Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Boston Celtics
The Milwaukee Bucks suffered yet another tough loss last night, this time coming at the hands of the Boston Celtics. We break down what stood out the most in the loss for the Bucks.
The latest losing slump for the Milwaukee Bucks has now gone to three games as they were handed a loss in overtime by the Boston Celtics on Saturday, losing 112-108.
With Thon Maker being inserted into the starting lineup, there was plenty of reason for intrigue and optimism heading into the game. Any optimism, however, quickly disappeared as the Celtics came out of the gates strong, putting up 42 points in the first quarter by shooting 12-of-19 from the field and 7-of-14 from deep.
From there, the Bucks were trying to dig themselves out of the hole they dug their way into, which lasted the entire game. To their benefit, the Celtics’ hot shooting wouldn’t last beyond the first quarter, opening up an opportunity for the Bucks to mount a comeback.
It wasn’t until the second half where the Bucks started to seize on that opportunity, picking up their level of play on both ends of the floor as well bringing some much needed energy (looking at you, Thon!) to the contest.
With the lead dropping into single digits heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucks continued to keep within striking distance until finally breaking through to tie the game with 37 seconds to go, thanks to Greg Monroe going 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
While they were able to force a turnover on the ensuing possession, a costly turnover made by Jabari Parker gave the Celtics one last shot to clinch the game, which they came away from unsuccessful.
If not for a pair of three-pointers made by Tony Snell in a span of thirty seconds that tied the game late in overtime, the Bucks’ comeback would have faltered much quicker. But unfortunately, their attempt finally ran out of steam with the Celtics closing the game out at the free-throw line.
Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into what worked and what didn’t work for the Bucks on Saturday.
Jan 28, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) takes a shot against Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The Moose Was Not Reduced
Similar to his performance against the Philadelphia 76ers days earlier, the Bucks wouldn’t have been in the game for as long as they were without Greg Monroe.
Playing 35 minutes, Monroe delivered his eleventh double-double of the year scoring 14 points, hauling in 13 rebounds, grabbing three steals and having three blocks. While it wasn’t his most efficient night as he went 4-of-10 from the field, Monroe made up for that getting to the line (on some timely And-Ones too) regularly, going 6-of-9 from the stripe.
The biggest takeaway of all, though, was the timing of his production. With eight of his 14 points coming in the fourth quarter, Monroe was the reason why the Bucks were able to force the game into overtime, being the central figure in their crunch time offense.
That extended to the defensive end as well as Monroe came up with timely blocks and big-time alters at the rim. Considering all of that came with him playing on five fouls, it’s hard to say if Monroe could have emerged in a bigger way under the circumstances.
It’s unfortunate Monroe’s performance couldn’t come in a win, again similar to the game against the 76ers. Let’s just hope that actually changes the next time around.
From The Depths Of Snell
From one clutch time performer to another, it’s time to turn our attention to Tony Snell.
In all of his 33 minutes, Snell did the dirty work for the Bucks as he had the hard luck of regularly defending All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, who ran amok on the Bucks all throughout the night (Thomas scored 37 points and had eight assists). Thomas’ play aside, Snell persevered to keep Thomas in check, even though that didn’t equate to a quiet night.
Like Monroe, the timing of Snell’s contributions was what stood out the most last night.
After standing on six points (both three-point makes, by the way) for the majority of the night, Snell was the last beacon of hope for the Bucks due to his game-saving back-to-back three pointers that helped knot the game at 108 with nearly a minute to go in overtime.
Going 4-of-5 from deep on the night helped cap off Snell’s exceptional shooting from beyond the arc for January as he shot 26-of-50 from deep (52 percent) on the month.
Whether Snell can keep up that level of efficiency from now on will be a tough task, but his improvements to this point have only added to the positives he’s brought since coming to the team mere months ago.
The Beas Knees
For the first time in quite a while, we had ourselves a ‘Super Cool Beas’ performance last night.
Getting the nod over Mirza Teletovic, Beasley was one of the first players off the bench for the Bucks, along with Monroe. As the Celtics came out firing to start the game, Beasley did his best to help keep the Bucks up in the first quarter, scoring 11 points in his first four minutes of play.
Beas with the hammer! pic.twitter.com/DSJY0CQTnw
— Behind the Buck Pass (@BehindTheBucks) January 29, 2017
While Beasley’s scoring never reached those heights for the rest of the night, he continued to be a vital part in the team’s comeback in the second half, adding in scores at key times. Finishing 7-of-10 from the field (1-of-1 from deep), Beasley scored 17 points and hauled in eight rebounds in his 23 minutes.
Considering his recent stretch of play (that is when he saw the floor), it certainly was a welcoming sight seeing Beasley make a big impact both individually and on the team as well.
Finding the balance of when to keep riding with Beasley is never easy, but last night showed the best of what can happen when you look to him to help light a spark.
Jan 28, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) drives for the basket against Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
A Brutal Night For Jabari
Without a doubt, last night was Jabari Parker’s worst game of the season.
All throughout his time on the floor, Jabari struggled to get going offensively, missing jumper after jumper while rarely attempting to make his way inside for a trademark ‘Bully Ball Bari’ bucket.
It wasn’t until the 9:26 mark of the fourth quarter where Parker finally got his first score of the night on a nice slam after muscling away an offensive rebound. Unfortunately, Jabari added one more score after that, thus finishing his night going 2-of-13 from the field and only scoring four points.
That wasn’t all, however, as Parker added in three turnovers, the biggest being his aforementioned turnover off a Celtics turnover that occurred near the end of regulation.
Although he did finish with a plus-minus of just -2, Jabari’s night was a brutal one to witness and just a big bummer overall. I guess here’s hoping this was rock bottom? (raises hands and shrugs shoulders).
It will be a few days until the Bucks are able to break their slump as they’ll head West to face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
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