at
Milwaukee Bucks (0-0) at Boston Celtics (0-1)
Regular Season Game #2 – Home Game #1
Friday, November 2, 2012
7:30 PM ET
TV: CSN-NE, FSN-WI, NBA-LP 755(MIL)/756(BOS)
Radio: WEEI, WTMJ
TD GardenProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Shooting Guard vs
Courtney Lee vs Monta Ellis
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs Tobias Harris
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Ersan Ilyasova
Center vs
Kevin Garnett vs Samuel Dalembert
Celtics ReservesJared Sullinger
Jason Collins
Jason Terry
Jeff Green
Kris Joseph
Fab Melo
Darko Milicic
Leandro Barbosa
Chris Wilcox
InjuriesAvery Bradley (shoulders) out
Bucks BenchMarquis Daniels
Mike Dunleavy
Drew Gooden
Doron Lamb
Larry Sanders
Ekpe Udoh
Beno Udrih
Injuries John Hanson (knee) questionable
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (knee) out
Joel Przybilla (ankle) probable
Team Connections:Bucks Assistant Coach Joe Wolf played for the Celtics during the 1992-93 season…
Bucks Trainer Marc Boff worked for the Celtics for eight seasons as an assistant trainer and physical therapist
Armond Hill played for the Bucks during the 1982-83 season
Brandon Jennings, Doron Lamb and Rajon Rondo attended Oak Hill Academy
Drew Gooden and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Bucks Assistant Coach Jim Boylan and Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers both attended Marquette Universtiy
Courtney Lee and Samuel Dalembert were teammates in Houston during the 2011-12 season
Jason Terry was teammates with Joel Przybilla in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season
Jason Terry and Drew Gooden were teammates in Dallas during the 2009-10 season.
Marquis Daniels played for the Celtics from 2009-12
Game NotesAfter a disappointing loss to the Heat to open the season the Celtics return home looking to establish dominance at home and get their first win of the season. Defense will be a priority for the Celtics as will getting better play from the second unit.
Milwaukee has held Boston below 90 points in three of the past five meetings but has only scored an average of just 80.0 points per game over those 5 games. But that was against the Celtics team that was ranked at the top of the league for the past two seasons, not the team that allowed 120 points to the Heat in the opener. Hopefully, the Celtics will soon get back to being that defensive team again soon.
The Bucks' losing streak in the series between these two teams reached 6 games when the Celtics beat the Bucks on April 26, in a game where Rajon Rondo went scoreless but had 15 assists and the Celtics won 87-74 in a defensive struggle.
Former Celtic Marquis Daniels will return to the Garden with his new team and deserves a big hand from the fans. Opening their season on the road is nothing new for the Bucks as this is the 28th consecutive season that they have opened on the road. In this instance Milwaukee will also begin the season at the same location its previous season ended with a 74-87 loss at the Garden on April 26.
With a couple of days off to study film and try to correct the mistakes of the previous game, hopefully the Celtics will come out with a defensive mindset and play a bit more cohesively.
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Jennings is a good young PG who is working to make a name for himself in the league. Jennings has talked trash in every game against the Celtics. You might even remember him shouting trash at KG as he was heading to the locker room after a game in his rookie year. Rondo should look to make a statement here and win this match up in a big way.
vs
Courtney Lee vs Monta Ellis
Ellis is capable of putting a lot of points on the board and CLee needs to clamp down defensively to try to contain him. He played Wade very well in the first game but was hampered by some quick and questionable foul calls by the refs. On the other end, Ellis can be a lazy defender at times and it might open up the court for Lee to get some easy shots.
Honorable MentionKevin Garnett vs Samuel Dalembert
KG should be able to get past Dalembert to get his shot off. We may also get to see Darko in this game as he would match up well against the Bucks' centers.
Keys to the Game DEFENSE! - The Celtics must tighten up their defense, especially on the pick and roll. They allowed way too many easy points against the Heat. Hopefully we will see the tough defense that we have come to expect from them. The Bucks can put up a lot of points and they also defend well so the Celtics must play tough defense if they want to get this win.
Rebound - The Celtics must crash the boards to prevent the Bucks from getting second chance points. Rebounding is all about effort and when the Celtics put out the effort on the boards that effort seems to carry over into all the other areas of their game. Failure to rebound will result in a failure to win.
Limit Turnovers- The Celtics turn the ball over way too much. They make careless passes. They lose track of their defender and lose the ball to them. They dribble into traffic and lose the handle. All of this could be fixed with more focus and discipline on the part of each player.
Bench Play - The Celtics have a deep bench and they have some good players on the bench. Jeff Green and Jason Terry need to shake off whatever was ailing them in the last game and lead the second unit as they are capable of doing.
X-FactorsDefense and Bench Play
The Celtics need to get back to their defensive priorities that they have become known for since KG joined the team. They need to especially improve on pick and roll defense. Also, the second unit have to play up to expectations. Jeff Green and Jason Terry, especially have to play better than they did in the first game.