Thursday, April 26 - Game 6 - Celtics at Bucks
Pregame – Celts Could be on Verge of Finally Containing Middleton
MILWAUKEE – Khris Middleton has played like a superstar through the first five games of the Boston-Milwaukee series. The Celtics may be on the verge of changing that trend, however.
Middleton enters tonight’s Game 6 having hit 57.0 percent of his shots and 60.0 percent of his 3s while averaging 25.0 points per game. Those numbers are a striking improvement from his regular-season numbers of 46.6 percent shooting from the field, 35.9 percent shooting from 3-point range, and an average of 20.1 PPG.
Brad Stevens explained prior to Game 6 why he thinks Middleton has been able to shoot the ball at such a high level.
“A lot of those shots, I would say, that he got at times in Boston and certainly in Game 3, we didn’t feel like we were in his air space enough,” Stevens explained.
That lack of pressure helped Middleton’s confidence to balloon heading into Games 4 and 5, according to Stevens.
“Unfortunately,” the coach said, “he got to feeling good enough that in Game 4 and Game 5, he hit the ones where we were (in his air space).”
Middleton scored 23 points during Game 5 on 9-for-21 shooting and 3-for-6 shooting from long distance. The key takeaway, however, is that Boston’s defense applied far more pressure to him during Game 5.
Marcus Smart’s return to the lineup has a lot to do with that. So does Semi Ojeleye’s insertion into the starting lineup. Boston is now better equipped to switch on pick-and-rolls and to still have a player with enough size and strength to contest Middleton’s shots.
Following Games 1 through 3, as Stevens alluded to, Middleton’s confidence was soaring and his most recent memories were of easily getting his shot off against Boston’s defense. The same cannot be said for the sharpshooter as he heads into tonight’s Game 6.
His most recent memory now is of Boston’s defense being in his air space. That memory, combined with another strong night of pressure from the C’s, could pull Middleton out of his remarkable shooting streak and back down to Earth during Game 6.
- Marc D'Amico