BOSTON – Tonight’s game against Milwaukee could potentially be a preview of Boston’s first-round playoff series.
The Celtics (53-23) are the No. 2 seed in the East while the Bucks (41-36) are tied for seventh-place with the Miami Heat.
In Brad Stevens’ world, possible future matchups take a back seat to the moment at hand.
And at this moment, the Celtics are playing some of the best basketball in the league despite an injury-plagued sqad that is now leaning heavily on players few expected to play big minutes let alone a prominent role in the team's success.
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“The most important thing is we’ve shown with the group we have, that we can play good basketball,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.
Boston Celtics
And it is that approach that has been a central part of Boston coming into tonight’s game against Milwaukee riding a six-game winning streak which includes impressive road victories at Portland and Utah, a pair of teams that are both fighting for playoff position in the Western Conference.
The Celtics' postseason position will have them as the No. 2 or No. 1 seed in the East come playoff time, with conference-leading Toronto (55-21) ahead of the Celtics by two games.
And tonight Boston faces a Milwaukee team that is fighting to secure a playoff berth, and are led by all-star do-it-all performer Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo averages a double-double of 27.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from 3-point range, along with 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals.
“He’s so long. He’s so agile. He’s very competitive,” Stevens said of Antetokounmpo. “His ability to score downhill against guards or guys his size is incredible. He generates so much force on his drives that when he gets a head of steam you can’t stop him from getting to where he wants to go.”
Stevens said the approach to defending him will be not be all that different than how they approached guarding him in past games.
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“We’ll rotate bodies on him like we always do,” Stevens said. “You have to make him earn everything. But he has enough will power to earn quite a bit. He’s a special player.”
And this Boston squad is shaping up to be a special team, one that continues to find ways to win when there are so many mile-markers along their journey that would lead one to believe defeat is just around the corner. Part of why Boston has been able to beat teams is their focus lies squarely on themselves.
“We need to focus on us, what gives us our best chance at winning,” Stevens said. “And then, get to the playoffs healthy with this group.”
Kyrie Irving (left knee) is scheduled to return at the earliest to basketball-related activities at the start of Boston’s first-round playoff series, while Marcus Smart (right thumb) is likely to return sometime near the end of the first round of the playoffs or early in the second if the Celtics advance.
But Stevens knows as important as those two are to Boston’s chances for success, planning for them to be available is something he won’t do.
“We can’t necessarily think those guys are going to be back anytime soon,” Stevens said.
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Which is why Boston continuing to find success despite being without core guys bodes well for them heading into tonight’s game which is their focus … even with the playoffs right around the corner.
“It’ll certainly be the group that starts it (playoffs),” Stevens said. “So we’ll see when those guys (Irving and Smart) are able to possibly get back on the court. We’re focused on this group on the court, right now. This is the group that’s gonna have to do that.”