89-101, the Celtics lost 12 points to the Bucks in the semifinals G1, suffering their first playoff loss this year. In this game, the Celtics were completely limited, their performance in this game was very unsatisfactory, in the face of the Bucks' tough defense, the team's performance on the inside and outside were very bad, many times, they could not complete the score on the inside, only barely able to shoot three points, shooting very inefficient. On the defensive end, they can't limit the performance of the Bucks, although they are the best defensive team this season, but in the face of the Bucks' impact, they are also difficult to resist, and finally the team lost to the Bucks at home with a 12-point disadvantage, and is currently 0-1 behind the Bucks, the team is in a passive position.
In the first round of the series, the Celtics swept the Nets 4-0, showing a very strong overall strength. After an easy promotion in the first round, the outside world is also bullish on the Celtics, believing that they have the potential to impact the championship this season. In the semifinals against the Bucks, because Middleton could not play, many fans and media also believed that the Celtics had the best time to win the championship this season, and they were expected to easily eliminate the Bucks without Middleton in the semifinals and successfully enter the next round.
However, what they did not expect was that the Celtics still could not have an advantage on the court against the Bucks, which was missing Middleton, and it was difficult for them to complete the scoring on the inside, and the data showed that in this campaign, when facing the defense of Alphabet Brother and Big Lopez, the whole team shot 3 of 20 and 1 of 15 from the two-point range, which was very bad. In the whole game, the Celtics shot a total of 10 of 31 in terms of two-pointers, shooting only 32.3% of the time, and only hit 10 two-pointers in a single game, which is the second-lowest in history. As a team that has always had a number of offensive players with the ball, only hitting 10 two-pointers in the game, such a performance to win the game, you can imagine the difficulty.
In the face of the Bucks' tough defense, the Celtics also did not have a good solution, they could not attack, the defense could not withstand the impact of the Bucks, the team had to be passive in the game, and after the score was widened, the team could not narrow the point difference. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Celtics have already replaced the main players, and the game has entered training time.
From the semifinals and bucks against the Bucks, the Celtics also have to recognize the reality, although they easily swept the Nets in the first round to advance, but they have not yet reached the strength to impact the championship, because the Bucks are not the Nets, their defense is not so bad, the offense is not so bad, the Celtics want to play the nets in the first round to play against the Bucks, it is difficult to win the game.
The Bucks are a better team than the Nets, they have a lot of great players in all positions, the strength of the offensive and defensive ends is more balanced, and there are MVP players like Alphabet Brother. When facing such a team, the Celtics need to perform better in the game, grasp it when they have the opportunity, improve their basket finishing efficiency, and strengthen their defense, so that the Celtics can compete with the Bucks, if not, then this round of the series may show a one-sided situation.