to be able to dunk flat-footed from the free-throw line.
Still, the Celtics will try.
“We all know what Giannis is capable of, what he's doing and what he's going to try to do,” Smart said. “For us, it's just going to take a team effort and with those guys, he makes it really tough because of how aggressive he is and how he can get in the lane to not only create for himself, but create for those other guys and he deserves a lot of attention and those guys are sitting there ready for him to serve it up on a platter.”
This, first and foremost, is the reason why Milwaukee is so dangerous with or without Middleton. Antetokounmpo has the gravity of a black hole, sucking in every defender around him and then flicking the ball out to open teammates.
“You gotta be cognizant of those shooters because they're shooting the ball very well,” Smart said. “He definitely has a team where we know and everybody in this league knows that they've been to the championship, they've won it, they're hungry, they know what it takes, they know what it feels like, and we just gotta be ready for them.”
The first step is trying to slow Antetokounmpo down, at least a little bit, on the perimeter. From there, there's switching that will put another body in front of him, which the Celtics hope will allow them to stay home on some of those dangerous shooters. Finally, there's a last line of defense on the back-line, tasked with being willing to be put on a poster or two if it also means getting a stop or two in the process.
That's a lot of pressure on the bigs.
“Yeah, I would say bigs, smalls, mediums, everybody in between. It’s a team defensive thing against him,” Udoka said. “We feel we have a lot of versatility and size as well, so you can throw different books at him. But that is the game for him. I think he’s second in the league in points in the paint per game, and so obviously a huge part of it in transition gets him going. So we want to limit his paint points as much as we can.”
The Celtics have to be especially careful with the ball so as to avoid those transition opportunities. Any time Antetokounmpo can get out and running in transition, there's a strong chance someone is getting trampled.
“It’s a main point of emphasis going into the series,” Udoka said. “Our first leg, first piece of our transition defense is good offense, making them work, and obviously try to take it out of the basket as opposed to turnovers or poorly missed shots. So that’s a part of it. Their numbers are a stark contrast as far as being first in transition and 21st in the half-court. So, limit their opportunities there and make them score on us and our defense in the half-court.”
Still, Giannis is Giannis. He is a force of nature. He will score. It’s just a matter of making it as difficult on him as possible.
“He’s a phenomenal competitor - one of those guys who’s going to seek out contact and not shy away from it, where you kind of give him the respect, because he’s a star player in the league who doesn’t flop big time,” Grant Williams said. “He’s not a play the refs guy. He’s going to compete one way or the other. If you foul him he’s going to foul you back, he’s going to dunk on you, if you meet him at the rim he’s gonna say good block. He’s gonna keep playing. I’m super excited to play against him because he takes every single game as seriously as his last, and he’s someone you’re excited to play against every single night.”
ROBERT WILLIAMS LOOKING GOOD
Robert Williams is one of the bigs who will be tasked with meeting Antetokounmpo at the rim, and it looks like he’ll be in a much better position to do so after a few days to ramp up.
“He's been doing more than the other guys, with that time he missed,” Udoka said. “But we had a good hard one on Thursday, so he got a good amount of scrimmaging in there, but he's getting some extra work, as well.”
The work is paying off.
“Rob looks great. He's running, moving around well, so it's great to hear that he’s having no pain, too,” Grant Williams said. “So that's exciting and just being able to kind of be out there with him again, it's kind of cool to be on the court because missing Rob we know what he brings, the knowledge of the team with his personality, his energy, but also with his presence on the basketball floor. So it's just great to have him back and excited to move forward."