Shorthanded Celtics Show Fight, Falter Late vs Defending Champs
April 7, 2022
The Celtics were in a precarious position on Thursday night as they traveled to Milwaukee to face Giannis Antetounkoumpos and the defending champion, Milwaukee Bucks. Boston was on the second night of a back to back, having beaten the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday. Add that to some questions about desire to win for seeding, and there was some speculation that the Celtics may rest some key players, sacrificing a win and the #2 seed in the East, for a more favorable first round playoff matchup. Sure enough, we found out Thursday afternoon that both Jayson Tatum and Al Horford would miss the game due to nagging soreness in various body parts (getting some rest). Having said that, after watching the Celtics who did take the floor in Milwaukee, there was no question about their desire to win. Still missing Robert Williams of course, what was left of the Celtics took on the fully healthy and fully rested Milwaukee Bucks in their arena, and went toe to toe with the defending NBA champions, finally falling 127-121.
The Celtics had to mix and match lineups all night minus three starters, and dig pretty deep into their bench, but they got solid contributions from just about anyone who stepped on the floor. That’s the true sign of a good team and a good basketball culture and system, and a major credit to Udoka. The Celtics have a next man up mentality, and whoever steps in knows their role and does their job. That was certainly the case on Thursday night as Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart were thrust into key scoring and playmaking roles and both players rose to the challenge. Brown showed poise and composure running the offense, and making the right read repeatedly - something he has struggled with for much of his career. He notched the second triple double of his career, putting up 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists as the focal point of the Boston attack. Smart was arguably even more impressive for the Celts, coming up with 29 points and 7 assists on 10/16 shooting and 7/12 from three. That stat line included a number of huge shots and some highlight reel passes, including a nifty behind the back dime to Daniel Theis for a layup. On top of that, Smart did has best on national television to add to his DPOY campaign, covering everyone on the floor - including Giannis - and coming up with clutch defensive plays all game.
The role players for Boston all stepped up as well, as Theis had a career night with 22 and 5 rebounds, including hitting all 3 of his threes. Derrick White got the start in place of Tatum and he continued his recent hot shooting, scoring 19 points on 6/13 from the floor. Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser both came in and hit shots off the Celtics bench as well. Pritchard had 12 points on 5/10 shooting and Hauser added 11, hitting 4 of his 5 attempts and providing a nice spark for the Celtics, especially during a quiet stretch in the second quarter when he kept the offense afloat almost single handedly for a few minutes. Even without Tatum and Horford, the Celtics kept up the great ball movement and offensive rhythm they’ve had recently, finishing with 30 assists. The Bucks and Mike Budenholzer’s scheme involves forcing teams to shoot threes and that’s exactly what the Celtics did, as they launched 50 deep balls, but managed to hit a very respectable 21 of them for 42% as a team.
Ultimately the Celtics were done in by turnovers and offensive rebounds. Boston committed 15 turnovers on the night, including several down the stretch on key possessions with the game on the line. They also allowed the Bucks to corral 15 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second chance points. The Celtics were already overmatched on personnel and scratching and clawing to contain the Bucks big 3, but giving up so many extra possessions was simply too much to overcome in the end. The Celts did a solid overall job on the Bucks stars, and made them work through a variety of defenders, but all three guys managed to get their numbers. GIannis led the way with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, Jrue Holiday was right there with 29 of his own with 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Khris Middleton had 22, 8, and 9 of his own. Bobby Portis also hit some killer shots off the Bucks bench, chipping in 17 on 7/11 shooting.
The Celtics were down 10 at the break, 69-59, but battled back with a 38 point third quarter fueled by Smart and Theis. They led 121-118 after a Smart layup with just under 2 and a half minutes to play but the Celtics wouldn’t score again. White missed a few good looks in the last two minutes, Brown missed a couple of threes, and Theis blew a wide open layup off an out of bounds play. The late game execution wasn’t necessarily bad, but the Celtics couldn’t hit shots and make the big plays they needed to win the game. This has been a familiar theme in close games, and a concerning one at that. But without so many players - and especially Tatum - it’s hard to draw too much from this or be too upset about the final minutes and possessions.
Now the players on the court were definitely trying to win this game, but as an organization I question how much the team truly cared. With the loss, the Celtics fall to 50-31 with only one regular season game remaining; Sunday night vs Memphis. The Sixers also lost to the Raptors on Thursday night, so as of this writing the Bucks are the 2 seed at 50-30, the Celtics are the 3 seed at 50-31, and the Sixers are the 4 seed at 49-31. The Bucks still play the Pistons and Cavaliers while the Sixers take on the Pacers and Pistons. There are frankly too many different scenarios to type out all of the possibilities so if you want more depth hop on over to my twitter feed. But basically, the Celtics are looking at a very likely 3 seed in the east and a first round matchup with the Chicago Bulls, which feels like a great outcome all around. Furthermore, by the time the Celtics play on Sunday night they will know if they need a win to hold of Philly for the 3 seed, they’ll know if they have any shot at the 2 seed, and they’ll know if the Nets are in the 7-8 game or the 9-10 matchup. This is great news for the Celtics and means they will for the most part get to choose their own playoff destiny, in a game where the Grizzlies have nothing to play for and will likely be looking to rest.
Ben Handler