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Tim BontempsESPN
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks played in all 82 regular-season games, followed by the four other games they had to send the Detroit Pistons to the Eastern Conference playoff first round, in a way. This allowed the Bucks to post the best NBA record and Giannis Antetokounmpo produce a season that should enable him to win the award for the most valuable player this year.
But then, there was the loss to the Boston Celtics in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal – a loss that took the field home advantage out of the top seven. and has raised doubts about whether Milwaukee The style of play and the staff are good enough to support his performances in the regular season.
Antetokounmpo responded emphatically following Monday's practice, whether it was a question of whether the loss affected the Bucks' confidence – and therefore felt the need to change their habits.
"Absolutely not," he said to the question of whether the Bucks should make big changes to their game plan to respond to the way the Celtics had played. "We're just going to continue doing what we've done all year, I do not think we should change at all, why should there be a change after a game we've lost?" We should not to be the team that made the adjustment.
"We will go out and play our best game and see how match 2. If it does not go well for us, then you can think about adjusting, but for the moment, we are not changing anything. let's just play, be we, go ahead and compete. "
If there was one recurring theme among all those who spoke during the practice of the Bucks here in their magnificent establishment Monday afternoon, it is that the level of energy and energy. The effort – not the game plan – was the most important thing to change. Game 1 to Game 2
Antetokounmpo is included in this group, claiming that he has to play harder – and that his family, and especially his older brother, called him for not playing loud enough during the Sunday's defeat, in which he shot 7 out of 21 of the field.
"My big brother does not usually call me after games," said Antetokounmpo. "But it was like:" You have to play harder, you have to help your team and play hard. " [He] certainly told me.
"Coach [Mike Budenholzer] I said that I had to do more work, that I had to be more aggressive, that I had to find my teammates, that I had to do a million things that we are talking about. That's what I do. I will try to keep improving, going out tomorrow and doing what I have to do. "
Throughout the season, the Bucks were a team that did not hide his approach from every game. Offensively, the goal was to place the ball in Antetokounmpo's hands, surround him with shooters and let him get to work. Defensively, the shots at the edge and behind the 3-point arc had to be prevented; everything between the two had to be disputed, but was preferred.
In the first match, however, neither one nor the other worked. The attack was stifled by the Boston defense, led by an exemplary performance of Al Horford against Antetokounmpo. The defense, meanwhile, allowed the Celtics to shoot 54% of the field and 41.9% of the shot to 3 points, and Boston also scored 15 of 27 goals on mid-range throws – highs of the season in marks and attempts this season.
The Bucks relied on computation at both ends of the field in their favor all season. They expect it will return to form in the second match – thus avoiding the need to radically change their approach.
"I think some of our basic elements are defensive, offensively," said Budenholzer. "I'm just thinking about our business, I think the competitiveness we need is just not where it needs to be.
"We just have to play better, give credit to Boston, obviously they have an impact on how we play, they played well, we had to influence them more, they played well, we did not play it. We need the reverse in the second game. "
The lack of effort was noticeable enough for Budenholzer to inquire about the team during the pre-training session that analyzed what happened during Sunday's match.
As the Bucks made it clear on Monday, they think the biggest thing they need is the energy and the efforts they've made after declaring that they were in the same match in the first match. But that would certainly help if they also made shots. Bledsoe was only one of the culprits on this front. Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Nikola Mirotic combined their score to go from 9 to 13 over a distance of 3 points. The rest of the Bucks, however, went just 4-in-26 behind the bow.
"You must continue to shoot the shots you have fired all year," said Antetokounmpo. "We play basketball, a lot of guys do it since the age of 8 or 9. So if you miss a shot, it's nothing, you can fix it."
"As for me, I do not care if I miss shots, if I do not play hard enough, it's what's important, I know my team will be ready to drop the shots tomorrow, and I'm going to be ready to hit tomorrow, without putting pressure on anyone, but what really concerns me is what we do as a team.
"We are going to go and play very hard, whether we hit or miss, we will play hard."
One thing that will not happen – at least in match 2 – is Malcolm Brogdon returning from the torn plantar fascia in the left food that keeps him apart since mid-March. Although Budenholzer said Brogdon continues to progress, Brogdon will not be available Tuesday night – although the door seems to be left open for him to return when the series returns to Boston for match 3 on Friday night.
"He keeps getting better," Budenholzer said. "No setbacks on a day-to-day basis.He's gone longer and stronger today, so I think we're all hoping he'll come back tomorrow feeling good.It looks a lot like Malcolm we know .
"I think he and I are really on the same page, he's really on the same page with the doctor, we'll see how these four, five days – now we're at three or four – and evaluate him at this point and evaluate what is the next step. "
For Boston, Aron Baynes said that the rolled ankle that he had suffered in the first game was "bloody", but that he would be ready for the second game. The Celtics have officially called it questionable. Marcus Smart, meanwhile, remains absent. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said there would be no updates on the timeline of his return from a torn diagonal until Smart returns to practice.
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