BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics 128, Bucks 82 (4th) - Garbage time in Milwaukee

Game 77: Celtics (+2.5) at Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m., Fiserv Forum, TNT

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari

QUESTIONABLE- Grant Williams (non-COVID illness), Robert Williams (knee injury management), Payton Pritchard (heel)

Milwaukee: OUT- Myers Leonard (calf)

Bucks Probable Starters: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

Refs: Kevin Scott (#24), Scott Twardoski (#52), Matt Boland (#18)

Last time they played: Bucks 131, Celtics 125 (OT), February 14 - Boston was without Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford. Additionally, Robert Williams only played 13 minutes. The first quarter went about as good as anyone could ask, but Giannis Antetokounmpo came storming into the second quarter to erase that. The Celtics returned fire with a  20-5 run to open up a 14-point third-quarter lead, but a 12-3 answer (and Jrue Holiday 41 foot buzzer beater) cut it to 5. A Sam Hauser 3 sent it into overtime and the Celtics had a strong start to the OT, but Holiday was a beast the whole game, and his 3-pointer with 25 seconds left was the difference.

A little something about this game: The Bucks have a three-game lead over Boston heading into this game. The winner of the game will hold the tiebreaker, so while the Celtics are very likely the second seed regardless of the outcome tonight, a win gives them an outside shot at stealing the top seed. Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the top seed drops to 1 with a win tonight. 

Things I’m looking for: 

- Bucks on a mission: I can’t help but feel like the Bucks almost see this game as a sort of Game 1 of their series against Boston. They are on a roll, losing only five games since January 15. Boston was 32-12 on that day, 4.5 games ahead of Milwaukee. The Bucks are 28-5 since then, while Boston is 20-12. I expect the Bucks to come out with their best effort of the season right away, with Antetokounmpo being super-aggressive and the Bucks defense swarming Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston needs to prepare themselves to take some early charges on Giannis to neuter the Bucks attack early and not get caught up in their crowd being whipped into an early frenzy. 

- Keeping their poise: That flows right into this point, where Boston has to make sure they're not getting caught up in answering whatever Milwaukee is doing and just running their own stuff. There are three possible storylines coming out of this game: 

1. Milwaukee wins in a blowout, “Celtics not ready for prime time”

2. Boston wins in a blowout, “Celtics had a switch to flip all along”

3. Tight game (win or lose), “Celtics-Bucks will be an amazing seven-game series”

If the Celtics keep their poise during Bucks runs, especially an early one, they can answer whatever the Bucks throw at them and eliminate that first storyline. 

3. Big rotation: Robert Williams is listed as questionable. If he plays, how much will he play? How will he play? The Celtics used him for only 13 minutes in their last game despite being horribly shorthanded. If he doesn’t play, how will the Celtics approach Antetokounmpo and Lopez? Can the Celtics play Lopez off the floor?

If you want to pass the time before the game, here’s the latest Locked On Celtics podcast. Tom Westerholm and I discuss the Celtics apparently being locked into the second seed. The Celtics don't seem to be bothered by this, despite what Malcolm Brogdon said, but a lot of fans are. Should we be? Is it our own fault for caring too much about the top seed?

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.