Boston Celtics: 4 takeaways from a disappointing Game 3 defeat

If you were hoping for an easy first round series, think again. A miserable start for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 resulted in a blowout loss.

That was not pretty. I don’t where the Boston Celtics team from Games 1 & 2 were yesterday, because it was definitely not Milwaukee.

The Bucks outplayed the Celtics in every aspect. Right from the tip, the game was over. Once the lead got to double digits, it never turned back. That was the least competitive game I’ve seen the Celtics play since the preseason.

I know you probably don’t want to read about how great the Bucks were. i definitely know I don’t want to write about it. But hey, it’s a better alternative than thinking about how bad the Celtics were. It’s better than re-watching and seeing how bad the Boston Celtics were.

Let’s go on an awful ride together. Here are the Four Leaf Clovers from the nightmare that was Game 3.

The rough start

I’ll make this quick. There are really only a few things to say.

The Celtics trailed 27-12 after one quarter. That’s 12 points. In one quarter.

The Celtics went nearly 12 minutes without scoring a single field goal. That’s an entire quarter of game time without putting the ball through the hoop without being given free shots.

The Celtics had 14 turnovers midway through the second quarter. That was nearly as many as they had in Games 1 and 2.

Pretty bad stuff, but it was even worse to watch in person. The C’s were handing the ball to Milwaukee on every other possesion, giving up easy buckets in transition, and then for good measure missing every shot on top of everything else.

Thon Maker

A few hours before Game 3, I was minding my own business. There was no reason to worry, so I wasn’t.

Then, a notification popped up on my phone: Milwaukee Interim Head Coach Joe Prunty announces John Henson is out tonight for Game 3.

Usually, when a team loses their starting center for a playoff game, that team is at a disadvantage. However, according to the John Henson Rule, if the center in question is John Henson than the odds of that team winning immediately go up.

So, as Game 3 began, Tyler Zeller started for the Bucks, Now, as Celtics remember, he is no Kevin McHale. He is not even a Kris Humphries or Aron Baynes. However, he at least has a net rating of 0. More than John Henson can say.

Yet, the real story wasn’t Zeller. It was Thon Maker, a center who for some reason only comes alive in the playoffs. I’ve never heard of a bench player who is so unimportant in the regular season that makes so much more of a difference in the postseason.

Maker didn’t just come alive, he came out roaring like a Sudanese ibex. He altered every shot around the rim, seemed to hit every three, and pumped up the crowd. If he does even half of what he did in Game 3 for the rest of the series, the Boston Celtics have something to worry about.

Drew Bledsoe

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I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention the bounce back game from Eric Bledsoe. He had a good game. He decided to start making shots and even began to play some defense.

Good ont you, Bledsoe. You should be proud of yourself. For the first time all series, you decided to show up and play a little basketball. It was about time.

There is always a silver lining

I also wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention that this was just one game. An embarrassing loss, but just one loss nonetheless.

As I was turning the TV off in the finals seconds, head sunken in despair, I decided to get inspired by Hubie Brown, the color analyst for last night’s game. He said something like, “It doesn’t matter if you lose by 40 or if you lose by 1. It’s just one loss”.

You know what Hubie, I like that. The Bucks won’t hit every three. Thon Maker and Eric Bledsoe won’t play out of their minds again. The Celtics won’t go cold for the entire first half.

In fact, Milwaukee was getting a little too confident for my taste. Act like you’ve been there before, even though everyone and their mother knows Milwaukee hasn’t won a championship since Kareem was still named Lew Alcindor.

Next: Boston Celtics: Brad Stevens is the best coach in the NBA

Take your “Bucks in 6” chants and shove ’em up your cheese-filled pieholes. The Celtics will be back in Game 4 or 5 and will take control of this series once again.

See, aren’t you glad you decided to read about how bad the Celtics were?

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Four Leaf Clover: Boston Celtics can’t overcome rough start in Game 3

By Dylan Woods | Apr 21, 2018