19' Rd II - Gm3: Celtics vs Bucks (Fri 5/3 @ 8PM on ESPN)

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)


BOSTON -- Playoff basketball is different than the regular season. The focused preparation and increased familiarity, along with a general “let them play” officiating mentality, combine to create a much more physical brand of basketball.

“I would say that generally, the longer that you play, I would say generally the more than emotions can become a part of it,” Brad Stevens said before Game 3. “Every playoff game I’ve seen or been a part of, at least one of the teams has really set a tone physically. And the great games, both teams are really playing physically. But I’ve never been a part of a playoff game where a team that’s not physical wins. It’s just part of playing good basketball.”

The more players are allowed to grab or push, the more it can disorient a player who shies away from such things. A team that imposes itself physically tends to grab a mental advantage.

“Hopefully it just comes naturally," Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "At some point in the season we talked about we needed a level of physicality while still maintaining our principals and some of our core beliefs but we still needed to be physical. So hopefully all of that has prepared us for what we’re going to go through tonight and the playoffs in general and certainly a big part of tonight and going forward for both teams I’m sure.”

Brad Stevens says the Bucks did the better job “owning their space” in Game 2, which allowed them to dictate how the game was played. For Boston to win Game 3, they’ll have to take physical control

“They were more physical than we were," he said. “I’ve got no complaints about it. They were well within the rules and appropriate and played really hard. And on the other end I thought we didn’t impact their airspace in the same regard. So that’s what I mean by owning space. The other team can be playing really hard, really physical, and you can still run a perfect lead and catch where you want to. It’s not easy, and it wears on you over time, but that’s part of it.”

Other pregame notes:

- Giannis Antetokounmpo has hit five of his nine 3′s in Games 1 and 2 of this series, an amazingly high percentage for a guy who is only just starting to take the shot with some regularity. He shot about 22 percent for the regular season, and Boston has decided that other aspects of Antetokounmpo’s game are more important to stop.

“You have to live with something,” Stevens said. “You still have to protect the paint first and you still have to not let him get by you, because if he gets by you, you foul him, he scores for sure, or he finds another 3-point shooter. So, yeah, it makes it tough. It’s why, as you know, everybody’s saying when he shoots a higher volume and makes it at 40 percent, what do you do then? I’m not sure.”

When it was noted that Giannis has increased his 3-point attempts by 25 percent over the past month-and-a-half, Budenholzer joked, “he finally started listening."

He added, “I’m certainly pleased. He knows we’ve been pushing that envelope from day one and he’s been great about working on it and getting more and more comfortable. He’s such a hard worker. He’s really great to coach. I think he’s just gaining confidence, it’s the whole team understanding what we want to to do, and so I’m certainly pleased with his progress and I think he’s going to get better and better.”

- Brad Stevens took a moment to acknowledge a tough situation for the Kevin O’Connor family. O’Connor, a former Boston blogger who now covers the NBA for The Ringer, revealed today that his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Tatum picking up right where he left off... Useless...

Oh my God. Turnover after turnover after turnover.

Semi getting some early minutes.

Brick City.

and Semi gets the charge on Giannis right away!

Crap. Can we stop the 3s?

Semi is prob the only one not scared of giannis. Most of the times giannis goes to his left, cant our guys notice that??

This team has been scared to death of the paint all season long, with the exception of Brown.