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Milwaukee Bucks (31-33) at Boston Celtics (38-27)
Wednesday, April 26
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #66, Home Game #33
TV: CSN-NE, FSN-WI, LP 752(MIL)/753(BOS)
Radio: WEEI, WTMJ
TD GardenProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Brandon Jennings
Shooting Guard vs
Avery Bradley vs Shaun Livingston
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs Tobias Harris
Power Forward vs
Brandon Bass vs Jon Leuer
Center vs
Kevin Garnett vs Ekpe Udoh
Celtics ReservesMickael Pietrus
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore
Sasha Pavlovic
Greg Stiemsma
Keyon Dooling
Marquis Daniels
Ryan Hollins
Sean Williams
Injured
Ray Allen (ankle) day to day
Kevin Garnett (hip flexor) day to day
Mickael Pietrus (knee) day to day
Rajon Rondo (back) day to day
Greg Stiemsma (feet) day to day
Bucks BenchLarry Sanders
Benu Udrih
Mike Dunleavy
Jon Brockman
Drew Gooden
Injuries Luc Mbah a Moute (knee) questionable
Carlos Delfino (groin) questionable
Kwame Brown (pectoral) out
Ersan Ilyasova (knee) questionable
Monta Ellis (hand) questionable
Game NotesThis is the 3rd and final game between these two teams. It is also the final game of the season for both teams. The Celtics lead the series 2-0 so far.
The Bucks have slipped to the 9th spot and are are 3 back of the 8th spot with no hope of moving up so they are playing just for pride and ping pong balls. The Bucks are playing in the second of back to back games having played Philadelphia on Wednesday.
As far as who is going to play in this game, Doc has said that he plans to play everyone who is healthy. I've put KG and Rondo into the starting lineup, but I'm not sure if they will be starting or if Doc will opt to rest their injuries another game. For the Bucks, I'm going with the lineup that they started against the Sixers on Wednesday.
The Celtics should be able to win this game. Even though this game means nothing to the Bucks, they don't like the Celtics and so I can see them working hard to try to beat them. The Celtics still have a chance at home court and so should try just as hard.
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 the game in his rookie year. Doc has said that Rondo is expected to play but we may see Avery Bradley at the point again if Rondo needs an extra day of rest.
Benches
Even if the Celtics regular starters play, I don't expect them to play big minutes. The Celtics reserves are going to need to come up with big games once again if the Celtics want to win this.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is key for this game and especially for the playoffs. They need to get their team defense tuned up in this game to get the win and to prepare for the playoffs.
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 usually results in a failure to win.
Work the Offense - It took the Celtics over 6 minutes to score against the Heat's pitiful offering in their last game. They need to work the offense and make the extra pass to find the open man. If the jumpers aren't falling, they need to drive to the hoop. Good things happen when you get into the paint. They have to be patient and run the offense and not just dribble out the clock and take rushed shots.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be aggressive in going after loose balls and rebounds, in pushing the tempo, and in going to the hoop. The more aggressive team will usually get the benefit of the calls and that's half the battle.
X-FactorsHome Court and Who's Playing
This is the final game of the season and the crowd should be loud and give the home team a boost. Hopefully the refs will call a fair game as well. Doc has said that the guys will play in this one but possibly reduced minutes. Hopefully they can get it done and the bench comes up big once again.