Final: Celtics 117, Bucks 103 - Jayson Tatum drops 42 in complete win over Milwaukee

Game 28
Boston Celtics (13-14, 6-4 home, 10th East) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (18-10, 9-6 road, 2nd East)
TD Garden
7:30 PM, NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Milwaukee: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Jr. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Jaylen Brown isn’t necessarily on a minutes restriction, but the team hopes to keep his minutes down to about 30 in his first game back since December 1. Ime Udoka says that's still good enough to help some rotation issues.

“That's a huge piece off the top. Him being back, moving Dennis back to the bench,” Udoka said.  “You'll see that tonight. Looking at different combinations when Jaylen and Jayson are out there. We do try to stagger them at times, and just looking at who can play longer minutes. And while we do want to keep him around 30, he can go 7, 8 minute stints, that gets us back to more of a natural progression of what we were doing at the early part of the season.”

- Josh Richardson remains in Health and Safety protocols and is expected to remain there into next week. 

- Donte DiVincenzo (ankle), George Hill (knee), Brook Lopez (back), Wesley Matthews (Health & Safety protocols), and Semi Ojeleye (calf) are all out for Milwaukee.

- Milwaukee is favored by 1

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

Must win game?

I was having a little chat with a colleague on the way into the building and he characterized it as a must-win game. I’m not ready to declare it that right now, especially not against the reigning champs and current second seed. 

But it is a “must play well” game. 

“Competitiveness. More effort and fight,” Udoka said when asked what he wants to see tonight. “But, also, we really hammered away defensively over the last few days. How we guarded before and what we were on that road trip. ... getting back to guarding the way we were. We were number 3 at the time, we're number 10 now based on that trip, and I think after those five games we were 30th in general guarding the 3-point line and guarding a lot of different areas on that road trip. So it's getting back to who we are defensively.”

The return of Jaylen Brown will help that end of the floor tremendously. So, too, will some added focus. 

“The lapses defensively and some of the things we did poorly were totally mental mistakes,” Udoka said of the team’s dismal road trip. “We had long film sessions the last few days showing how poorly we defended and still the fact that we were still back in those games at some point in the third quarter, fourth quarter. So get off to better starts, execute the game plan, and really dial in on personnel and what guys do and what to take away.”

Marcus Smart said “it looked like we were stuck in quicksand on the trip. And that's not like us. We know our offense has been poor, but our defense is something that -- it's kept us in this and going during the season. We got to get back to that.”

But the Celtics are great at saying things and not always great at doing them. This defensive focus has to shine through in this game. Of course, it’s possible that Boston will play great defense and still get beaten by a big Giannis game, but they have to make Milwaukee earn it. 

Boston has a game plan for the Bucks, but the first order of business is getting back to the progress they were making before they left. 

“We really want to get back to focusing on us,” Udoka said. “Obviously game plans and personnel would change and dictate some things, but let's get back to us and especially with Jaylen coming back and some minor tinkering going on there. See we can be whole.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Robert Williams on the back line: Defense starts with good communication and discipline. It’s not a coincidence that Boston’s defensive slide comes as Williams has played his worst basketball of the season. Williams needs to be vocal, in good position, and not overly anxious to help. Him getting back on track will help the overall Celtics defense.

2. Keep Middleton off balance early: I think I speak for everybody when I say no one (at least no one on the Boston side) wants to see Middleton go full Celtics-killer again. They need to be in his air space, help appropriately and keep him from easy first quarter catches. If he makes his first couple of shots, then it could be an ugly night.

3. Marcus Smart’s shots: Nine of Smart’s last 10 3-pointers have come from above the break. Now that Schröder is back on the bench and Smart is starting with the ball in his hands, he should flow more naturally into the corners, where he shoots well. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.