2022 East Second Round – Page 9

Celtics injury update: Marcus Smart questionable for Game 2 vs. Milwaukee Bucks after taking a beating in Game 1

The Flower Mound native had a scary shoulder stinger and quad contusion in the series’ first game.

Late in the first half of the Boston Celtics’ 101-89 Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon, veteran point guard Marcus Smart looked like he’d hurt himself badly on a play at the basket, hobbling away to the sidelines seemingly unable to move his arm and clearly in a lot of pain.

He would return to play in the second half but was noticeably diminished in his mobility, with Celtics head coach Ime Udoka revealing the following day after practice that the Flower Mound native was dealing with not just a shoulder stinger but a fairly bad quad contusion as well.

Udoka shared that while Smart will officially be questionable for the next game of the series, “he’s a tough guy that’s going to try to play through things.”

Celtics’ Brown downplays hamstring concerns for flat Game 1 performance vs. Milwaukee Bucks https://t.co/bghv9dtPn7

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 2, 2022

“We’ll get him some treatment today and see how he feels tomorrow,” added Udoka.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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How did Giannis Antetokounmpo fare against the Boston Celtics’ defense in Game 1?

And what does Boston need to change heading into Game 2?

The Boston Celtics finished the second half of the 2021-22 NBA regular season with the best defense in the league and leaned on it hard to slow down Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs to great effect.

And while there are questions about overhelping on Giannis Antetokounmpo as the Celtics brought their vaunted defense to bear on the Greek Freak in Game 1 of the East semis last Sunday afternoon, Boston did manage to hold the former MVP to “just” 24 points in the 101-89 loss. How would we say the Celtics’ defense did against Giannis in their first game of the second-round series?

The hosts of the NBC Sports Boston “Sports Sunday” show Mike Felger, Chris Mannix, and Chris Gasper had plenty to say about Boston’s defensive performance and plenty more after the dust had settled on the defeat.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about the East semis matchup.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics’ Brown downplays hamstring concerns for flat Game 1 performance vs. Milwaukee Bucks

The Georgia native plans to ‘leave it all out there and let the game say the rest’ in Game 2.

One of the Boston Celtics’ bigger concerns heading into their second-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks was the health of star forward Jaylen Brown’s hamstring, which had been tight in Game 4 of their prior series against the Brooklyn Nets. The Georgia native related that his hamstring “held up good,” noting he had to “get some treatment and recovery” before Game 2 on Tuesday.

Despite the fact that Brown appeared to be playing unencumbered by the muscle group’s recent issues, his play was a bit more subdued than usual, particularly given the stakes. Asked if worry over reinjury had him playing with apprehension, the Cal-Berkeley product downplayed the suggestion.

“I’m fine. You just have to come out and play basketball, leave it out on the floor. There can’t be any apprehension, can’t be any anything; just leave it all out there and let the game say the rest.”

Boston’s Al Horford says Bucks ‘had an impact on the game for sure’ with their physical play in Game 1 https://t.co/4YoPaktZnX

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 2, 2022

“I’m prepared to do that, whatever that means — (I’ll) just be ready for the next one,” he added.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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The Boston Celtics were not ready for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the East semis

Can they tighten things up for Game 2?

In Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 NBA playoffs, it was very evident that the Boston Celtics were not fully prepared for the sort of defensive intensity there were met with by the defending NBA champions.

After a solid start to the game, the Celtics were thrown out of sorts by the Bucks’ physical style of play on defense and found themselves leaving shooters open after overhelping on superstar Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo far too often on the other end of the court. The end result was of course Boston dropping the first game of the series 101-89 on their own home court.

The hosts of ESPN’s “Get Up” Brian Windhorst and Tim Legler discussed the Celtics’ flat first game of the East semis on their most recent episode of that show.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear their takes on the rough start to Boston’s East semis.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Boston’s Al Horford says Bucks ‘had an impact on the game for sure’ with their physical play in Game 1

Boston will need to play more physically and poised if they want to compete in this series.

After sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs, it seems the Boston Celtics were less than prepared to face a team playing such stout defense as the Milwaukee Bucks did in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against Boston.

But given what the Nets played barely qualifies as such, it’s an understandable result, even if the Celtics did not seem to adjust to the physical style of play the Bucks played until the game was already more or less decided. That physical defense and how it threw Boston out of their game was something veteran big man Al Horford had plenty to say about after the loss on Sunday.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” explained Horford. “They really came out and set the tone.”

Some of the better plays of the game captured in images. https://t.co/m1oqqr3BGk

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 2, 2022

NBA Twitter reacts to the Boston Celtics losing Game 1 of the East semis to the Milwaukee Bucks

How NBA Twitter reacted to Boston’s Game 1 loss to Milwaukee.

Whether it was the early tip, the time off, or simply a case of the yips as a team, the Boston Celtics dropped Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series to the Milwaukee Bucks at home Sunday afternoon.

A fair amount of the credit should of course be directed to the Bucks’ ability to maintain poise and capitalize on turnovers where the Celtics could not, but it seems even with Milwaukee’s elite defense that it will be unlikely to see Boston shoot just 33% from the floor and 36% from deep again any time soon. The loss of course erases the hard-fought home court advantage the Celtics pushed to earn over Milwaukee at the end of the season, but Boston can make up for it on Tuesday at TD Garden with a win.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at how NBA Twitter responded to the Celtics dropping Game 1 to the Bucks at home.

Celtics – Bucks East semis Game 1 highlights: Milwaukee wins 101-89 on the road

Ice-cold shooting and a failure to capitalize on turnovers killed Boston in Game 1.

The Boston Celtics dropped Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, playing mediocre defense and missing open shots against the reigning NBA champs on their own home floor.

The Celtics struggled to score inside against the Bucks as tends to be the case for a defense designed to take away the interior, and with just 33% shooting from the floor and 36% efficiency from beyond the arc, it is going to take a more comprehensive and accurate approach to scoring in Game 2 for the Celtics to stay out of trouble moving forward in the series.

With All-Star forward Jayson Tatum the only Celtics player breaking 20 points, it is clear the team will need to go back to the drawing board on that end of the court, and to lean into their defensive identity on the other end if they want this series to be a competitive one.

If you missed the game or just want another look at what went wrong in Game 1 of the East Semis, check out the clip embedded above.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Will it require a Lebron-like effort from Giannis to get the Milwaukee Bucks to compete with the Boston Celtics?

Or will the Celtics simply be too good to beat without Khris Middleton?

With All-Star Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton out for his team’s Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Boston Celtics, it will take a lot more than it might have from superstar Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounpo to get past All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and the vaunted Celtics defense.

Will the Greek Freak need to do his best LeBron James impression for Milwaukee to advance to the NBA’s 2022 Eastern Conference finals in the absence of the team’s second-leading scorer in this series? Or will Boston’s elite play on both ends of the court and superior depth win the day for the Celtics?

The host of the Volume “Hoops Tonight” podcast Jason Timpf lays out the case for what would need to happen for a Bucks win, as well as why it will be so hard for Milwaukee to play against Boston.

Check out the clip embedded above to get his take on the dynamics of this series!

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Do the Boston Celtics or the Milwaukee Bucks have the coaching advantage in the East semis?

In such an evenly-matched series, every advantage matters.

In many ways, the matchup in the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals about to kick off between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks is a very closely matched one, particularly after the Bucks lost their second-leading scorer in All-Star forward Khris Middleton. They both have among the league’s best defenses and offenses, a candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, and both were in the running to finish the season second in the East.

But which team has the advantage when it comes to coaching? Both Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer and Boston’s Ime Udoka got their start with the San Antonio Spurs, but Budenholzer has a chip.

On the other hand, Boston has former Bucks assistant Ben Sullivan on their sidelines now — so who has the coaching upper hand?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast got together with The Athletic NBA insider Jared Weiss to talk about all things Bucks-Celtics, and which club has the coaching advantage was among several tactical questions answered.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear the consensus on the team with the superior coaching chops.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Boston’s Grant Williams breaks down Celtics’ plans on how they’ll play Milwaukee ahead of Bucks series

Making life easier for the team’s shooters will be key.

While there are a lot of uncertainties heading into the Boston Celtics’ second-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks, at least one member of the Celtics is already sounding pretty confident about how his team will play the defending NBA champions in the 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs.

That said member happens to be the eternally confident Grant Williams ought to come as no surprise — he did dub himself ‘Batman’ for a nickname, after all — and the Tennessee product gave a detailed account of how he and his teammates will be approaching the Bucks’ vaunted defense on Sunday.

“They collapse the paint on every drive, no matter who it is,” began Williams.

Celtics Lab 107: Talking Celtics – Bucks tactical shifts in the East Semifinals with Jared Weiss https://t.co/Kt4aIV81Xn

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 29, 2022