C’s in familiar position
Series in no way over yet
The Celtics have a 2-0 edge going into Game 3 tonight in Milwaukee, and not long ago they were in the reverse position.
The Celtics trailed Chicago in last year’s first round, 2-0, before going on to win the next two in the United Center, and ultimately the series in six games by going on a 4-0 run.
They have no doubt that this series can turn in a flash.
“Yeah, down 0-2 going back to their place,” Terry Rozier said before yesterday’s practice of the Bucks’ predicament.
“We already know they’re going to come out aggressive. They’re going to come out hard,” he said. “We’re coming out with the mindset that we can forget about the taking care of home court. We’re coming out and we’re still going to be aggressive, because we’re coming out to win. That’s our goal. We’ve got to pay attention to details. We’ve got practice today and are getting ready for tomorrow.”
Brad Stevens had another series in mind when thinking about the current dynamics. The Celtics took a 2-0 lead on Washington in last year’s conference semifinals, but needed seven games to nail down advancement to the conference finals.
“We were up 2-0 against the Wizards, so we lived them both,” said the Celtics coach. “The series, you have to win four games to win a series and winning is exceptionally hard one time. You’re never in good shape until the series is over. And you’re never out of it until the series is over, and you have to play well. I think that’s what we’re focused on trying to do in Game 3.”
Even rookie Guerschon Yabusele had honed that talking point.
“The confidence is different. We’re 2-0 now, so we try to go there and get the first game and go 3-0,” he said. “But we go there with confidence. We know it will be tough over there, be less mistakes. That’s not our court.”
No Bledsoe beef
Rozier, smiling as if he had swallowed a canary, tried to strike a neutral stance yesterday regarding his sudden drama with Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe.
Asked if he had a beef with the Bucks point guard — the latter said in colorful terms that he didn’t know who Rozier was after the Celtics guard referred to him as Drew Bledsoe — Rozier shook his head.
But he is apparently familiar with fight night promotions.
“I ain’t got no bad blood. Everybody is out here to play basketball,” said Rozier. “No boxers or none of that stuff. I’m not going to get caught up in all of that. I’m worried about Celtics and Bucks. How can I help my team get past the first round.”
Asked if using the name of the former Patriots quarterback was a mistake, Rozier smiled.
“Yeah, I made a huge mistake. But it is what it is now. I don’t care,” he said.
Going deep
Yabusele made his NBA playoff debut in Game 2, and Semi Ojeleye replaced him on the bench. But depending on matchups, any of Stevens’ deeper bench brigade could find his way to the floor tonight.
“You’re always looking for ways that your group can play better. Our group didn’t play as well off the bench in Game 1; played outstanding in Game 2,” said Stevens. “But we’re going to need, not only Guersch, but Semi and (Abdel) Nader to both be ready, too. That’s the way these series go. Obviously you always see something in those games that you like, that you take with you that you might use. And they’ve got more bodies than we do so they probably have a little bit more flexibility on what works — like (Shabazz) Muhammed, they can make or Sterling Brown late in the game or whatever they decide to do there.”
Thoughts with Pop
The league was shaken by the news that Erin Popovich, the wife of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, died earlier this week after a long illness.
“All of our thoughts and prayers from our whole organization are with Gregg, his family and the entire Spurs organization,” said Stevens. “It’s just another reminder of how unimportant this game is compared to everything else that’s going on.”