at
Boston Celtics (16-16) at Milwaukee Bucks (21-13)
Saturday, December 25, 2021
2:30 PM ET
ABC
Radio: WBZ-FM, WKTI-FM
Regular Season Game #33 Road Game#18
Fiserv Forum 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Marcus Smart vs Jrue Holiday
Shooting Guard 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Jordan Nwora
Small Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Khris Middleton
Power Forward 
vs
Al Horford vs Giannis Antetokounmpo
Center
vs
Robert Williams III vs DeMarcus Cousins
Celtics ReservesJoe Johnson
Payton Pritchard
Dennis Schroder
Al-Farouq Aminu
Norvel Pelle
InjuriesGrant Williams (covid) out
Sam Hauser (covid) out
Justin Jackson (covid) out
Aaron Nesmith (covid) out
Bruno Fernando (covid) out
CJ Miles (covid) out
Enes Freedom (covid) out
Josh Richardson (covid) out
Marcus Smart (hip) questionable
Romeo Langford (Achilles) questionable
Al Horford (covid) questionable
Brodric Thomas (covid) questionable
Jabari Parker (covid) questionable
Juancho Hernangomez (covid) questionable
Two-Way PlayersSam Hauser
Brodric Thomas
Head CoachIme Udoka
Bucks ReservesGrayson Allen
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Pat Connaughton
Javin DeLaurier
George Hill
Rodney Hood
Wesley Matthews
Semi Ojeleye
Bobby Portis
Injuries Donte DeVincenzo (covid) game time decision
Brook Lopez (back) out
Giannis Antetokounmpo (condiditioning) game time decision
Two Way Players Sandro Mamukelashvili
Javonte Smart
Head Coach Mike Budenholzer
Game Notes The Celtics visit the Milwaukee Bucks for the third of 4 regular season games between them. The Celtics won the first game at Boston 122-113 on November 12. They also won the second game at Boston 117-103 on December 13, also in Boston. They will meet one more time on April 7 in Milwaukee. The Celtics are 114-107 all time against the Bucks and they are 42-67 all time in Milwaukee.
The Celtics last played at home on Wednesday when they got a win over Cleveland to close out their 5 game home stand. The Bucks last played on Thursday at Dallas where they got a win over the Mavericks without Giannis in the lineup. The Celtics have a game at Minnesota on December 27 before returning to Boston for a 4 game home stand. The Bucks will have two games at Orlando to close out December before beginning a 3 game home stand on January 1.
First of all, unless some of the players who are questionable for the Celtics are able to play, the Celtics may not have enough players to field a team. There are a total of 14 players on the injury list. Eight players are out due to health and safety protocols including a couple of guys on 10 day contracts. Bruno Fernando, Enes Freedom, Sam Hauser, justin Jackson, CJ Miles, Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, and Grant Williams are all out due to covid.
In addition to 8 players out due to covid, 4 players are questionable to come back from the health and safety protocols including Juancho Hernangomez, Al Horford, Jabari Parker and Brodric Thomas. Also questionable for this game are Marcus Smart, who injured his hip in the game against the Cavaliers and Romeo Langford with an Achilles injury. The Celtics are rumored to have signed Al-Farouq Aminu and Norvel Pelle and they may or may not be in uniform for this game.
Hopefully some of the players who are questionable for the Celtics and who will be a game time decision will be able to play. For the Bucks, only Brook Lopez is listed as out due to back surgery. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been cleared from the health and safety protocols and is a game time decision due to conditioning. Also a game time decision is Donte DeVincenzo, who was set to make his season debut in mid December before going out with covid. If he plays, he will likely be on a minutes restriction.
I have no idea if the questionable players will play or if someone else will be out by game time. It's just crazy. I've just guessed at the starters and hopefully we get Al back and Marcus can play. I'm just assuming that Giannis will play because that's Murphy's Law.
And finally, I want to wish my fellow Celtics fans a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I love each and every one of you and I'm looking forward to a New Year filled with Celtics victories!!!
Key Matchups vs
Al Horford vs Giannis Antetokounmpo
Assuming that both Al and Giannis are available to start, this will be the top matchup. Al has done pretty well defending Giannis in the past and if he is healthy, and not suffering the aftermath of his second bout with covid this season, he should be able to at least slow him down in this game. Giannis is averaging 27 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. He is shooting 52.9% from the field and 28% from beyond the arc.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton always seems to have big games against the Celtics. He left the December win by the Celtics with just 4 points due to a knee injury and will likely be looking to make up for that in this game. He is averaging 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. He is shooting 42.8% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. He is dangerous as he can drive to the hoop, shoot the midrange shot and also hit from the perimeter.
Honorable Mention Marcus Smart vs Jrue Holiday
I'm hoping that Smart can play in this game but if not, I would imagine that Dennis Schroder will get the start at the point. Holiday is averaging 17.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. Holiday is also tough to guard in that he can drive, shoot midrange, or hit from the outside. He is shooting 48.6% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is the most important key to winning. The Bucks are 8th in the league, averaging 110.3 points per game while the Celtics are 14th, averaging 108.4 points per game. The Bucks are 5th in the league, making 14.1 three pointers per game. The Celtics likely will struggle to win a shoot out with the Bucks and so they have to increase their defensive intensity. They must work at getting stops if they hope to win this game.
Rebound - Next to defense, rebounding is a key to winning. Much of rebounding is effort and desire and when the Celtics put out the extra effort on the boards, it usually carries through to the rest of their game. The Celtics average 45.7 rebounds per game while the Bucks are 2nd in the league with 47.1 rebounds per game. The Celtics must increase their effort to crash the glass as a team and beat the Bucks to rebounds. The Bucks get 13.5 second chance points per game and the Celtics can limit that if they work harder on the boards.
Play Hard 48 Minutes - The Celtics need consistent effort from start to finish. They can't afford to have bad quarters against good teams. They have to come out strong right from the start and not dig a hole they will have to work to climb out of the rest of the game. And they have to play hard right up until the final buzzer sounds. They simply can't have those lapses if they want to beat good teams like the Bucks.
Play as a Team - Iso ball will rarely win games. The Celtics need to move the ball and trust their teammates. Each player has to work together on offense and not try to win the game on their own. They have to work together on defense and be sure they have each others' backs and not miss the switches. If they are going to win this game, it will have to be as a team and working together.
X-Factors Shorthanded - First and foremost, the biggest X-Factor is that fact that the Celtics have 14 players listed on the injury list and only 6 players listed as definite to play, and one of those has only played 1 game since the 2017-18 season. The Celtics will need to have at least a couple of the players who are questionable back in order to have enough to play. On the other hand the Bucks only have one player definitely out and 2 who are questionable. It will be a tough game for the Celtics without many of their key players.
On the Road - The Celtics have struggled a bit on the road this season with a 7-10 record away from the Garden. The Celtics need to keep their focus and not allow distractions of playing on the road, travel and playing in a hostile arena take away from their focus on playing the game the right way. They are away from their families on Christmas Day and that is tough but they can't let that keep them from focusing on the game and getting the win.
Officiating - Officiating always has the possibility to be an x-factor. Every officiating crew calls games differently. Some call it tight and some let them play. Some have a bias against certain teams and certain players. Some favor the home team while others call it straight for both teams. The Celtics have to adjust to how this game is being called by the crew and not allow officiating to take away their focus from playing the game.
Topic: Celtics (16-16) at Bucks (21-13) Game #33 12/25/21 (Read 26794 times)