4 takeaways as short-handed Celtics lose close game against Bucks, fall to No. 3 seed
The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum and Al Horford for Thursday's pivotal matchup.
The short-handed Celtics played the Bucks on Thursday with the 2-seed on the line and both Jayson Tatum and Al Horford on the bench, and they very nearly pulled off a win.
“And Rob,” Ime Udoka said, smiling slightly when a reporter asked him about being short-handed without Tatum and Horford.
Yes, Rob too.
So perhaps the Celtics can be excused if they don’t take Thursday’s result too hard. Without three of their starters, they leaned heavily on Jaylen Brown (more on him in a minute), Marcus Smart, and an unusual cast of role players. Much like their game against the Raptors last week, the Celtics were short-handed and weren’t looking for a moral victory, but they were pretty happy with how hard they played.
“What I told the guys was great effort overall,” Udoka said. “Great experience for a lot of guys we’ll depend on going forward.”
Smart led the charge with 29 points on 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range as well as seven assists. He was part of the 3-point barrage that kept the Celtics in the game — they made 21 triples, seven more than the Bucks (which, of course, is 21 extra points), and finished 21-for-50 (42 percent) from behind the arc.
“[The Bucks] really packed the paint,” Udoka said. “That’s who they are. They sell out to protect the paint and give up, prefer midrange. But they would obviously like to protect the paint at all costs, so go under screens on shooters. Every time JB penetrated and guys got to the paint, there were four, five guys there. So we tell them: ‘Take the first shot, clean shot you’re going to get. You might not get a better one in that possession.'”
The Celtics probably can’t expect to make that many 3-pointers again, but given how plausible a second-round series against the Bucks feels, they can feel good about how they hung around on Thursday.
Other takeaways
2. Jaylen Brown recorded his second triple-double of both the season and his career, posting 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
In an expanded offensive role, Brown held up nicely aided by the Celtics’ productive volume 3-point shooting. Udoka noted recently that Tatum isn’t the only Celtics player who draws a double-team — Brown does as well. As Brown improves in that area, the Celtics will get increasingly difficult to guard.
Getting Tatum back will boost the Celtics on both ends, but the offense didn’t suffer with plenty of 3-point shooting and Brown running the show.
3. Sam Hauser caught fire in the first half. In the first quarter, he checked in late and almost immediately buried a 3-pointer. In the second, he made two more on consecutive possessions in the early going. Hauser — who the Celtics have under a team option for next season at $1.5 million — scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting (3-for-4 from 3) in 18 minutes.
Getting a team-optioned second season from Hauser might have been a productive move by Stevens — the Celtics might very well want to take an expanded look at how he could fit.
4. The Celtics fell to third in the standings — half a game behind the Bucks and half a game ahead of the 76ers. The Celtics have one road game remaining against the Grizzlies, while the Bucks (Cavaliers, Pistons) and Sixers (Pacers, Pistons have two apiece.
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