BOSTON – As you reflect on the last time the Celtics were ambushed this way against a good team in a tent match (Okay, we’ll save you the research; the answer is far back on December 10, a 21-point loss to the Suns), here are five excerpts from Celtics-Bucks, Eastern Semifinals, Game 1:
1. Janice is not KD
Janice Adetokunmpo made a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists to speed up Bucks’ victory in Match 1.
The task of keeping Janice Adetokunmpo poses a different – if not greater – challenge to the Celtics’ highest defense than All-NBA striker Kevin Durant. Boston collected many roses for blocking Durant in the first round, presenting a thesis on how to defeat such a dangerous opponent. However, Durant is mostly a (deadly) jump shooter, while Janice is an 18-wheeled car without brakes, moving down the mountain. Therefore, the strategy needed tweaking for this task.
And what was the verdict from Game 1? Well, the good news for Boston is that Janice needs 25 shots for her 24 points; this meant that the Celtics stole his performance and made him work for the double teams. The bad news is that Janice is a wiser offensive player, his passes and court awareness are clearer, so his 12 assists were just as harmful, if not more, than his points.
Hey, when Kia’s two-time MVP can assist, which he did by throwing it off the backboard and then hitting the pass, you feel helpless. “It’s just pure talent, pure instinct,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. And when Janice can literally hurt your defenders, as Celtics center Robert Williams did with a wrong shot in a sensitive spot, that’s really a whole other challenge.
2. Land next to Tatum
Welcome back. Okay, let’s be fair here: Jason Tatum is entitled to a lower performance. Especially after living in a different atmosphere for about four months. And especially after coming out of an impressive first-round streak, one of the best players at both ends in Celtics history – which speaks volumes – with his score (29.5) and defense against Durant. Well, gravity attracts everyone at some point, and for Tatum, it came in Game 1 when he finally cooled down and looked a little disappointed and definitely disappointed at times.
Bucks’ defense shone in victory in Game 1, keeping the Celtics at 89 points in Boston.
Tatum never hurt Bucks; he scored 6 baskets with three turns. The sequence was quite indicative, when at a loss of 16 in the fourth quarter he scored the ball and was booed for a foul while he and Wesley Matthews fought for it on the floor. Tatum stood up and shook the angry fist of the staff; on the next trip down the floor, it was still boiling … and he immediately fired a balloon.
Again, to be clear, Tatum has been one of the top five basketball players since January; this coincides with the Celtics’ turn and leap. But he came out empty on Sunday, joined in misery by his colleague Jaylan Brown (seven turns, four baskets). Boston probably won’t be able to beat Bucks if it goes on more than once.
3. But what about Bucks’ D?
For most of the year, the Bucks have been passive in defense and at times bad, especially for a champion in defense who gives priority to defense. Except for Jru Holliday and Janice, everyone was walking along the shore. Apparently, however, the switch switched after the All-Star break, and that had a lot to do with Brooke Lopez’s return from a back injury that appeared at the opening and set him aside until April.
Lopez was again stable on defense on Sunday, especially when Janice was forced to sit on the bench due to a breach. Lopez had three blocks, and his rim length and protection made the Celtics think twice as they drove down the lane. In the first round against the Chicago Bucks, they held the Bulls under 90 points twice in five games, and now the Celtics once in one game.
Why Brooke Lopez’s defensive strike increases Bucks’ chances of repeating himself.
It’s a sharp turn that doesn’t get much attention, but Milwaukee’s face is one of the big factors in the NBA this offseason. The Celtics discovered this first hand when they managed to shoot with only 33% and spent much of the game catching up. “In a sense, it’s good to get this drummer off the road, offensively,” said Celtics coach Ime Udoka.
4. Exactly how they invent it
The meeting between Jrou Holiday and Marcus Smart initially raised fears that the two top defenders could be detained without result. Well, one game after that is Jrue 1, Smart 0. Adding an injury to the insult, the defender of the year for 2022 left the game in the second quarter with a blow to the shoulder, which looked much worse than it was.
Smart returned to start the second half, and his difficult afternoon continued. He made just one basket in the second half, while Holiday scored 25 points in the afternoon, a handful of rebounds and turned the ball only twice in 36 minutes. He was almost as harmful against the Celtics as Janice, mainly because Holiday stayed away from foul problems, affected the game at both ends and added nine rebounds and five assists.
5. Losing Boston can be costly
The Bucks took the Celtics court with a decisive victory in Match 1
After giving up the home field advantage, what can the Celtics do to secure a split after Game 2?
It is never a good sign to miss the start of a series at home and lose that advantage. A bigger problem for the Celtics is how the Bucks just bought time while waiting for Chris Middleton to return. When Milwaukee can win without someone who carries as much weight as Middleton, he feels like he has a bonus attached. There is no exact timetable for Middleton’s arrival, although the initial prediction led him to miss at least the first two games in the series, which would make Game 2 almost a must for the Celtics if Middleton were really preparing to return to Game 3.
As they look ahead to Tuesday, the Celtics are comforted to know that Tatum and Brown are unlikely to combine to shoot 10 to 31 again. than to do – and take a risk when the ball went to Wesley Matthews or Grayson Allen or Pat Conauton for an open look. Of those three players, only Alan is worth worrying about, based solely on how he’s been playing lately. After Middleton returned to Bucks, Boston’s strategy to double Janice became more risky because Middleton was a proven robber when left open.
Sean Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
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