Celtics (43-21) vs Bucks (53-12) – 6:30PM, Fri., July 31, 2020

[Ben-N1ce]

No excuses for Tatum. Takes wild indecisive shots at the rim but only 4 threes one at the end with like 15 seconds. It makes no sense. He needs to cut his hair and get the headband back on his head...

[Ernest]

Can't want him to take it to the next level and become a superstar and then also tell him not to shoot. He could be 0-100 there is still nothing wrong with him shooting. I'd be worried if he started not shooting. Bad shooting happens to everyone. So it goes.

[ConstableGeneva]

No excuses for Tatum. Takes wild indecisive shots at the rim but only 4 threes one at the end with like 15 seconds. It makes no sense. He needs to cut his hair and get the headband back on his head...

Reverted to old habits. Too many midrange shots and wild drives throwing it up hoping it goes in or defender gets called for a foul. Whining to the refs and not running back on defense, which I have to admit must have been frustration creeping in. The two failed gambles he made on defense late in the game were notable too. I think Bucks scored on both. The second one was the waived charge on Giannis which turned into an and-1.

Hopefully, he watches film and makes the necessary adjustments.

EDIT: I do like Coach's/team's decision to keep going to him late in the game despite all the missed shots. That shows trust and confidence in him. If we're going deep into the postseason, he's gonna have to be on top of his game. Cs ride or die with JT.

[Green89]

The problem with Tatum is he also looked bad in the two scrimmages. Brad was being nice in the post game just making it sound like his shots weren't falling, but it looks more like he didn't put in enough effort during the break. He doesn't seem up to the right playing level.

[Infinite Llamas]

My favorite moment of the game was late when they called something on Hayward...a travel? And he looked at the ref and he was arguing the call and that was the most intense I have seen him since he joined the team. I really saw a drive in him last night and if he is fully healthy and engaged, we should get better results going forward.

And people talk about these games having a summer league type feel/aura...how many fouls are you allowed to get in summer league games? Lol

[MagicBagley18]

There’s no effort or working out that can simulate finishing layups at the rim at full speed amongst the 7ft giants in the nba...he’s (Tatum) doing the exact same thing he did to begin the season on his at the basket attempts. He’s either going in to the lane too fast with his head down forcing it, or he’s off on his touch putting the ball of the back board or jumping a step late or early to start his attack.

It’s going to come back to him, that’s a rhythm thing. It will be much quicker IMO than in November. I’d say by the last few games of seeding play he’ll be very close to where he was at Before in terms of finishing. He’s 22 and he hasn’t played in real game setting for a few months- his arsenal of moves are very nuanced and need to hit the rim/backboard at the exact spot.

It’s not an effort thing.

[24istheLAW]

Hayward look great to me

He was better than the Jays. He was hesitant taking 3s though, which tends to be an indicator of his confidence.

How many real open 3s did he get tho? I think Hayward won’t force any bad shots bc he’s also trying to find a better one. Pull up 3s really aren’t a part of his game much anymore except for the top of the key slight step back he does every now and again.
He’s more of a corner/wing catch and shoot 3 guy now and I didn’t see him get a lot of this looks tonight but perhaps I’m wrong.

I think his role now is to facilitate the offense, dribble in to pull in the defenders and then pass out for a 3 or look for a baseline cut or backdoor lay up. If that’s not there he uses the screener to shoot his midrange foul line j

I'm not exactly re-watching the game film but off the top of my head he had two catches, where he looked like he was going to take the shot and second guessed it. I'll never have an issue with his shot selection, but when he's feeling himself I think he takes those.

I think it's important for Hayward to be confident and assertive in the bubble. 3-point shooting is going to be rusty for everyone (not just us), and if he's floating around and deferring, everyone else is gonna end up jacking up 3s. We need him to demand the ball because he's the only real point guy in the starting lineup.

[31to6]

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Pretty rich for Bud to say this. Has he watched the Lopez twins??? Didn't realize those two were such flop artists. There was one where Middleton cut between Lopez and Theis, hit Lopez, and Theis was called for an offensive foul lol.

He hit Theis with an open palm, regardless of whether it was hard or not, it was a foul. One of the reasons I hate watching Giannis, his game is so rugged. It's pushing, shoving and playing on the break. I should probably enjoy him cause he's dominant(different in the 3 point era I mean), but I legit have a tough time watching him play ball.

The good thing is Smart is 100% in Giannis' head and they both know it.
It's a brawl every time they match up with each other.

[Spud2nique]

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Pretty rich for Bud to say this. Has he watched the Lopez twins??? Didn't realize those two were such flop artists. There was one where Middleton cut between Lopez and Theis, hit Lopez, and Theis was called for an offensive foul lol.

He hit Theis with an open palm, regardless of whether it was hard or not, it was a foul. One of the reasons I hate watching Giannis, his game is so rugged. It's pushing, shoving and playing on the break. I should probably enjoy him cause he's dominant(different in the 3 point era I mean), but I legit have a tough time watching him play ball.

The good thing is Smart is 100% in Giannis' head and they both know it.
It's a brawl every time they match up with each other.

Wow really? From what I saw, Giannis seemed to toy with him.

[themoneyteam2]

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This is my issue with it.

[MagicBagley18]

He was better than the Jays. He was hesitant taking 3s though, which tends to be an indicator of his confidence.

How many real open 3s did he get tho? I think Hayward won’t force any bad shots bc he’s also trying to find a better one. Pull up 3s really aren’t a part of his game much anymore except for the top of the key slight step back he does every now and again.
He’s more of a corner/wing catch and shoot 3 guy now and I didn’t see him get a lot of this looks tonight but perhaps I’m wrong.

I think his role now is to facilitate the offense, dribble in to pull in the defenders and then pass out for a 3 or look for a baseline cut or backdoor lay up. If that’s not there he uses the screener to shoot his midrange foul line j

I'm not exactly re-watching the game film but off the top of my head he had two catches, where he looked like he was going to take the shot and second guessed it. I'll never have an issue with his shot selection, but when he's feeling himself I think he takes those.

I think it's important for Hayward to be confident and assertive in the bubble. 3-point shooting is going to be rusty for everyone (not just us), and if he's floating around and deferring, everyone else is gonna end up jacking up 3s. We need him to demand the ball because he's the only real point guy in the starting lineup.

I understand and you make good points, I just feel like that’s not gonna be how he plays now with us- not necessarily right now because of the injury but because I think his role now is a facilitator who sets up the offense and gets JT JB KW going and then if that’s not there he goes and gets his.

[ConstableGeneva]

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This is my issue with it.

Usually, reviewing a hostile act during live play comes with a foul call. Why review something potentially hostile if you didn't deem it to be an intentional contact in the first place? So if it's not a hostile act, they stick with the regular foul. When the refs blew a whistle, they sure saw something. Foul should've been called, even if it was a late call. Driving your open palm into the hip area of a screener to get by isn't incidental contact, btw. So the ref's explanation is BS either way.

But different rules just apply to this guy. We might just have to accept it and move on.

[hugepatsfan]

MIL's length bothers us because we simply play too many non-offensive players at once. Our only hope is that once the playoff rotations kick in, we aren't using those lineups anymore.

Wanamaker has a good catch & shoot percentage from 3 but it's fool's gold. He takes 0.8 catch and shoot 3s per game. It's not a shot anyone on the defense respects

Semi Ojeleye has a respectable season 3 point percentage but it's on such low volume that defenses know they don't have to respect it. More fool's gold.

Enes Kanter is a non shooter obviously.

Theis is a capable shooter at the 5, but wouldn't say he's any sort of serious floor spacer that moves defenses.

Grant Williams improved his shooting over the course of the season but it was still on low volume so defenses don't really respect it.

Those 5 guys make up half of our rotation and none of them get defensive respect from 3. You combine that with MIL's length and they can sag back and make life hell for us.

You watch the game and we consistently have 2 or even 3 of those guys out on the court at a time. Come playoff time, you hope that our top 5 guys who do draw defensive respect (Tatum / Kemba / Hayward / Brown / Smart) will play extended minutes. That should minimize lineups with crappy offensive players.

Come playoff time, the rotations should be lined up so that there isn't a single minute where we don't have at least 3 of those guys on the floor together at a time. And it should be very limited time that it isn't 4 of them out there. That's doable with expanded minutes in the playoffs for top guys and lining up rotations right. It will make us much tougher to defend.

[Green89]

MIL's length bothers us because we simply play too many non-offensive players at once. Our only hope is that once the playoff rotations kick in, we aren't using those lineups anymore.

Wanamaker has a good catch & shoot percentage from 3 but it's fool's gold. He takes 0.8 catch and shoot 3s per game. It's not a shot anyone on the defense respects

Semi Ojeleye has a respectable season 3 point percentage but it's on such low volume that defenses know they don't have to respect it. More fool's gold.

Enes Kanter is a non shooter obviously.

Theis is a capable shooter at the 5, but wouldn't say he's any sort of serious floor spacer that moves defenses.

Grant Williams improved his shooting over the course of the season but it was still on low volume so defenses don't really respect it.

Those 5 guys make up half of our rotation and none of them get defensive respect from 3. You combine that with MIL's length and they can sag back and make life hell for us.

You watch the game and we consistently have 2 or even 3 of those guys out on the court at a time. Come playoff time, you hope that our top 5 guys who do draw defensive respect (Tatum / Kemba / Hayward / Brown / Smart) will play extended minutes. That should minimize lineups with crappy offensive players.

Come playoff time, the rotations should be lined up so that there isn't a single minute where we don't have at least 3 of those guys on the floor together at a time. And it should be very limited time that it isn't 4 of them out there. That's doable with expanded minutes in the playoffs for top guys and lining up rotations right. It will make us much tougher to defend.

Ideally, and you would hope, but I'm not convinced Brad will do that.

[rrdjutriurt]

That was clearly a block foul by Marcus near the end of the game. Giannis had already ready risen off the floor and Marcus's foot was still half in the restricted zone and then he also moved right as Giannis was in the air. Do agree Giannis should have fouled out on the play at three point line though.

[CelticsPride18]

MIL's length bothers us because we simply play too many non-offensive players at once. Our only hope is that once the playoff rotations kick in, we aren't using those lineups anymore.

Wanamaker has a good catch & shoot percentage from 3 but it's fool's gold. He takes 0.8 catch and shoot 3s per game. It's not a shot anyone on the defense respects

Semi Ojeleye has a respectable season 3 point percentage but it's on such low volume that defenses know they don't have to respect it. More fool's gold.

Enes Kanter is a non shooter obviously.

Theis is a capable shooter at the 5, but wouldn't say he's any sort of serious floor spacer that moves defenses.

Grant Williams improved his shooting over the course of the season but it was still on low volume so defenses don't really respect it.

Those 5 guys make up half of our rotation and none of them get defensive respect from 3. You combine that with MIL's length and they can sag back and make life hell for us.

You watch the game and we consistently have 2 or even 3 of those guys out on the court at a time. Come playoff time, you hope that our top 5 guys who do draw defensive respect (Tatum / Kemba / Hayward / Brown / Smart) will play extended minutes. That should minimize lineups with crappy offensive players.

Come playoff time, the rotations should be lined up so that there isn't a single minute where we don't have at least 3 of those guys on the floor together at a time. And it should be very limited time that it isn't 4 of them out there. That's doable with expanded minutes in the playoffs for top guys and lining up rotations right. It will make us much tougher to defend.

Wanamaker should shoot the open 3 instead of trying to drive every single possession. It drives me nuts every time he passes up an open shot.

[old skool]

MIL's length bothers us because we simply play too many non-offensive players at once. Our only hope is that once the playoff rotations kick in, we aren't using those lineups anymore.

Wanamaker has a good catch & shoot percentage from 3 but it's fool's gold. He takes 0.8 catch and shoot 3s per game. It's not a shot anyone on the defense respects

Semi Ojeleye has a respectable season 3 point percentage but it's on such low volume that defenses know they don't have to respect it. More fool's gold.

Enes Kanter is a non shooter obviously.

Theis is a capable shooter at the 5, but wouldn't say he's any sort of serious floor spacer that moves defenses.

Grant Williams improved his shooting over the course of the season but it was still on low volume so defenses don't really respect it.

Those 5 guys make up half of our rotation and none of them get defensive respect from 3. You combine that with MIL's length and they can sag back and make life hell for us.

You watch the game and we consistently have 2 or even 3 of those guys out on the court at a time. Come playoff time, you hope that our top 5 guys who do draw defensive respect (Tatum / Kemba / Hayward / Brown / Smart) will play extended minutes. That should minimize lineups with crappy offensive players.

Come playoff time, the rotations should be lined up so that there isn't a single minute where we don't have at least 3 of those guys on the floor together at a time. And it should be very limited time that it isn't 4 of them out there. That's doable with expanded minutes in the playoffs for top guys and lining up rotations right. It will make us much tougher to defend.

I think that relying on more minutes for key players in the playoff rotation is a bit of a false hope. Yes, that will make the Celtics a better team. However, that disregards the reality that every opponent will do the same thing. In the case of Milwaukee, that means more Antetokounmpo, more Middleton, etc . Last night the all of the Bucks starters had a positive +/-, while all of the Celtics starters had a negative +/-. Getting more of the same in the playoffs does not necessarily bode well for the Celtics.

[hugepatsfan]

MIL's length bothers us because we simply play too many non-offensive players at once. Our only hope is that once the playoff rotations kick in, we aren't using those lineups anymore.

Wanamaker has a good catch & shoot percentage from 3 but it's fool's gold. He takes 0.8 catch and shoot 3s per game. It's not a shot anyone on the defense respects

Semi Ojeleye has a respectable season 3 point percentage but it's on such low volume that defenses know they don't have to respect it. More fool's gold.

Enes Kanter is a non shooter obviously.

Theis is a capable shooter at the 5, but wouldn't say he's any sort of serious floor spacer that moves defenses.

Grant Williams improved his shooting over the course of the season but it was still on low volume so defenses don't really respect it.

Those 5 guys make up half of our rotation and none of them get defensive respect from 3. You combine that with MIL's length and they can sag back and make life hell for us.

You watch the game and we consistently have 2 or even 3 of those guys out on the court at a time. Come playoff time, you hope that our top 5 guys who do draw defensive respect (Tatum / Kemba / Hayward / Brown / Smart) will play extended minutes. That should minimize lineups with crappy offensive players.

Come playoff time, the rotations should be lined up so that there isn't a single minute where we don't have at least 3 of those guys on the floor together at a time. And it should be very limited time that it isn't 4 of them out there. That's doable with expanded minutes in the playoffs for top guys and lining up rotations right. It will make us much tougher to defend.

I think that relying on more minutes for key players in the playoff rotation is a bit of a false hope. Yes, that will make the Celtics a better team. However, that disregards the reality that every opponent will do the same thing. In the case of Milwaukee, that means more Antetokounmpo, more Middleton, etc . Last night the all of the Bucks starters had a positive +/-, while all of the Celtics starters had a negative +/-. Getting more of the same in the playoffs does not necessarily bode well for the Celtics.

Yeah it's not a fix-all. But the Bucks have good bench players. If they're in a lineup with 3 starters and 2 bench players their lineup works offensively because their bench players are good. If we're in a lineup with 3 starters, one of them being Theis, our offense is putrid and unplayable. Because we have crappy offensive players on our bench.

Also have to factor in that we didn't have Kemba for most of the game. Since he's one of the guys I'm saying is in the needs to be on the floor group that's HUGE. We basically spend the whole night in those 2 bad bench player situations since Wanamaker had to play so much.

We arguably have the worst bench in the NBA. We're as good as we are because our starting 5 is arguably among the best in the game. So playoff rotations where bench players play less is going to favor us a great deal.

[ConstableGeneva]

Clean, my ass. Also they hate Daniel Theis even after the game has ended LMAO.

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