NBA Game of the Week: Celtics vs. Bucks

Story posted March 30, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Davis

The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks face off in a battle for the one seed in the eastern conference.

The Celtics want the top seed from the Bucks, but are their final efforts too late? This is what we’re left wondering after a bad loss to an injured Washington Wizards team.

Their key to victory will be to get their superstar-duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown involved early and often. These two are relentless bucket-getters, who can finish at the rim or punish you from 3-point range.

Another key player to watch is Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon who has been their best player off the bench. He fills an important role of keeping the energy going while the starters rest.

Brogdon has been a source of motivation for the team all season. “I think we’re getting more and more locked in,” Brogdon said when asked about the final 7 games of the season.

Let’s move on to the Bucks who have dominated in the second half of the season with a record of 25-4 since Jan. 23, while also maintaining a 30-7 home record. This will be a difficult task for an inconsistent Celtics team.

What will ultimately decide this game is the health of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He did not play in the Bucks 126-117 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night and is currently listed as a gametime decision.

The Giannis-less Bucks may have gotten away with a win over the Pistons, but the Celtics harness more firepower than the average team. On offense, the Bucks rely heavily on Giannis who averages 31.1 points per game. That’s 12.2 points per game more than their second-best scorer, Jrue Holiday who averages only 18.9 points per game.

The Celtics and Bucks season matchups are tied 1-1, meaning this game decides a tiebreaker if the two teams end up with the same record at the end of the season.

The first time these teams matched up with each other was on Christmas in Boston. The game ended in a dominant Celtics win 139-118 where Tatum and Brown combined for 70 points, shooting a combined 60% from the field. 

The latest matchup was on Valentine’s Day in Milwaukee. The Celtics, who were without both Tatum and Brown, took the Bucks to overtime but ended up losing.

Backup guards Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon stepped up, combining for 53 points, but the effort was not enough to get past the Bucks their star forward Antetokounmpo and Holiday. Holiday led the game with 41 points, on shooting 8-for-12 from three. 

With the No. 1 seed on the line, this is a great game to look forward to. It is set to be televised Thursday 7:30 p.m. on TNT.

Logan Davis is a third-year broadcast journalism major. To contact him, please email lbd5248@psu.edu.

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