Celtics Game 3

Honestly, they may want to start Hill and have Bledsoe come off the bench. I’m glad they won but Milwaukee was lucky.  Bledsoe was awful. 

Would not trade El Grecco for anybody.

Middleton, George Hill, and Patty C were the stabilizing forces tonight. Thank goodness as Bledsoe was reckless and could have cost us. Maybe over reacting, but it seemed like they could have done a better job of running the clock at the end. 

One thing that I've noticed, the Celtics don't seem to be throwing 3 or 4 guys at Giannis like in game 1.  Either that or Giannis wasn't forcing it as much as he did that first game.  There were a number of times tonite where Giannis was doubled but he was just brilliant at splitting those 2 guys and drawing a foul.

I thought tonite may have been his best overall night of the series so far.  Frankly, it was a good night for everyone but Bledsoe.  It's another reason to hope Brogdon can come back if Bledsoe continues to be shaky and limit his minutes.  I like Bledsoe against most teams... but not against Boston.

I just love how these pundits who haven’t watched them all season watch the Bucks dismantle teams and they don’t think it’s for real. 

Everyone who is new to this- THIS IS WHAT THE BUCKS HAVE DONE ALL SEASON! They force you to take bad 2s, they defend the rim, they disrupt your passing lanes, and the rebound. On offense Giannis pounds you into submission- then the tap you out with threes from every part of the floor from every position. 

Thank you to Chauncey Billups and Brendan Haywood- they called out Ryan Hollins and Paul Pierce for saying stupid ass shit- the Bucks are done after game one, and Giannis will be exposed. Ha! You dumb ****s... maybe if you would have watched the games all season like we have, you’d know better. 

Paul Pierce can't get enough grief. 

"This series is ovaaahhh... Boston in 5!"

The next time Paul Pierce says something truthful and accurate will be the first time. He had a nice career, but man is he an idot with some of his statements.

The challenge the Celtics have is if they aren’t shooting well from outside they just don’t have the firepower to match the Bucks.  Honestly, outside of Golden State I’m not sure anyone does. 

You are also seeing what George Hill and Mirotic can do for this team.  The Bucks can go 8-9 deep with starter quality production and even if one of their key guys (Bledsoe) is off they have enough other weapons to pick up the slack. 

Which brings me to Bledsoe.  I have no idea what his problem is v Boston but Bud has an important decision to make.  Do you give more minutes to Hill and possibly bring Bledsoe off the bench?   I think he has to really consider it.  Bledsoe nearly cost them last night and he did cost them the Boston series last year.  The Celtics are clearly in his head.  

The Bucks did what they had to do which was take at least one game back on the road.  Now they have a golden opportunity  to take full control by winning game 4.  If Boston wins game 4 then it’s likely the series is going 7 games.  Right now the Cs are teetering so you need to take them down on Monday.  Do that and they will fold in game 5 and you can close them out in Milwaukee. 

Tschmack posted:

The next time Paul Pierce says something truthful and accurate will be the first time. He had a nice career, but man is he an idot with some of his statements.

The challenge the Celtics have is if they aren’t shooting well from outside they just don’t have the firepower to match the Bucks.  Honestly, outside of Golden State I’m not sure anyone does. 

You are also seeing what George Hill and Mirotic can do for this team.  The Bucks can go 8-9 deep with starter quality production and even if one of their key guys (Bledsoe) is off they have enough other weapons to pick up the slack. 

Which brings me to Bledsoe.  I have no idea what his problem is v Boston but Bud has an important decision to make.  Do you give more minutes to Hill and possibly bring Bledsoe off the bench?   I think he has to really consider it.  Bledsoe nearly cost them last night and he did cost them the Boston series last year.  The Celtics are clearly in his head.  

The Bucks did what they had to do which was take at least one game back on the road.  Now they have a golden opportunity  to take full control by winning game 4.  If Boston wins game 4 then it’s likely the series is going 7 games.  Right now the Cs are teetering so you need to take them down on Monday.  Do that and they will fold in game 5 and you can close them out in Milwaukee. 

I think you still start Bledsoe, but you have a shorter leash in terms of when you sub him out in the first quarter. Despite his offensive problems, he still has been playing great defense. 

If Brogdon comes back and can give them 10-12 good minutes it will help. 

Music City posted:

I just love how these pundits who haven’t watched them all season watch the Bucks dismantle teams and they don’t think it’s for real. 

Everyone who is new to this- THIS IS WHAT THE BUCKS HAVE DONE ALL SEASON! They force you to take bad 2s, they defend the rim, they disrupt your passing lanes, and the rebound. On offense Giannis pounds you into submission- then the tap you out with threes from every part of the floor from every position. 

Thank you to Chauncey Billups and Brendan Haywood- they called out Ryan Hollins and Paul Pierce for saying stupid ass shit- the Bucks are done after game one, and Giannis will be exposed. Ha! You dumb ****s... maybe if you would have watched the games all season like we have, you’d know better. 

Giannis is also in guy's heads when they go to the basket. He seems to come out of nowhere from the weak side and block shots. 

I agree- you cannot change the rotation just because Bledsoe is struggling. As a player, he still needs to grow too. If he does what he did in game two after an abysmal game 1, we’re in good shape. 

And though he was a train wreck last night offensively, and that stupid foul on Irving was frustrating, he was still active and still made Irving work. That’s the thing- Hill did too. Irving has nowhere to hide- and though lots of folks wanna talk about how game 1 “exposed Giannis” everything since has refuted that and exposed Irving as a one dimensional player. What was supposed to be mismatches galore for Boston has proven to be mismatches for Milwaukee.

But we all knew this. They didn’t. We watched this team all season- watched Lopez lock up Darren Collison on a switch and force 3 misses and a turnover. Watched Connaughton attack the boards and help erase the injury to Brogdon. Watched Giannis attack and attack and attack until teams crumbled. 

Hi America- this is the Bucks. The team you ignored all season while they destroyed the East and lead the NBA in wins. 

Connaughton's play actually makes you consider whether you let Brogdon go if he gets an 14-16 million a year offer. I like Brogdon, but he's never going to be more than a complementary player. He'd like look just another decent low end starter/top bench guy if he wasn't playing with Giannis. 

Would you rather have Connaughton at 1.5 million next year and another player at 12-14 million or Brogdon at 15 million? 

Just rewatched the replay. 5th Foul on Jalen Brown was really weak & ticky-tack. Coach Bud lobbied officials to get that call. 

Giannis going to the line 22 times is fantastic. I saw the Celtics hack Giannis Everytime he drives in the paint. How do you defend the guy with that length? I don't know. But I'm glad he plays for Milwaukee.

Boston has taught the Bucks & Giannis how to play intense playoff basketball. I'd like to thank the Celtics for the lesson in game #1.

Boston now facing more adversity heading into game 4. Love it! And now you see why they played so hard to sweep the Pacers. 

MichiganPacker2 posted:

Connaughton's play actually makes you consider whether you let Brogdon go if he gets an 14-16 million a year offer. I like Brogdon, but he's never going to be more than a complementary player. He'd like look just another decent low end starter/top bench guy if he wasn't playing with Giannis. 

Would you rather have Connaughton at 1.5 million next year and another player at 12-14 million or Brogdon at 15 million? 

I should say Connaughton getting a lot of Brogdon's minutes and another player at 12-14 million. Connaughton is almost a minimum salary player independent of Brogdon being here or not. 

I'd really like to see Brogdon back & on the line. The Bucks missing free throws seems to be contagious. Maybe Brogdon could help out. 

Giannis was 16/22 = 73% -- don't want him any lower than that otherwise teams will start instituting the "hack-a-Shaq" strategy. 

Connaughton is that "Sean Livingston" type you need off the bench. He might turn into a Lou Williams type especially with his rebounding skills. Have to keep Connaughton.

In terms of who they keep for next year, I suspect one of those guys like Pat C, Brogdon, Middleton will be replaced by DiVincenzo.  He's got the athleticism of Pat C, but maybe a smoother jump shot.  That said, you really can't play better than Pat C did yesterday, he was the 2nd best player on the floor last night. What a game he had.

fightphoe93 posted:

In terms of who they keep for next year, I suspect one of those guys like Pat C, Brogdon, Middleton will be replaced by DiVincenzo.  He's got the athleticism of Pat C, but maybe a smoother jump shot.  That said, you really can't play better than Pat C did yesterday, he was the 2nd best player on the floor last night. What a game he had.

Connaughton is under contract next year for 1.7 million. He's not going anywhere  - not sure about his playing time. 

I had forgotten about DiVincenzo. 

Tap the brakes a little on the Planet Pat love... this is a really good matchup for him. The Celtics don’t attack the paint except Irving, and that’s the one weakness in Connaughton’s game- he’s not so great laterally. But he’s tailor made for this series... 

Dante D is likely to replace George Hill as I do not expect they will pick up his 18MM option.  They still need Brogdon IMO as he can play the 1 or 2 spots and he’s so important on both ends of the court.  Plus, Bledsoe has never played better when the two of them are together. 

Connaughton has been solid and I love his grit and energy and rebounding, but they will want to feature Sterling Brown a bit more I think.  

It would also be good to see if Mirotic could return. In this offense his value is pretty high and he can hit the outside shots. 

Brogdon is smarter than most of the roster and as athletic as he needs to be. Has also the clutch gene, and creates huge mismatches. Would like to see him get a post game- that would make him really hard to check. 

I am pleased they extended Bledsoe (Boston series to be damned) but I honestly think Brogdon is more important to this team than Middleton.  Especially if they can find a way to bring back Mirotic. 

Sterling Brown, DJ Wilson, and DD will be getting more minutes next season.  I would rather they extend Brogdon and sign Mirotic for what it may cost them to extend Middleton.  Not to say I don’t like Middleton, but it’s about options and value. 

Music City posted:

Tap the brakes a little on the Planet Pat love... this is a really good matchup for him. The Celtics don’t attack the paint except Irving, and that’s the one weakness in Connaughton’s game- he’s not so great laterally. But he’s tailor made for this series... 

I'm not saying he's ever going to be more than a 8th or 9th guy off the bench, but he can do 75% of what Brogdon can do for 10% of the price next year. I guess it depends how much Lasry et al. are willing to pay luxury tax. 

I think they are very likely to lose Lopez, but you know who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent? Al Horford. He'd be a similar fit as Lopez and he was coached for several years by Bud. 

Tschmack posted:

I am pleased they extended Bledsoe (Boston series to be damned) but I honestly think Brogdon is more important to this team than Middleton.  Especially if they can find a way to bring back Mirotic. 

Sterling Brown, DJ Wilson, and DD will be getting more minutes next season.  I would rather they extend Brogdon and sign Mirotic for what it may cost them to extend Middleton.  Not to say I don’t like Middleton, but it’s about options and value. 

Music City and I have posted a lot on Middleton. His limitations are obvious - he's a weak ball handler. But he fits well with Giannis and you know they can work well together. 

If Middleton signs elsewhere, he'll look great if he's the 2nd or 3rd best player, but he'll look like a bust if he goes somewhere to be the top guy. He'd look good playing off LeBron. That's the thing - the Bucks need to surround Giannis with the same type of guys the Cavs or Heat surrounded Lebron with. 

Bledsoe is the poor man's 30+ year old version of D-Wade (not the prime version) at half the price (good slasher/so-so shooter). Middleton is the Chris Bosh version at half the max right now. Lopez is Kevin Love. Everyone looks better playing with Giannis and makes more money than they are really worth, but if you get past the Celtics into the Eastern Finals I think you have to bring everyone back. 

There are times when Sterling Brown has looked just as good as Middleton and he’s simply a better athlete.  To a lesser extent it’s the same deal with DJ Wilson.  

It’s possible a team may throw crazy jack at Middleton but I think that would be a mistake.  He’s basically a 2/3 max type player.  Very solid player and probably a borderline All Star.  But you don’t pay that guy 30MM a year. 

Also Brogdon is a 50-40-90 this year.  50+ %FG, 40+ %3's, 90+ %FT's.

That's impressive!

Since the NBA introduced the three-point field goal in the 1979–80 season, the 50–40–90 shooting threshold has been reached by eight players:^[3][6]

• Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics
• Malcolm Brogdon with the Milwaukee Bucks
• Stephen Curry with the Golden State Warriors
• Kevin Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder
• Reggie Miller with the Indiana Pacers
• Steve Nash with the Phoenix Suns
• Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks
• Mark Price with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Nash and Bird are the only players who achieved 50–40–90 in multiple seasons

That is quite the rarified air. Bring Brogdon back. 

They can’t pay them all. Middleton needs to accept a Klay Thompson hometown discount. $19-22M/yr to stay in Milwaukee to win.

Brogdon does not get a max from anyone- but he should get a Middleton range raise- $13-14M/yr. If he hits the RFA market to try to force the Bucks hand there’s a definite walk range- anything more than $17M/yr you really need to let him walk. 

Brad Beal is my target in 2021. You add him the offense goes stratospheric. If the other guys stay at a reasonable rate, you’ve got the Warriors... 

I agree that in terms of pure talent, Bradley Beal is a step up from any of our guards.  That said, from afar, I just get the feeling that maybe he's a bit of a headache to manage?  Maybe that's not true, but I just get that impression from him at least a little bit.