Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks -4.5 Total: 200.5
The series returns to Milwaukee with the Celtics looking to close it out after winning Game 5 at home to take a 3-to-2 series lead. The story of Game 5 was the return of Marcus Smart who played 25 minutes and chipped in with nine points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal. Smart brings the defensive energy and has the ability to defend four positions including power forward when the likes of Jabari Parker is on the floor. Al Horford had a huge Game 5, scoring a team high 22 points with 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Khris Middleton lead the Bucks in scoring with 23 points while Giannis Antetkounmpo was held to just 16 points on 10 shots. He also nearly registered a triple-double with 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks. The Bucks ran away with both games against the Celtics in Milwaukee, outscoring Boston 230-to-194.
Milwaukee Bucks
- The Bucks were the worst rebounding team in the NBA this season and so far this series they have been outrebounded by Boston heavily on the offensive glass by an average of six rebounds per game.
- The Bucks currently rank first among playoff teams in blocks at over eight blocks per game.
- In the two games in Milwaukee during this series the Bucks blocked a total of 26 shots which was a major factor in their success.
- The Bucks shot 45.5-percent from three-point range during the two home games in this series.
- At home this series 37-percent of the Bucks shot attempts came from three-point range.
- Giannis Antetokoumpo is averaging 23.0 points on 60-percent shooting with six rebounds and 5.5 assists in the Bucks two wins this series.
- Khris Middleton averaged 23.0 points with seven rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 3.0 three-pointers in the Bucks two home wins this series.
- Middleton is shooting 60.0-percent from three-point range in the postseason.
- Thon Maker averaged 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.0 blocks in the two games in Milwaukee this series. During Game 5 he scored just two points and grabbed two rebounds before fouling out.
- Since expressing his displeasure about playing time following Game 2, Jabari Parker is averaging 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.7 three-pointers off the bench.
Players to Watch
I am expecting a huge bounce back game from Giannis after he took just 10 shots in the Bucks Game 5 loss. If he went for 30 points and finished with a triple-double I would not be shocked. Boston is starting forward Semi Ojeleye in Game 6 who really played strong defense on Giannis in Game 5 so that is a matchup to watch. | |
I am expecting Middleton to see a lot of Marcus Smart tonight as he has just killed Boston during this series. If the Celtics can limit the Bucks secondary scorers like Middleton they should win Game 6. | |
With the likelihood that Middleton gets a lot of Marcus Smart tonight the Bucks will need a huge game from Eric Bledsoe. He has been quiet in this series, but we know his scoring upside. If he can crack the Celtics defense I think he can get to the rim and score. | |
Parker has been stellar off the bench since seeing his role increase and I expect that to continue in Game 6 as Boston’s second unit is not as strong defensively given all the injuries and the fact that Semi Ojeleye is now in the starting lineup. | |
Maker was key to the Bucks wins in Game 3 and Game 4 but was non-existent in their Game 6 loss. He is an energy player and his defensive presence will fuel the crowd if he starts blocking shots. |
Boston Celtics
- The Celtics put forth their best defensive effort of the series in Game 5, holding the Bucks to just 36.8-percent shooting from the floor.
- The return of Marcus Smart had a huge impact on the Celtics as he filled up the stat sheet and was able to defend four positions.
- The Celtics leading scorer in Game 5 was Al Horford who scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
- Horford struggled in Game 3 and Game 4 in Milwaukee, averaging just 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
- In the Celtics Game 4 loss, Jaylen Brown scored a career high 34 points with eight rebounds and three steals. It was his second 30+ point scoring effort of the series.
- Brown is shooting 49-percent from the floor and 44.4-percent from three-point range this series.
- Marcus Morris is the primary scoring option off the bench for the Celtics and is averaging 28.6 minute per game.
- Marcus Morris struggled in the Celtics two road losses in this series, shooting just 26-percent from the floor.
- Celtics started forward Semi Ojeleye in Game 5 to play defense on Giannis Antetkounmpo. Ojeley offers no offensive upside but his defensive ability saw him play a series high 31 minutes.
- Ojeley’s increased minutes came at the expensive of rookie Jayson Tatum who played just 25 minutes in Game 5.
Players to Watch
Brown took just 13 shots in the Celtics Game 5 win but they will need him to be more involved in the offense if they hope to close out this series in Milwuakee tonight. Brown scored a career high 34 points in Game 4. | |
With the Celtics looking to play a bit more defensive basketball Tatum saw just 25 minutes in Gam 5. It didn’t help that he also shot just 2-for-7 from the field and the return of Marcus Smart brought some depth back to the Boston bench. If Tatum wants to stay on the floor he will need to play much better in Game 6. | |
The return of Marcus Smart will help Rozier focus more on the offense than defense where he has shown to be better suited this postseason. Rozier and Eric Bledsoe has a nice feud going on right now and if Terry can get hot from three-point range he brings a lot of energy to the Celtics offense. | |
Horford needs to be Boston’s best player if they are going to win Game 6 in my opinion. I expect the Bucks to come out firing on all cylinders and if Horford can match that intensity with his defense while also chipping in with his usual scoring and rebounding then Boston has a shot to close this one out. |