Gameday Preview: Celtics vs. Bucks
Creator: Ashley Landis | Credit: AP | Copyright: Copyright 2020 The Associated Press
We’re back baby! The Celtics start their season tonight at the TD Garden against the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 PM EST.
Boston competed in two preseason games going 0-2, losing to both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets. As repeated many times on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast, the clear issue with the Celtics thus far has been finding their identity once Jayson Tatum and/or Jaylen Brown leaves the floor. Without either of their top dogs on the court, the offense collapses into a turnover-filled mess.
Without Kemba Walker for the first chunk of the season, the rest of the team is really going to have to step things up. Veteran Jeff Teague and rookie Payton Pritchard showed out in the preseason, but the wing depth on the team is lacking. Javonte Green started in both preseason games, but whether or not that trend will continue into the regular season is left to be seen. Luckily for Boston, newly acquired center Tristan Thompson was not listed on the injury report and is available to make his debut in a Celtics uniform tonight.
As for Milwaukee, they also went winless in the preseason, dropping two games to the Dallas Mavericks and one to the New Orleans Pelicans. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo only played in two of these games, however, playing under 30 minutes in each of them. Notorious Celtics-killer Khris Middleton played a similar amount of minutes as Antetokounmpo in these games as well. On top of the All-Star duo, the Bucks also added former All-Star Jrue Holiday this offseason, who definitely raises their ceiling as a team.
Milwaukee also revamped their bench, bringing in DJ Augustin, Bryn Forbes, and Bobby Portis, while also re-signing Pat Connaughton to a 3-year deal. Although the 0-3 preseason may appear as a concern, once all these guys start playing normal minutes there’s zero doubt that the Bucks are a top-two team in the Eastern Conference.
Boston is 3-7 in their last ten games against Milwaukee, and the last time these two teams faced off was the first game (other than the scrimmages) in the Orlando bubble last year. The Bucks ended up winning the contest in what seemed like dominant fashion, despite the final score being only 119-112. The one thing to note from that game was Jayson Tatum’s awful performance. He went 2-18 from the field, and one of those buckets was because of an “own goal” where he was the closest to the ball. Tatum didn’t actually make a shot until there were roughly seven seconds left in the third quarter.
He then shaved his head, went back to his normal hairstyle, and had a solid rest of the bubble. Well, Tatum is rocking the same hair he had when he played the Bucks in that one, so it’s time to see if he’s got to shave it again. (His performance in the preseason leads to the conclusion of yes.)
Regardless of Tatum’s hair, the fact that Celtics basketball is finally back should be cause for celebration. With tough matchups against Milwaukee and Brooklyn to start the year, this young squad will be tested early. Once again, the C’s tip-off against the Bucks at 7:30 PM EST. Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, the Banner Town Buildup, live on Twitter @GuyBostonSports!
Go Celtics!
