Tonight, the Celtics will be back in action in Game 2 against the Bucks. The looked solid in Game 1, and hopefully will be able to keep that momentum going tonight. Winning this game would be huge with the next two being played at the Garden.
Surely, the Bucks will play better tonight. They looked like they were an absolute mess Sunday afternoon, and the Celtics took complete advantage. Giannis is going to be looking to score tonight, and Al Horford is going to have his hands full. The talk around the league since that Game 1 win has been all about Horford’s defense. I’d imagine that has done nothing but motivate the Greek Freak to come out and have a strong game tonight.
Even if he does play better, it doesn’t mean Horford isn’t going to play good. Al will likely still be able to impact his game, but just not as much as Game 1. The most Al can do is try to make things difficult for him, even if it means fouling once in a while. I think Horford and the rest of the Celtics did a great job of making Giannis work on Sunday. The game plan tonight should be to let someone else beat them. If they manage to shut Giannis down for two straight games, it could really shake up Milwaukee.
Another great thing from Game 1 was the unselfishness that the guys were playing with. If you were to go back and watch Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier, you’d say how differently they played compared to the rest of the season. Usually they both have a shoot first mindset, but on Sunday they made some great plays. Morris was the one who really shocked me as he only took 8 shots, and didn’t force anything.
If those two manage to keep that same mindset going forward, it’s going to make the Celtics even better offensively. In the regular season, it felt like the predictability of those two hurt the team’s production while they were out on the floor. When they play more passive, it makes things easier for guys like Hayward and Brown to score.
I have a feeling that it’s going to be a good night for Gordon Hayward. He’s gotten better and better ever since the playoffs started, and he was pretty great in Game 1, despite taking just 7 shots. The best thing about Gordon is that he takes the role of the point guard when he’s in the game. It’s good because he draws attention from the other team, but also because it keeps the ball out of someone like Rozier’s hands unless he gets passed the ball for an open look.
Hayward had a good game because of his play in the pick and roll. He was able to put his body between himself and the defender once coming off the screen, and got some easy looks because of it. It seems like he has his best games after he sees the first shot fall. Hopefully he’ll get an easy look tonight to get him going.
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