at 
Boston Celtics (7-2) at Milwaukee Bucks (1-8)
Sunday November 8, 2026
8:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, My24 Bucks+, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WTMJ (103.3),  Sirius XM
Regular Season Game #10,  Road Game #5
Fiserv Forum


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Braydon Burries

Shooting Guard
vs 
Jordan Walsh 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 Reserves
Chris Cenac, Jr
Mike Conley, Jr
Luka Garza
Jordan Walsh
Ron Harper, Jr
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Mitchell Robinson
Baylor Scheierman

Two Way Players
Devin Carter
Dillon Mitchell
Amari Williams

Injuries/Out
None Listed

Head Coach
Joe 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 visit the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2nd of 3 meetings between these two teams this season.  The Celtics won the first game 109-102 on November 4.  They will meet for a 3rd, and final, time in Boston on April 11.  The Celtics won the series last year 3-1, losing one game in Milwaukee.  The Celtics are 125-113 overall, all time against the Bucks and they are 46-73 in games played in Milwaukee. 

The Celtics are 2nd in the East with only Philadelphia (8-2) ahead of them in the standings.  The Pistons are half a game behind the Celtics in third place. The Celtics have won their last 2 games and they have won their last 4 against Milwaukee.  The Bucks are 15th in the East half a game ahead of the Bulls.  They are 6.5 games out of first place.  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 Bucks are on a 5 game losing streak. 

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 continue their road trip through Philadelphia and Toronto in back to back games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then 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 play 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.   They then go on a 3 game road trip through Memphis, Dallas and Houston. 

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.   The starting lineup is a work in progress for the Celtics, especially the shooting guard spot that has changed pretty much from game to game.  I'm guessing that White, Walsh, George, Tatum and Queta get the start in this one.  For the Bucks, they have started Burries, Herro, Jaquez, Kuzma and Turner in most games and so far and I'm going to guess that the same lineup starts this game.   

Devin Carter is finally off the injury list.  He played on Friday for the Maine Celtics where he scored 16 points in 17 minutes.  Since the G-League season has started, Carter, Cenac, Mitchell and Williams may be with Maine.  The Celtics and Bucks both have clear injury reports at this time.  Since neither team is playing in back to back games, I doubt any players will be rested. 

Key Matchups
vs 
Jordan Walsh vs Tyler Herro
Herro is in his first season in Milwaukee after being traded from Miami.  He is averaging 22.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.  He is shooting 45.8% from the field and 41.1% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics this season, he finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 40.0% 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.  He keyed a run by the Bucks to come back from 21 points down at the half to take the lead in the 4th quarter.   I'm guessing that Jordan Walsh gets the start here, 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 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.  He is shooting 48.7% from the field and 44.7% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while shooting 43.8% from the field and 66.7% 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 Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Kyle Kuzma 
Kuzma is averaging 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.  He is shooting 46.3% from the field and 28.9% from beyond the arc.  In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 40% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.  Although he is struggling from the perimeter, he is very capable of hitting 3's if left open.  Hopefully Jayson Tatum can pick up where he left off on Friday. 

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense is always the biggest key to winning.  Defense really does win championships and it wins games.  The Celtics are 4th with a defensive rating of 106.4.  The Bucks are 27th 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 1st in the league attempting 44.1 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 49.0 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 14th with 43.9 rebounds per game.  The Celtics have to fight as a team to try to grab every rebound to avoid the Bucks getting 2nd chance points because the Bucks are 3rd with 18.2 second chance points per game.

Don't Underestimate the Bucks - The Bucks have not been playing well so far this season, going just 1-8 in their first 9 games.  However,  the Bucks are still a rival in the Eastern Conference that can play hard, which makes up for a lot of problems. In the first game against the Bucks, the Celtics built a 21 point lead at the half but let the Bucks out-play them in the second half to take a 92-91 lead. They held on to win the game, but they need to give 100% effort for the entire game and not underestimate the Bucks.  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. 

Effort and Focus  -  "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."  That quote pretty much says it all.  Any team that works hard and hustles can beat a more talented team that doesn't play hard.  The  Celtics have to be aggressive on defense, on rebounds, on fighting for loose balls, on taking the ball to the basket and just overall playing harder than the Bucks.  They have to play harder and stay focused on playing the right way for all 48 minutes.  They also can't overlook the Bucks while anticipating their big game on Tuesday at Philadelphia.  Stay focused on this game. 

X-Factors
On the Road - The Celtics are on the road for the second straight game and so will have the distractions of travel, staying in hotels, and playing in front of a hostile crowd.  They need to stay focused and not allow any of those distractions to take their focus away from playing the right way.  Historically, the Celtics are just 46-73 in Milwaukee.  They need to stay focused and play hard and not let up. 

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 make an effort to avoid doing both.