,

Milwaukee Bucks Return Home For Game 3 Of NBA Playoffs

Team Looking For A Win After 2 Losses To Boston Celtics

By
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots during the first quarter of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Boston, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Charles Krupa/AP Photo

The Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of the first round of the NBA playoffs, taking on the Boston Celtics. The Bucks dropped the first two games of the series, but they return to Milwaukee Friday night, hoping the home court advantage will finally get them a postseason win.

Winning this series would get them a step closer to an appearance at the Eastern Conference finals, which hasn’t happened since 2001.

After a practice Thursday, Milwaukee Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe told reporters that the Bucks have to play better Friday night.

“We gotta play some defense and rebound the ball. Like I said, it’s not about all things right now, it’s about being more physical and playing harder than the other team,” Bledsoe.

Bledsoe has scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds total in the playoff series against the Celtics.

Bucks Coach Joe Prunty was asked how the Bucks can play better against the Celtics. He said they need to be ready when they enter the game.

“Be ready to defend. Be ready to rebound. Know the schemes. Know the systems. Know your assignments,” Prunty said.

Prunty took over as the Bucks’ head coach in January, after the team fired former coach Jason Kidd.

WPR’s Maureen McCollum recently talked with TMJ4’s sports anchor Lance Allan about how the Bucks have been performing so far in the playoffs. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Maureen McCollum: So Game 1 of the series was super dramatic. The energy was high. Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 35 points. Khris Middleton had that crazy, tie-breaking three-pointer that sent the teams into overtime. But Game 2 was a different story. What happened?

Lance Allan: It certainly seemed like the Boston Celtics had more energy, more desire, more want to win. It was almost like a carbon copy of their early part of the game, Maureen, where Game 1, the Bucks had eight turnovers the first quarter. Game 2, they had seven turnovers in the first quarter. Both times they did rally in the second quarter.

Of course Game 1 was really, really thrilling. But, if you can continue to do that, you continue to put yourself behind the eight ball. A lot of times, you can’t recover from that. Plus, 35 turnovers in two games, that’s just one of the issues that the Bucks are having right now.

MM: And what can they even do about those turnovers?

LA: Yeah, that’s just basically handling the basketball better. Better passes, being more careful with the ball. They’ve been a team during the year, quite frankly, that’s turned the ball over quite a bit. Sometimes a team is what it is. Sometimes you cannot change the identity of your team. This team has had a problem with offensive rebounds. Same thing with guarding three-point shooters on the perimeter.

The Bucks have had issues with this all year long, so for people that have watched them during the regular season, all 82 games, this is really nothing new. This is kind of what they are.

MM: The Celtics have now won the first two games of this playoff series. What does that mean for the Bucks’ chances of moving through to the next round of the playoffs? They do have home court advantage for the next two games.

LA: Right. They’ve never won a playoff series down 2-0, 0-13 lifetime. The Celtics have never lost a playoff series when they’ve been up 2-0. So obviously, if (the Bucks) did come back, it would be historic. It would be unbelievable. It’d be something that people would talk about for a long time. But the odds are clearly stacked against them.

Now, the good news is, yes, they have a home game on Friday, Game 3. They have a home game on Sunday, Game 4. The Bradley Center gets loud and it is a very good venue for the home team. The Bucks do seem to play better there and with more confidence there. But you can’t totally bank on that.

Boston still controls the series. If it goes seven games, they still have two more games back in Boston.

MM: You talked about how turnovers were a big issue. Is there anything else the Bucks need to really focus on during their next games to advance to the next round?

LA: I think getting to the free throw line and obviously being the aggressor. It just seems like there have been times in this series when Boston has clearly had more energy, had more drive, had more enthusiasm.

Hopefully, the home crowd advantage and the home court kind of re-energizes the Bucks. Because right now, their confidence has to be pretty low. Once again, their defense has not been great this year. But they need to at least make a better commitment to defense and at least try to stop the Celtics on a handful of possessions.

MM: What have the Bucks done really well this season? They’ve obviously gotten to this point where they’ve made the playoffs, so things have gone well at other times.

LA: Right! They’re a good shooting team. On Tuesday at one point in the game, they were shooting 64 percent from the floor, which is absolutely incredible! You should be winning a game if you’re making that many of your shots.

Giannis, I believe, made 13 out of 16 shots, so clearly he’s doing his part. But I think they need to get Khris Middleton more involved in Game 3 than they did in Game 2, kind of like they did in Game 1 when he had 31 points.

They are an offensive team. Unfortunately your shot is not always going to go in, but the identity of their team is, “We outscore you.” It’s not always going to happen, but that is what they are. Tuesday night, (they finished with) 106 points. Sometimes that’s enough to win an NBA game. But giving up 120, you’re not going to win hardly any NBA games giving up that many points.

MM: Lance, anything else you’ll be watching for in these next two games?

LA: I’m waiting for someone else to emerge. Middleton was quiet in Game 2, but really played good in Game 1. You would think he’d bounce back in Game 3. Giannis has had two 30-plus-point games. You can’t put it all on his shoulders, even though he is a superstar and the main cause of the team.

But whether it’s Eric Bledsoe shooting better or Malcolm Brogdon making even more of a contribution or anyone. Somebody else has to step up. There has to be a third person on this team. Tony Snell. Jabari Parker has been painfully silent in two games. Somebody has to step up and make plays and make shots, quite frankly, to give this team a chance.

Bucks vs Celtics Playoff Schedule

Event Date Location Time (CT) Television Radio

Game 3 April 20 Milwaukee 8:30 p.m. ESPN/FSW+ 620 AM/103.3 FM WTMJ

Game 4 April 22 Milwaukee 12 p.m. ABC/FSW+ 620 AM/103.3 FM WTMJ

Game 5* April 24 Boston TBD TBD 620 AM/103.3 FM WTMJ

Game 6* April 26 Milwaukee TBD TBD 620 AM/103.3 FM WTMJ

Game 7* April 28 Boston TBD TNT 620 AM/103.3 FM WTMJ

*If necessary

See the ful NBA playoff bracket here.

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