Boston Celtics cannot expect home court to make the difference against the Milwaukee Bucks
The Boston Celtics are heading back home after dropping two games in Milwaukee, knowing they need to regain control of the series. TD Garden is a special place that should always give the Celtics a boost, but they cannot take anything for granted.
Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown talked about the difference their home court can make, but everything still falls on them. The Celtics cannot expect home court to magically make this team function well again, and that is the easiest way for them to drop a third straight game.
The Celtics knew that every win in this series would be hard and making up for not having the best player on the court is not going to get easier just because Giannis Antetokounmpo is not playing at home.
The Celtics have some clear problems with the Bucks, and have not figured out how to respond to this emergence of Thon Maker. Ideally, that home court will flip the momentum a bit, and maybe help the Celtics even out a terrible three point shooting differential right now.
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That being said, the Celtics need to fix that with their defensive activity, and it should not take a home crowd for them to bring the kind of effort that can bring the Bucks back down around their season average from deep.
The Celtics know they are capable of taking down the Bucks, but there is too much work that needs to be done to think home court will make any kind of significant difference. The Celtics need to cut down the turnovers and eliminate the open shots. They need to establish their versatility and prevent the Bucks from dictating the terms of this series.
The Celtics know they need to be more comfortable than the Bucks, but that comfort is going to take a lot more than just playing at home. The Celtics need to be forcing the Bucks to adjust like they were in the first two games, because everything felt a lot harder for them in the first games.
Home court can be a major factor in the playoffs, but it can hurt any team that thinks it will automatically change something. The Celtics need to use to change of scenery to help bring out the adjustments, but home court is the easiest and first step in preventing the Bucks from playing their best.
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The Celtics know how important winning game five is, and they can feel good that they do not have to win another game on the road. That being said, the Celtics need to be pushing themselves more and not less because they are home, making sure there is nothing the Bucks can do to steal a game in Boston, and put the Celtics on the brink of elimination.