Bucks vs Celtics series thread

[rickh150]

Not sure why Bobby was sitting in the 4th… especially when guys are bullying our guards in the paint.

[HarryDoyle]

15 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Celtics in 7 games is my gut feeling. Giannis is undoubtedly the best player in this series but the Celtics have the better overall starting unit and it is not close. 

Yeah, without Middleton I think it's kinda foolish to think the Bucks can win this series. They really should've lost game 3 too.

[adambr2]

Not that DDV was a world beater but he'd be useful in this series without Middleton. At this point I'm wondering if Serge Ibaka is even still alive much less wondering what on earth we thought we were getting there. 

[CdrbrgMark]

4 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

Yeah, without Middleton I think it's kinda foolish to think the Bucks can win this series. They really should've lost game 3 too.

100% agree

[CheezWizHed]

25 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

Yeah, without Middleton I think it's kinda foolish to think the Bucks can win this series. They really should've lost game 3 too.

Well, they are 2-2 in the series, so I'd guess they can.... Certainly easier with him of course. 

What I couldn't understand is that the team nearly stopped shooting 3s except for PC and Matthews.  Not much from Bobby, minimal from Allen, a couple from Halliday (but kind of forced), nor Lopez. 

Not sure if the team got tired, but Giannis looked really flat the 4th quarter.  He made a lot of bad decisions on offense and defense (Horton block attempt).  

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Celtics were certainly more desperate tonight, and it showed. I mean, y'all said it. It's clear Gianni's and Holiday are all on their own offensively. Without a big game from somebody else, it's trouble.

 

[FVBrewerFan]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

Not that DDV was a world beater but he'd be useful in this series without Middleton. At this point I'm wondering if Serge Ibaka is even still alive much less wondering what on earth we thought we were getting there. 

It's a fair question.  They traded for Ibaka to do one thing.  Defend the Horfords of the league in the playoffs.  Did they not scout him properly to make sure he wasn't washed?  If nothing else, don't you ar least try Ibaka on  Horford for a few minutes?

Bud got it done last year, so I really have a hard time piling on, but he does really get stuck in his pre-planned rotation, as most coaches do.  You see the game turning.  Try going big, go small....something.  Portis, Carter, and Allen get lost on the bench while Hill gers abused.  Carter is better than Hill at everything, but Hill must play because Bud "trusts him."

I didn't think the Bucks would win this series without the Celtic killer, so I shouldn't be so wound up.  Can't help it though, this team can be so frustrating.  Any semblance of offense is gone, just Giannis and Jrue taking turns at ISO.  Rant over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeaBass]

Ibaka has been fairly useless no doubt but the two 2nd round picks they received were probably the more valuable part of that trade from the beginning.

[stoutdude04]

Celtics shot 16 of 19 in the 4th...so frustrating.

[Samurai Bucky]

Well, last night was the first ever playoff game I attended.  I'll fall on the sword and say the reason they lost was because I was there.  ?  There are a lot of things you see when you are there live as opposed to watching it on TV.  Hopefully I can share what I saw from section 221.

The experience was fun.  It is loud during the game and also during timeouts.  It isn't annoyingly loud like it is a US Bank Stadium watching a Vikings game.  The bass on the music is awesome.  They do a good job of showing people in the stands.  It was very cool.

The synonym for the Boston Celtics is the word "thugs".  I heard last night on some recorded Celtic postgame shows that Giannis is getting what he deserves:  "Bullies will get bullied."  I didn't see him bowling ball multiple people like some of the Celtics did.  #7, when going around a screen without the ball frequently would run into a Bucks defender with the shoulder down, but not down enough to draw a call.  It wasn't just once, and it wasn't just him.

At every timeout or free throw until the fourth quarter, there was a Celtics player or coach in the ear of a ref.  Every.... single... time.  That was often preceded by the obligatory "hands in the air out of disgust" move which the Celtics have perfected.

The Celtics plan was very simple -- beat the crap out of Giannis and anybody else that got in their way.  Like I mentioned above -- if Giannis is the bully, then the Celtics are thugs.  Plain and simple.  It was a very, very physical game.  IMHO, Horford smacking Giannis in the face after the slam was worth more than a simple technical.  Connauton and Lopez were also recipients of the thuggery.

That leads into why the Bucks, for the second game in a row, folded in the fourth quarter.  They are tired.  Not only were they in the octagon, but they worked hard on defense.  Why was Horford open so much in the corner?  Because the Bucks kept rotating and after the third or fourth pass, somebody was open -- usually Horford.  However, their game plan seemed to be to have Giannis and Jrue score all of the points.  There were some times where Giannis would be at the top of the key or close to the free throw line and somebody like Connauton would be WIDE OPEN on the block.  No pass.

Also, the Bucks seemed to go into prevent mode again.  This happened frequently throughout the game.  In the fourth, I think they were just gassed so much that they, I hate to say it, quit.  Ref #68 didn't help out either.

The Bucks need to get more people involved.  They need to limit the minutes of Giannis if possible because if they don't, the beating he takes during the game will affect him in the fourth quarter again.  The Celtics will continue to be the bullies with no consequence.  Perhaps some Senzu Beans will help the Bucks.

 

[GAME05]

You'd think Portis would be the guy to be in to cover Horford, but maybe they want Lopez in the paint to better guard against Tatum and Brown driving the lane. 

 

Allen's total absence was the biggest factor for me. The Celtics can certainly live with Jrue shooting 3s. The Bucks are unstoppable when Giannis has kickouts and isn't in that "I'll do everything" mode, which he certainly gets into sometimes. In the Bucks' losses this year and last year, that's usually what the biggest issue is. 

[BruisedCrew]

On 5/10/2022 at 12:15 PM, Samurai Bucky said:

Well, last night was the first ever playoff game I attended.  I'll fall on the sword and say the reason they lost was because I was there.  ?  There are a lot of things you see when you are there live as opposed to watching it on TV.  Hopefully I can share what I saw from section 221.

The experience was fun.  It is loud during the game and also during timeouts.  It isn't annoyingly loud like it is a US Bank Stadium watching a Vikings game.  The bass on the music is awesome.  They do a good job of showing people in the stands.  It was very cool.

The synonym for the Boston Celtics is the word "thugs".  I heard last night on some recorded Celtic postgame shows that Giannis is getting what he deserves:  "Bullies will get bullied."  I didn't see him bowling ball multiple people like some of the Celtics did.  #7, when going around a screen without the ball frequently would run into a Bucks defender with the shoulder down, but not down enough to draw a call.  It wasn't just once, and it wasn't just him.

At every timeout or free throw until the fourth quarter, there was a Celtics player or coach in the ear of a ref.  Every.... single... time.  That was often preceded by the obligatory "hands in the air out of disgust" move which the Celtics have perfected.

The Celtics plan was very simple -- beat the crap out of Giannis and anybody else that got in their way.  Like I mentioned above -- if Giannis is the bully, then the Celtics are thugs.  Plain and simple.  It was a very, very physical game.  IMHO, Horford smacking Giannis in the face after the slam was worth more than a simple technical.  Connauton and Lopez were also recipients of the thuggery.

That leads into why the Bucks, for the second game in a row, folded in the fourth quarter.  They are tired.  Not only were they in the octagon, but they worked hard on defense.  Why was Horford open so much in the corner?  Because the Bucks kept rotating and after the third or fourth pass, somebody was open -- usually Horford.  However, their game plan seemed to be to have Giannis and Jrue score all of the points.  There were some times where Giannis would be at the top of the key or close to the free throw line and somebody like Connauton would be WIDE OPEN on the block.  No pass.

Also, the Bucks seemed to go into prevent mode again.  This happened frequently throughout the game.  In the fourth, I think they were just gassed so much that they, I hate to say it, quit.  Ref #68 didn't help out either.

The Bucks need to get more people involved.  They need to limit the minutes of Giannis if possible because if they don't, the beating he takes during the game will affect him in the fourth quarter again.  The Celtics will continue to be the bullies with no consequence.  Perhaps some Senzu Beans will help the Bucks.

 

Interesting summary.

I generally don’t watch much of NBA games during the regular season because I don’t care that much for the style and the effort is often inconsistent.

But, after watching most of the first game of the Bucks-Celtics series, I’m not interested in watching much more. The physical play you described is not basketball to me. I enjoy college games much more. 
 

I was a huge NBA fan in my younger days, and went to many Bucks games when the franchise was born in my high school years, and was a big fan until about the mid 80’s but became disenchanted with how the style of play evolved and how the officiating seemed to favor big stars and big market teams. 
 

The last straw may have been game 7 of a Bucks-Celtics series in 1987. The Bucks had a lead in the final minutes when the slightest contact would send Larry Bird to the free throw line while the Bucks were being called for offensive fouls away from the ball for “illegal screens”. If there was a league conspiracy to favor the Celtics they did a lousy job covering it. 
 

I still hope for the Bucks to win because it’s a neat thing for the community. But if I watch the games it’s often on replays after I know the result because it doesn’t make me as mad and I can fast forward through the dreary parts. 
 

That having been said, the way the Celtics dominated game 2 and the fourth quarters of the last two games gives me the impression that the Bucks are lucky to be at 2-2. Unless something changes significantly they’ll be lucky to get to a game 7. 

[CdrbrgMark]

Stupid question....Do the same refs officiate a whole series or does it vary from game to game?

[HarryDoyle]

Every 3 point shot Giannis shoots is essentially a turnover.

[young guns]

Well the changes bud wanted was not to have giannis stop shooting 3s.

[CdrbrgMark]

Bud needs to put his foot down and tell Giannis to QUIT SHOOTING 3'S !!!!

[young guns]

With giannis off the floor there's just nothing on the offensive end.

[adambr2]

Maybe surrounding Giannis with a bunch of washed up dudes in their 30s hasn't been the best team building strategy. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Basically an even quarter, but it felt a lot worse.

See if the Bucks can do what the Celtics have been doing in 4th quarters. I sort of feel like this series is going seven whatever happens, and the Bucks will regret handing the Celtics home court to avoid the Nets. I have doubted this team way too much over the last two years, though.

[HarryDoyle]

The difference between these two offenses is night and day. Boston is very crisp, moving the ball and getting open looks. The Bucks look like they're playing playground ball. Do they even run any plays other than out of time outs? This series by all rights should be over tonight and if they don't make any adjustments, it will be over Friday. The Celtics are simply a better team and it's not even debatable.

[CdrbrgMark]

14 minutes ago, young guns said:

Well the changes bud wanted was not to have giannis stop shooting 3s.

Well then, someone else with some authority needs to tell Bud to tell Giannis to STOP

[SomewhereInTime]

Would be tough to find a more useless basketball player than George Hill.

[HarryDoyle]

I don't know his contract situation but I hope we've seen the last of Grayson Allen after Friday.

[DuWayne Steurer]

5 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

I don't know his contract situation but I hope we've seen the last of Grayson Allen after Friday.

2/20

[nate82]

Would be nice if the refs would call the same fouls on each team.  Holliday gets mauled going to the rim and no call.  Smart flops on the floor and it is a foul?