Payton Pritchard Bent The Bucks And Doc Rivers Over As The Celtics Aced Yet Another Early Season Test

Brian Fluharty. Getty Images.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure this game will be able to count. While you may think it does because the team records have changed, the standings have been upgraded, and this game took place in the regular season where the games count, unfortunately, the Bucks did not have Khris Middleton available. When that happens, as we've been told for years now, nothing in regard to the Bucks counts. 

I know, I know, that makes no sense. But when all you're left with is coping due to an aging roster and a 1-3 start, that's the world you try and create.

Just like the Knicks were supposed to be, the Bucks came to the Garden as the latest test of "challengers" to the Celtics. And just like we saw with the Knicks, we learned that if these are the supposed challengers, nobody is all that close….again. I mean think about it. The Bucks (just like the Knicks) revamped their roster to improve their wing defense. They added shooting and guys who were upgrades over their roster last year.

I'll just ask you. How did the Bucks' perimeter/wing defense look last night? Pretty shitty. Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr cannot guard the Celtics' two best players, just like OG and Bridges couldn't. Dame is still getting attacked at will defensively. As we've seen time and time again, if you are someone who has not solved those problems while playing the Celtics, you're not going to win, and you're definitely not going to win 4 out of 7.

Don't let that final score fool you, this was another game the regulars got the 4th quarter lead up to 18 before the deep bench blew their point differential (again). Even on a night where Dame/Giannis had 60+ and the Bucks were being gifted everything, they still found themselves down big and this came on a night where I'd say the Celts played their B/B- game overall.

What does that tell you?

It tells you that the 4-0 champs are a goddamn wagon. Their winning the East by 14 games last year was not an accident. I'll remind you, while the Bucks may not have had Middleton, the Celts are doing shit like this without Porzingis. 

So if both the Knicks and Bucks games were to serve as early season tests against potential contenders and challengers in the East, I'd say it's fair to suggest the champs passed both tests with flying colors.

With that said, let us begin

The Good

- Yesterday, I wrote a blog about Payton Pritchard being a man of the people and shooting some hoops with a kid in a park in Boston. In that blog, I wrote this paragraph

You also can't ignore the Basketball Gods part of this video. As we know, they are always watching. Are you going to tell me Pritchard isn't earning some Basketball God karma with a move like this? It wasn't for show, it wasn't for the cameras, it was just a guy who loves to hoop sharing that love with a young fan. Just remember this the next time we see a Pritchard full court heave go in. It all matters/adds up.

Fast forward to last night, and what do we see?

Well well well…..would you look at that.

Once again, Payton Pritchard went out and buried the Milwaukee Bucks. This isn't exactly new of course, with last year Pritchard dropping 19 with 5 3PM and 21 points in both meetings. Then of course there was the famous 2022 Game 7 performance where he ended their season with more bombs from deep.

The point is, Payton Pritchard being the best guard on the floor in a game that includes Damian Lillard should surprise no one. Like he's done so many times before, Payton Pritchard completely changed this game the second he stepped on the floor. If Jayson Tatum is off to a hot MVP start, Payton Pritchard is the easy choice to lead the 6MOY race right now. What makes a night like this so great is the fact that it's not an outlier. This is what Payton Pritchard does. How the Bucks didn't know that and be prepared for that is anyone's guess, even if Doc Rivers tried to save face after the game saying he circled Pritchard's name in the morning.

Sure you did Doc. Sure you did. 

In reality, we're watching what's essentially an All NBA caliber player who is simply trapped in a 6'1 body. If Pritchard was 6'4, you're telling me he wouldn't be considered one of the elite players in the league? Of course he would. When he's on a heater like this the stress that puts on the defense that is already stressed as fuck having to worry about Tatum/Brown doesn't even seem fair. Not that I give a shit of course, but it really is an embarrassment of riches. A true pick your poison roster where everyone who touches the floor can torch you for 25+. God bless Danny Ainge, God bless Brad Stevens.

- Finally, Jrue Holiday buried his old team. To be honest, there were rumblings that he somehow was a double agent whenever the Celts played the Bucks, and the numbers sneaky backed that up. In his 3 prior meetings against MIL, this is how Jrue had performed

Game 1: 5 points on 12/20%

Game 2: 6 points on 22/0%

Game 3: 12 points on 37/33%

We can all agree, that stinks. The first game OK, that was probably weird. But after that for whatever reason we weren't seeing the Jrue Holiday we know rules whenever these two teams played. Last night, that finally changed

21/4/3 with only 1 TO on 7-12 (4-7), I thought Jrue was incredible in this game, especially in terms of his shot-making. In a game that was going back and forth and momentum makes were at a premium, it felt like Jrue delivered with each one of his big shot opportunities. He stepped up and was awesome against the Knicks, and he stepped up and was awesome against the Bucks. On a night when Tatum's shot struggled and there was no Porzingis, Holiday came through like the champion he is. 

And while he'll never admit it, you know it had to feel good burying the team that gave up on you while giving your replacement the absolute business. 

Aside from the outside shooting, once the game got late you saw what makes him such a weapon and what an issue the Bucks are going to have moving forward in this matchup. How many times did we see Holiday get to the rim late? Once the Celts spread you out and make your point guard defend, Holiday has no problem using his size and strength to get to his spot and overpower his defender. Dame certainly doesn't stand a chance, and if the Bucks put any of their bigger defenders on Holiday, it's open season for the Jays.

See why point of attack/wing defense is so important while playing the Celtics? If you don't have it, they will exploit you in the biggest moments. Then, if you pack the paint, go under screens and try and take away the drives, they have no problem pulling up and burying threes in your eyeball. It's death no matter what path you choose.

- There is not a better Giannis defender on planet Earth than Al Horford. Even now, at age 38, Al Horford had Giannis in absolute hell. Sure there were times when Giannis scored in transition, but overall? Al Horford once again proved to be a challenge that Giannis can't seem to solve.

In 39 total possessions, Horford held Giannis to just 6-15 shooting (40%). Find me another defender who can do anything remotely close to this as consistently as Horford. When things were in the halfcourt and it came time for Giannis to battle Horford 1 on 1, he lost many more possessions than he won. Nobody in the NBA does better at staying attache, being physical, and contesting without fouling than Horford. It's why he also owns Joel Embiid. 

Again, this isn't surprising, as we have all watched this go on for years now. There are going to be a handful of games were Horford needs to turn back the clock and play like Young Al, and games against the Bucks are one of them. To know that even in his advanced age he can still pretty much remove Giannis from the equation is very awesome, and nobody deserves it more than Al. 

- After another slow start (I really think this new rotation from Joe is fucking with Jaylen early in games), it was nice to see Jaylen Brown snap out of his funk and get back to being an absolute force

He finished with an efficient 30/6/4 on 10-19 shooting, and it honestly could have been even better had he not gone 10-14 from the FT line. A little bit of a turnover issue (4) in his 38 minutes, but overall he did what the superstars on this team are supposed to do. When these big games come up, can you raise your game and dominate?

What I loved about Jaylen is that he didn't settle. While being 0-4 from deep, it was clear he knew the Bucks didn't have the size or the strength to guard him on the perimeter, so he changed things up and feasted in the paint instead

Sorry, you're in a world of trouble if you are allowing Jaylen Brown to get into the paint like this. Example 2848754 of why you need sufficient wing defenders while playing the Celtics. If you can't stop their wings, you stand no chance. 

This is also something that people who scream "all the Celtics do is shoot 3s!" can't seem to understand. Mazzulla Ball is about adapting to whatever works in any given situation on any given possession. If that means an open 3? You take it with confidence. If that means attack the paint? You do it with force. 

- But speaking of Mazzulla Ball, the Bucks learned a lesson that you figured they would know by now. Trading 2s for 3s while playing the Celtics simply isn't going to work. In all 3 of MIL's losses they've been destroyed by the 3P production, and last night was 18-8. A 3PA difference of 47-31 is how you get blown out, and this all happened even with the Bucks LIVING at the FT line. 

If you don't have the shooting and the willingness to keep pace with Mazzulla Ball, it will bury you. This doesn't just go for the Bucks, it goes for anyone. 

- Really impressed with the Jordan Walsh minutes. Not that he did anything overly insane, but he was solid. He looked like he belonged on the court and to me that's a HUGE step in the right direction. If you're playable against the Bucks, you're playable against anyone moving forward. While I would like to see him hit his open corner 3s, I imagine that comes with confidence. I'm sure he was nervous as shit, but I thought his minutes were exactly what he needed to give.

Good defense, active on the offensive glass, willingness to shoot when open and no major mistakes.

Someone has to fill that wing bench role after Hauser, and Walsh made the most of his opportunity.

- After being rather shitty for the last 2 games, it was great to see the Celtics defense get back to being the force we know it can be. They caused 16 TOs, held the Bucks to just 45/25% splits and didn't give up a single 30 point quarter. I can live with allowing around 108 a night, and to me they looked much more locked in. The energy was great, the communication was solid, and everyone thrived in their role.

- If we've said it once we've said it a thousand times. Derrick White is a tremendous Celtic

The Bad

- Despite being a team best +18, I'd say we got out first Jayson Tatum clunker of the season. Just 15 points on 6-16 (1-8) with 3 TOs, it felt like he once again let Tony Brothers get into his head a little bit. You can understand why given how this game was called and the fact that despite being aggressive and attacking the rim consistently, Tatum was awarded just 2 FTs. Then on the other end, everything was a foul for MIL.

We see this pretty much every time Tony Brothers works a Jayson Tatum game (remember the tech in Game 5 vs CLE), and it's pretty clear there's some sort of beef there.  

For the most part, I feel like Tatum has outgrown this issue, so I won't get on him too much for falling back into this bad habit, because shit really was insane last night. He was still active on the glass (8), was tied for second in assists (4) so it's not like he was awful, but compared to his earlier games this season? This wasn't quite at that level.

- Listen, nobody likes complaining about the refs, but what the fuck. A 31-19 FTA difference that was only that close with some garbage time FTs for BOS, it was as big of a joke performance as you'll ever see. It's like the NBA needed this game to be close so they brought in Tony Brothers & Co to do their thing. Aside from 2 challenges overturning calls (which it's bullshit you lose a challenge for getting 2 right), we also saw shit like this

A supposed foul on Jaylen that didn't exist

And a supposed shot clock violation from Jrue for not hitting the rim, despite very clearly hitting the rim

Adam Silver, you are ruining your product with this bullshit. Rewarding Dame for being a coward and baiting fouls because he knows it's the only way he can be effective is shameful. Letting Giannis forearm people out of the way so he can dunk but any sort of contact on the Celtics being a foul is pathetic.

It must be so deflating as a Bucks fan to know that even with this amount of help, you still got your ass kicked. People talk all the time about how bad and shady Scott Foster is as an official and I'm sorry, nobody is worse than Tony Brothers. He is legitimately the devil.

- Maybe it's just me, but I haven't been overly impressed with the start of the year from Xavier Tillman. This is a matchup they need him to show up in, and we saw his height and his footspeed be a bit of an issue. Not big enough to handle Lopez, not quick enough to handle dribble drives. His offense has also been pretty rough, and while this may sound mean with no KP he has to be better.

If not, play Queta. The Kornet/Tillman pairing we're seeing to start the second quarter isn't really working, and if he's not making his corner 3s that makes things even tougher.

The Ugly

- The Deep Bench is going to have to cut the shit and get with the program already when it comes to maintaining had increasing the Celts point differential in the end of these 4th quarters. This is now 3 games in a row the deep bench comes in and an 18+ point lead is down to 9-11. Listen, we're trying to make history here and point differential matters. Some may think garbage time is useless, but not me. I'm greedy. I want the net rating boost. This was something Svi/Brissy understood last season, so I'm going to need this year's group to figure their shit out.

But hey, 4-0 is 4-0. In fact, this is now the second season in a row Joe Mazzulla has this team off to a 4-0 start (3-1 in Year 1). So far it hasn't seemed to matter who they play, it could be the most hyped up team of the summer who is apparently the best starting 5 in the NBA, it could be the bottom of the league, or it could be another potential "challenger" in the Bucks. At the end of the day, the one thing remains true

The Celtics are a wagon, and they're just getting started.