BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics at Bucks, 8 p.m. - Giannis Antetokounmpo out as C's get back to work

BOSTON CELTICS (15-9) at MILWAUKEE BUCKS (10-15)

Regular season game 25

Fiserv Forum, 8 p.m. - NBCS Boston

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Milwaukee. Both teams are well rested with 3 days off, but Milwaukee is the home team and the Celtics had to travel.  

Boston is on a five-game winning streak. 

Milwaukee has lost two-straight and 10 of their last 12.

INJURIES

Boston: Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo (OUT-calf), Taurean Prince (OUT-neck), AJ Green (QUESTIONABLE-shoulder)

OFFICIALS

Mitchell Ervin (#27)    Tre Maddox (#23)    Pat O'Connell (#90)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. 3-point shooting: the Bucks like to take 3s, and they hit them at the highest clip in the league (40.9%). The Celtics tend to give those up because they will pack the paint, so this is an opportunity for Milwaukee to try to generate some decent looks and score in bunches from beyond the arc. The Celtics will certainly have their preferred shooters (Kyle Kuzma, prepare to shoot 15 3-pointers) so this might just boil down to whether one of the lesser Milwaukee shooters gets hot.  

2. Offensive rebounding: The Bucks have a similar problem as the Celtics: they don't keep teams off the boards very well. But one big difference between these teams is that Boston is great on the offensive boards, while the Bucks are not.

Bucks opponents are grabbing 32.2% of the available offensive rebounds, which is the 26th-worst opponent percentage in the league. Boston is second-worst at 33.7%, but the Bucks are the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the league, collecting just 25% of their misses. The Celtics are seventh-best at 33.3%

So the Celtics can do what they do best, and that's crash, especially with small lineups. This could be a game for Jordan Walsh and Josh Minot to have three or four offensive rebounds apiece. 

3. Force turnovers: The Bucks can be turnover prone, coughing it up 14.6% of the time (14th in the NBA). The Celtics protect the ball better than any other team, turning it over just 12.2% of the time. 

The Celtics winning formula is all about dominating the margins, winning the possession battle, and preventing teams from having the opportunity to score. The good news is that Milwaukee doesn’t get to the line much either, so fouls might be able to keep them in this one. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.