Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Jan. 28 vs Boston Celtics
Feb 9, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) during the game against the Boston Celtics at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 112-111. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks have lost seven of their last eight games, and would need to beat a strong Boston Celtics team to reverse the current losing streak the team is stuck in.
The Milwaukee Bucks are officially entering freefall. Milwaukee has won just a single game in the last two weeks. The Bucks are 1-7 in that stretch, with losses coming to the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid, the Toronto Raptors without DeMar DeRozan, the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat, among some better teams.
The four teams previously listed were all either banged up, not very good or both. The Bucks couldn’t beat any of them. Milwaukee managed to beat Houston, otherwise this would be an eight-game losing streak with a fair chance of becoming a nine-game losing streak.
After a rough start to the season, the Boston Celtics have really come on strong lately. Boston is 28-18, just half of a game behind the Toronto Raptors for the second spot in the Eastern Conference. By the time the Raps tip off with the Magic on Sunday night, the Celtics could be tied for second in the East.
They’d need to beat the Bucks first, something that hasn’t been hard for most teams to do lately. Like most teams seem to be right now, Boston is dealing with some injury problems. Avery Bradley is out with a sore Achilles, and Al Horford will likely play at less than 100 percent due to a groin injury.
To see how either team could come out on top on Saturday night, we’ll look at major keys for both teams to come out of Milwaukee with a victory. Then it’s time to highlight a Celtic to watch, followed by predictions on the game’s final score.
Jan 25, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots against Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Major Key For Milwaukee: Take Better Shots
For the last time this season, the Bucks will face off with an Eastern Conference foe for the first time all year. This major key would help Milwaukee out against all of the teams they face, though. The Bucks need to take better shots.
That starts with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The All-Star forward has been taking a lot of questionable shots lately, and while he’s made plenty of them Giannis has also missed enough of these weird, ISO post shots.
There’s no way that’s the best shot the Bucks could’ve gotten on that possession, considering the shot clock was barely halfway gone when the shot went up. Milwaukee needs to stop having such unproductive possessions on offense.
After a screen gets set for Giannis by Miles Plumlee, Plumlee rolls to the hoop and decides, for some reason, to post up Nerlens Noel down there. Three players stand still beyond the arc, not accomplishing much besides watching Giannis go.
The blame for these plays aren’t entirely on either Giannis, his teammates or the coaching staff, but those groups all need to work together to cook up some better offensive possessions. It’s tough to beat a team playing in rhythm when the Bucks offense turns into Giannis and Jabari Parker trying to beat their man one-on-one over and over again.
Jan 11, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) reacts after a three point basket during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Major Key For Boston: Make Some Threes
The Celtics have quietly been a terrific shooting team this season, rating fourth in three-point attempts and seventh in three-point percentage this season. When Boston’s threes are falling, this team becomes very tough to beat.
In games where the Celtics have made 38 percent or better of their three-point attempts, Boston is 17-1. That’s an incredible record for that percentage, which is only 1.1 percent higher than what the Celtics average from deep this season!
Boston has a lot of shooters, including Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Al Horford, Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk. The loss of Bradley will make it harder for Boston to sink those threes, but this isn’t a Khris Middleton situation from last year’s Bucks–there are plenty of other shooters to step up in Bradley’s absence.
Where the Celtics will really miss Bradley is on the defensive end, where this team has struggled. With a 22nd-ranked defensive rating of 109.5, Boston needs to make threes to outscore their opponents on a nightly basis.
Jan 18, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; New York Knicks center Willy Hernangomez (14), guard Courtney Lee (5) and guard Justin Holiday (8) defend against Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) in the second half at TD Garden. The Knicks defeated the Celtics 117-106. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Player To Watch: Isaiah Thomas
What Isaiah Thomas is doing this year is so cool. This guy is 5’9″, and absolutely torching NBA defenses on a nightly basis. Thomas is scoring 28.9 points this season, on 46.5 percent field goal shooting and 38.0 percent three-point shooting.
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He’s also adding 6.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game, and he only turns the ball over 2.5 times per contest. That’s a pretty low amount of turnovers for someone who uses up so many possessions.
Thomas’ defense is a problem–that’s just what happens when you play in a league of giants at 5’9″. Still, the Celtics are outscoring teams with him on the floor, even though they’re allowing over 110 points per 100 possessions while IT is out there.
He’s been so good on offense that the Celtics can live with the defensive shortcomings. Don’t be surprised to see Brad Stevens try to figure out some way to mask Thomas better on the defensive end–the man is a basketball genius.
Jan 27, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) takes a shot at the basket as Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell (24) tries to defend during the second quarter in a game at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Finale
The Bucks seem kind of lost at the moment. Milwaukee hasn’t brought much fire, especially to the last game against the Toronto Raptors. Despite the final score, there were lots of chances for the Bucks to make that game interesting.
They did not. At one point, a rebound bounced in front of Giannis before DeMarre Carroll scooped it up and dished it out for a Raptors three. That play was emblematic of the Bucks struggles lately–something just hasn’t been clicking.
Milwaukee needs something to start clicking soon, or the early-season playoff push will go to waste. The Bucks are far from out of the playoff picture, but each loss makes it harder to get back to one of the top eight spots in the East.
Predictions and Leaderboard:
Rohan Katti: Bucks by 8 — 27-19, 565 point differential
Lukas Harkins: Celtics by 3 — 26-20, 523 point differential
Adam Coffman: Celtics by 4 — 25-21, 554 point differential
Tom Pheister: Bucks by 6 — 25-21, 609 point differential
Adam McGee: Celtics by 9 — 25-21, 609 point differential
Tim Wray: Celtics by 7 — 22-23, 554 point differential
Ti Windisch: Celtics by 5 — 23-23, 567 point differential
Jordan Treske: Bucks by 5 — 23-23, 642 point differential
The game is on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
