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Milwaukee Bucks (1-6) at Boston Celtics (5-2)
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
7:30 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, My24 Bucks+, League Pass
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WTMJ 103.3 FM, Sirius XM
Regular Season Game #8, Home Game #6
TD Garden 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Braydon Burries
Shooting Guard 
vs
Hugo Gonzalez vs Tyler Herro
Small Forward 
vs
Paul George vs Jaime Jaquez, Jr
Power Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Kyle Kuzma
Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Miles Turner
Celtics ReservesChris Cenac, Jr
Mike Conley, Jr
Luka Garza
Jordan Walsh
Ron Harper, Jr
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Mitchell Robinson
Baylor Scheierman
Two Way PlayersDevin Carter
Dillon Mitchell
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutDevin Carter (illness) out
Jayson Tatum (rest) questionable
Payton Pritchard (shoulder) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Bucks Reserves Nate Ament
Ousmane Dieng
AJ Green
Kasparas Jakucionis
Caris LeVert
Bogoljub Markovic
Ryan Rollins
Jericho Sims
Gary Trent, Jr
Kel'el Ware
Two-Way Players Kam Jones
Pete Nance
Corman Ryan
Injured/Out None listed
Head Coach Taylor Jenkins
Game Notes The Celtics go for their 5th straight home win as they return home to host the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the first of 3 games between these two teams this season. They will play in Milwaukee on November 8 and again in Boston on April 11. The Celtics won the series last year 3-1, losing one game in Milwaukee. The Celtics are 124-113 overall, all time against the Bucks and they are 77-40 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics are 3rd in the East with only Philadelphia (7-1) and Detroit (6-1) ahead of them in the standings. The Bucks are 14th in the East with only Brooklyn behind them. The Celtics are 4-0 at home and 1-2 on the road. The Bucks only win this season was a home win against the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics have won the last 3 games against the Bucks.
The Bucks have overhauled their roster since last season. They made the big trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Jr, and Kasparas Jakucionis. They also traded for Caris LeVert from Detroit and signed Pete Nance and Kam Jones to two way contracts. They signed Bogoljub Markovic as a free agent. They also drafted Braydon Burries with the 10th pick and Nate Ament with the 13th pick. They lost Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson, Kevin Porter along with Giannis and Porter. They also hired Taylor Jenkins as their head coach, replacing Doc Rivers.
After this game, the Celtics will head out on a road trip that will take them through Charlotte, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Toronto. They play Dallas and Orlando at home before a West coast trip that takes them through Denver, Sacramento, Golden State, and Washington. They then play one game at home against Atlanta before playing at San Antonio and Dallas. Then it's home against Charlotte before a game at Brooklyn.
After this game, the Bucks will return home to host Toronto and Boston before playing at New York and Orlando. They then host Atlanta and play at Miami and host Portland. Then they play Philadelphia and Toronto on the road before hosting Brooklyn. Then it's one game at Detroit before a 3 game home stand against Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New York.
The Celtics have been changing their starting lineup with Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta getting starts along with Derrick White, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson. Against the Rockets, White, Scheierman, Gonzalez, Tatum and Queta got the start. The starting lineup is a work in progress for the Celtics and so it's hard to predict who Joe will go with from game to game.
I'm just guessing that White, Gonzalez, George, Tatum and Queta will start. Since Tatum is questionable, if he can't play it's possible that Scheierman once again starts but knowing how Tatum hates to sit out, I'm going to guess that he plays. For the Bucks, they have started Burries, Herro, Jaquez, Kuzma and Turner in all 7 games so far and I'm going to guess that the same lineup starts this game.
The Celtics still have just Devin Carter on the injury report due to illness. After missing the final 3 games of the preseason, Carter was diagnosed with mononucleosis and is without a timetable for a return. After playing both games in 2 back to back sets, Jayson Tatum is listed as questionable for rest. He hates to sit out and so I'm just taking a wild guess that he will play. Payton Pritchard is also listed as questionable with a right shoulder contusion. Milwaukee has no one on their injury report at this time.
Key Matchups vs
Hugo Gonzalez vs Tyler Herro
Herro is in his first season in Milwaukee after being traded from Miami. He is averaging 21.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He is shooting 45.9% from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc. He is a very good shooter and so the Celtics need to defend him well wherever he is on the court. I'm guessing that Hugo gets the start here again, but with Joe playing mad scientist with the lineups, you never know.
vs
Paul George vs Jaime Jaquez, Jr
As with Herro, Jaquez is in his first season with the Bucks. He is averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He is shooting 50.6% from the field and 44.0% from beyond the arc. He is a good shooter and so, as with Herro, the Celtics need to stay with him and defend him well.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma is averaging 10.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He is shooting 43.9% from the field and 29.0% from beyond the arc. Although he is struggling from the perimeter, he is very capable of hitting 3's if left open. Tatum is questionable so the Celtics may start Hauser, or Scheierman or Walsh or any one of several other players here if Tatum doesn't play.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always the biggest key to winning. Defense really does win championships. The Celtics are 11th with a defensive rating of 109.3. The Bucks are 26th with a defensive rating of 118.6. The Celtics must work hard on defense and keep their focus on the defensive end so as not to allow any easy baskets for the Bucks. They especially need to defend the perimeter as the Bucks are 3rd in the league attempting 43.7 three pointers per game.
Rebound - Next to defense, rebounding is always a big key to winning. The key to rebounding is effort and focus. The Bucks are 3rd with 49.6 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 20th with 42.4 rebounds per game. The Celtics especially need to fight for offensive rebounds as the Bucks are 2nd with 15 offensive rebounds per game while the Celtics are 13th with 12.6 offensive boards per game. The Celtics have to fight as a team to try to grab every rebound to avoid the Bucks getting 2nd chance points. The Bucks are 3rd, getting 19.0 second chance points per game.
Don't Underestimate the Bucks - The Bucks have not been playing well so far this season, going just 1-6 in their first 7 games. However, the Bucks are still a rival in the Eastern Conference that can play hard, which makes up for a lot of problems. The Celtics have to give max effort on the boards and on defense and they have to give that effort for the entire game and not just 1 or 2 quarters.
3 Point Shooting - The Celtics are 8th in the league, averaging 40.6 three pointers per game. They are shooting 34.5% as a team from beyond the arc. The Bucks are 3rd, averaging 43.7 threes a game and 20th in the league shooting 33.3% on threes as a team. Against the Rockets, no one on the Celtics could hit their 3's. If the Celtics' 3's aren't falling in this game, they need to take the ball inside.
X-Factors Home Game - The Celtics are home once again after a 2 game road trip. They have the home crowd behind them to give them extra motivation. The Bucks are on the road for the 2nd straight game and have the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd. The Celtics need to take advantage of playing at home and play with energy and effort. The Celtics have not lost at home this season and the Bucks have not won on the road. They need to keep it that way.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game. The Celtics also have to be aware of the new points of emphasis for this season and try to avoid flopping, off‑arm push‑offs, reckless closeouts, delays before free throws, and illegal screens. They have been especially calling flops and push offs and so the Celtics need to especially avoid doing both.
Topic: Bucks (1-6) at Celtics (5-2) Game #8 11/4/26 (Read 1220 times)