10 takeaways vs. the not-so-scary Milwaukee Bucks

Final night time, Mazzulla’s Celtics confronted the final coach to win an NBA title with the Celtics earlier than Joe. The Celtics’ momentum was burning sizzling, whereas the Bucks are already on the verge of a disaster. After a detailed first half, the Celtics pulled away, beating a Bucks workforce nonetheless looking for its identification.

1. The disagreeable first 135 seconds

The opening of the sport didn’t go as deliberate. The Celtics struggled to provoke their offense and gave up an open shot to the Bucks. After solely 135 seconds, Joe Mazzulla, livid, known as for an early timeout—channeling his internal Greg Popovich.

Proper after the timeout, the Celtics misplaced the ball on the inbound, and Joe seemed furious once more…

2. Decide-and-roll protection

One of the vital intriguing elements of this sport was the Celtics’ pick-and-roll protection. With Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez, the Bucks have a number of choices to assault Boston.

Final season, the Bucks relied closely on the Lillard-Lopez pick-and-roll, and so they opened with it once more final night time. Initially, Al Horford was matched up with Lopez, resulting in drop protection, which opened up pull-up alternatives for Lillard—not very best.

The Celtics shortly adjusted, placing Horford on his outdated pal Giannis, reigniting their acquainted battle. This transfer allowed Jrue Vacation and Jayson Tatum to change onto Lillard when Lopez set the display. Since Giannis isn’t a taking pictures risk, Horford may keep nearer to the motion and supply assist protection when wanted.

The Bucks tried to make use of Lopez’s deep submit positioning towards Boston, however it wasn’t sufficient to disrupt the Celtics’ protection.

3. Uncommon free-throw quantity for Celtics’ opponents

The Bucks posted a Free Throw Price of 32.9%, in keeping with CleaningTheGlass.com. This implies one out of each three shot makes an attempt resulted in a visit to the road—uncommon for Celtics opponents.

Final season, Boston led the league in limiting opponent free-throw alternatives, holding them to a mean Free Throw Price of simply 14.1%. Final night time, the Bucks practically doubled that.

How did this occur? Giannis, as regular, generated journeys to the road along with his skill to interrupt down defenses along with his size and pace. Luckily for the league, he doesn’t convert effectively from there.

Damian Lillard, one other key issue, can draw fouls on drives, pull-ups, and even whereas dribbling. Final night time, he generated virtually as many free throws as your complete Celtics workforce. You may argue he will get famous person calls, however he’s a famous person. Though the Bucks are underperforming, Lillard stays among the best offensive gamers within the NBA.

4. Celtics are fortunate the Warmth didn’t get Lillard

This sport additionally highlighted how harmful Lillard would have been alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and below Erik Spoelstra’s teaching. His pull-up taking pictures and driving skill make him robust for Boston, which prides itself on forcing opponents into troublesome pictures.

Lillard is among the few offensive gamers who isn’t closely impacted by the Celtics’ elite protection, as he can create beauty in robust conditions. Fortunately for us, he’s on a workforce that doesn’t know find out how to maximize what he nonetheless gives.

5. Has the double-big line-up disappeared?

We solely noticed a couple of minutes of the Celtics’ double-big lineup final night time. Joe Mazzulla admitted he wasn’t happy with the workforce’s protection on this configuration.

This may occasionally have been because of the matchup towards Milwaukee, however it opens the door for extra rotation alternatives—and extra minutes for our beloved Jordan Walsh.

6. Jordan Walsh’s significant minutes

Towards the Bucks, Jordan Walsh received his first significant minutes of the season, enjoying within the second quarter, late within the third, and early within the fourth. His physicality and protection stood out.

Walsh timed his switches effectively, used his size to disrupt the Bucks’ offense, and stayed in entrance of Lopez when switching off-ball. He additionally displayed nice power whereas guarding Giannis within the submit.

Offensively, he was stagnant within the nook throughout his first stretch. Nevertheless, in his second stint, he turned extra lively, grabbing two offensive rebounds and changing one with a put-back. It’s encouraging to see Mazzulla belief him, and Walsh confirmed he earned that belief.

7. Payton Pritchard was so good, he had Doc Rivers on his knees

Late within the third quarter, the Bucks have been on the line. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Pritchard was on the ground, able to run, and all of us knew what was coming. And it occurred. Doc Rivers couldn’t imagine it (and the man behind him couldn’t cease laughing).

8. Jrue Vacation is aware of find out how to assault the Bucks’ protection

Jrue Vacation, who was the cornerstone of Milwaukee’s protection throughout their 2021 title run, is aware of Giannis and Lopez’s tendencies. This allowed him to acknowledge when to assault.

He was particularly aggressive when Lopez was on Horford, repeatedly driving to take advantage of the Bucks’ lack of rim safety. If Horford was stationed within the nook, Jrue would drive, realizing Lopez would assist, and he may kick the ball out to Horford for a 3.

When Horford was positioned above the break, Vacation would once more drive, understanding that the Bucks would haven’t any rim safety.

9. Jaylen Brown’s searching when wanted

Early within the third quarter, the Celtics began searching Lillard with Jaylen Brown, sparking an 11-3 run. Brown continues to enhance at exploiting mismatches and punishing defenders.

Within the fourth quarter, Mazzulla despatched Brown searching once more, this time focusing on Delon Wright and Gary Trent Jr. With the Celtics’ glorious spacing, JB received nice post-up positioning and may show is among the league’s greatest one-on-one gamers.

10. The Bucks look misplaced with out Brook Lopez

When Lopez went to the bench, the Bucks misplaced their defensive stability. They struggled to guard the rim, and Giannis alone couldn’t compensate for the shortage of defensive assist from the wings and backcourt. Lopez was glorious defensively, holding his personal towards the Jays and proving why he’s among the best rim protectors within the NBA.

Offensively, the Bucks faltered with out Lopez. Their offense turned stagnant and lacked spacing. Bobby Portis, Lopez’s backup, depends on post-up performs, which have been comically ineffective. Why Doc Rivers insists on this strategy, which was dangerous final season too, stays a thriller.

As soon as once more, it’s a good time to be a Celtics fan and a troublesome time to be a Bucks fan.