The game is on ABC TV.
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Bucks score the first 4 points only to have the 76ers score the next 5.
Hubie Brown providing the color commentary for the ABC crew. There will be no dead air, if Hubie has a microphone.
Bucks up by 10, 27-17, with 2:27 to go in the first quarter. Reed looks solid, filling in for Embiid.
69-48 at the half. Good showing so far, even with Embiid being out.
Dame with 17 points, Portis with 15, Giannis and Beasley with 11 each.
That full court pass from Giannis to Lopez was something else.
Giannis still needs to speed up his FT routine. Why even bring the 10 second clock into play? Just shoot the ball within 7-8 seconds.
Didn’t like the end of the 3Q but it was a 5 point swing on the Portis travel despite getting completely drilled on that play. Philly goes down and hits a 3.
Bucks up by 13 going into 4Q keep up the intensity on D.
About 7 minutes left and Bucks up 17. I like the defensive intensity and guys are flying around. Really interesting to see Lopez playing out toward perimeter.
Dame, looking like Caitlin Clark, hitting the 3, from the logo!
Beasley is 6-7 from 3, today. The Bucks have hit 17 3s today.
The Bucks looked pretty good, the past couple of games.
Two games in a row now the Bucks have played well on the road. You saw it again today guys were getting after it. I know there was no Embiid but the way Milwaukee played I’m not sure it wouldn’t have mattered in the W/L column.
Hmm 🤔 Do my eyes deceive me or is that 2 wins in a row ON THE ROAD!?!?
One is an "oopsie"....TWO is a trend.
The Bucks defense looked good again & Dame is hitting shots and getting into a rhythm....
Malik Beasley adding some 3's and Brook is Brook protecting the rim. Even Connaughton playing better. WTAF is going on out there?!?!
Portis with another good game....I wonder why that is??
What will happen once they get Kha$h money back?
Hmm 🤔
Bucks without Lillard this year are 0-5. 1-1 when Giannis sits. 9-5 when Middleton sits. In no game this year have they been missing more than 1 of them.
10-11 without one them. 27-10 with all three (60 win pace).
If all three are healthy by the playoffs, they'll at least give Boston a scare.
@MichiganPacker posted:If all three are healthy by the playoffs, they'll at least give Boston a scare.
If all 3 are healthy for a full 7 game series....
Boston will NOT win that series
It’s entirely possible that the difficult 2nd half schedule may help them get ready for the playoffs. Clearly, you see what they can do if they are motivated and play hard, especially Dame.
@Boris posted:If all 3 are healthy for a full 7 game series....
Boston will NOT win that series
I think a healthy Bucks team will have a chance, but I think Boston wins a series against Milwaukee 8 times out of 10.
The caveat to all this is that, for the most part this year, the Celtics have been very healthy. The Celtics top 5 (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and Horford) are better than any team in the league.
But they don't have much depth and they are relying heavily on a soon-to-be 38 year old Horford. Without Horford, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, or AD are going to eat the Celtics alive.
Porzingis hasn't played more than 65 games a year since 2016. He can't guard Giannis or those other guys if Horford goes down.
Jrue Holiday is almost 34 and was never a fast-twitch athlete (meaning when he regresses it's going to happen fast). He was roasted on defense the last two seasons in the playoffs (Tatum and Butler).
Again, the Celtics have had relatively good health. If any of their top 5 goes down, they are in deep trouble. They also may not have the best player in several playoff series (Giannis, Embiid, and Jimmy Butler would all be the best player in a playoff series with Boston).
Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.
@MichiganPacker posted:Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.
That's just it...isn't it?
This is the same media that said a KC / Eagles rematch in the Bowl was a foregone conclusion.
This 2024 Celtics team is one of the best teams of all time? ok....if that's true then they shouldn't lose a game in the playoffs because the competition is weak. They're not even one of the best teams in their franchise history.
Boston is held together with a 37/38 year old Horford... He going to play 41 minutes to match Giannis?!?! Because, as you said, he's the only guy on that team that can guard him.
Boston better pray for health....Bucks too.
Even if Boston gets there, the team that comes out of the West will not suck and will be battle tested.
It's hard to win a title...it's easy to lose.
Should be fun the rest of the year.
@MichiganPacker posted:I think a healthy Bucks team will have a chance, but I think Boston wins a series against Milwaukee 8 times out of 10.
The caveat to all this is that, for the most part this year, the Celtics have been very healthy. The Celtics top 5 (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and Horford) are better than any team in the league.
But they don't have much depth and they are relying heavily on a soon-to-be 38 year old Horford. Without Horford, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, or AD are going to eat the Celtics alive.
Porzingis hasn't played more than 65 games a year since 2016. He can't guard Giannis or those other guys if Horford goes down.
Jrue Holiday is almost 34 and was never a fast-twitch athlete (meaning when he regresses it's going to happen fast). He was roasted on defense the last two seasons in the playoffs (Tatum and Butler).
Again, the Celtics have had relatively good health. If any of their top 5 goes down, they are in deep trouble. They also may not have the best player in several playoff series (Giannis, Embiid, and Jimmy Butler would all be the best player in a playoff series with Boston).
Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.
Who is calling for the Celtics to be thought of one of the best of all time?
@Pikes Peak posted:Who is calling for the Celtics to be thought of one of the best of all time?
The advanced stats types have been floating this for a while, but there is an article in The Athletic this morning saying this (behind a paywall unfortunately).
I agree that comparing this Celtics team to the 1986 team with prime Larry Bird, McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Ainge, and a healthy Bill Walton is ridiculous, but that's what some are starting to suggest. This is from Shams Charania.
https://theathletic.com/529981...nba-news-the-bounce/
The Celtics have won eight straight games, hold a 7.5-game lead over the second-place Cavaliers and are on pace to win 65 games, which would be the fourth-most in team history. This team has the highest margin of victory in franchise history, even higher than the 2008 champs (66-16) and 1986 champs (67-15). Could it be the most dominant Celtics team ever?
The issue with Boston is they are really thin in terms of their frontcourt.
Yes, their starting 5 is really good but Miami and Philly (with Embiid) are the only two teams in the East that can slow down Giannis.
Celtics rely way too much on the 3 point line for a team as talented as they are. It's gonna catch up to them in the Spring. I know it worked for the Warriors but I don't see prime Klay and Steph suiting up for Boston.
Maybe Beverly will be the wild card they need out on perimeter D.
@PackerHawk posted:Celtics rely way too much on the 3 point line for a team as talented as they are. It's gonna catch up to them in the Spring. I know it worked for the Warriors but I don't see prime Klay and Steph suiting up for Boston.
Maybe Beverly will be the wild card they need out on perimeter D.
Essentially the Celtics flipped out Marcus Smart for Jrue Holiday. There are probably no two more similar players in the NBA once you get to the playoffs than those two. The biggest difference is that Smart is a dirty player and Jrue is one of the more beloved teammates in the league every place he's ever been. Otherwise, they are both outstanding defensive players that struggle to shoot under playoff pressure. Smart has actually shot over 35% from three the last two years in the playoffs and Jrue has shot 30.4% as a Buck from three in the playoffs. The biggest knock on Smart is shot selection - and he's averaged about 12-13 shots per game in the playoffs the last 3-4 years. We all love Jrue, but he averaged 18 shots per playoff game as a Buck - it was way, way, way too many. If the Celtics win a title this year, it probably won't be because of the difference between Jrue and Smart.
If the Celtics do win, it's because Porzingis is much better on offense than the Williams' were (Grant and Robert) and offers enough rim resistance at 7'2" to counteract the loss of overall defensive ability they got from the two Williams.
The other thing that's overlooked is how much better Brogdon was as a 6th man than Pritchard is this year.
So, the overall trades were really Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and an unprotected 2029 first round pick for Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
If the Celtics had the chance, they'd probably trade Holiday for Smart and Brogdon right now. Especially since Holiday is making 37 million this year (with a 40 million player option next year) and Brogdon and Smart are making a combined 41 million this year.
@MichiganPacker posted:Essentially the Celtics flipped out Marcus Smart for Jrue Holiday. There are probably no two more similar players in the NBA once you get to the playoffs than those two. The biggest difference is that Smart is a dirty player and Jrue is one of the more beloved teammates in the league every place he's ever been. Otherwise, they are both outstanding defensive players that struggle to shoot under playoff pressure. Smart has actually shot over 35% from three the last two years in the playoffs and Jrue has shot 30.4% as a Buck from three in the playoffs. The biggest knock on Smart is shot selection - and he's averaged about 12-13 shots per game in the playoffs the last 3-4 years. We all love Jrue, but he averaged 18 shots per playoff game as a Buck - it was way, way, way too many. If the Celtics win a title this year, it probably won't be because of the difference between Jrue and Smart.
If the Celtics do win, it's because Porzingis is much better on offense than the Williams' were (Grant and Robert) and offers enough rim resistance at 7'2" to counteract the loss of overall defensive ability they got from the two Williams.
Yeah, they are going to need Porzingis and Horford to be healthy during the playoff run. And that might be asking too much.