Celtics at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks owned the NBA's best record and were pulling away from the pack in the Eastern Conference when the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March. The Bucks will try to shake the rust and pick up where they left off when they face the Boston Celtics on Friday in the Orlando bubble.
Milwaukee leads the NBA in scoring (118.6 points) and point differential (plus-11.2) and enters bubble play relatively healthy though guards Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton, who both joined the team this week after recovering from COVID-19, will sit out Friday. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared rust-free with 30 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes during a scrimmage against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday while fellow All-Star Khris Middleton worked his way up to 26 minutes. The Celtics are trying to catch the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 spot in the East and got a big boost to the roster when All-Star guard Kemba Walker (knee) appeared in a scrimmage earlier this week, though the team is still trying to find its form on the defensive end. "Just like in a fight, you get your head hit a few times, you're going to change it up and start protecting your body from those head shots," guard Marcus Smart told reporters after watching the team struggle on defense in the three scrimmages. "We're trying to put the fire under our butts and get us back to that urgency we need."
TIME: 6:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN, NBCS Boston, FS Wisconsin, SN1
ABOUT THE CELTICS (43-21): Boston enters the eight-game sprint three games behind the Raptors and 2 1/2 games clear of the fourth-place Miami Heat and with elite scoring threats with Walker (21.2 points), Jayson Tatum (23.6), Jaylen Brown (20.4) and Gordon Hayward (17.3) all in the bubble. Walker is expected to be limited to 20 minutes or fewer on Friday as he works his way into shape while the rest of the regulars should be well-rested after skipping Tuesday's final scrimmage against the Houston Rockets. Tatum scored 30 or more points in six of the final eight games prior to the shutdown while Hayward is also looking to pick up where he left off after starting out March hot.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (53-12): Milwaukee plans on contending for a championship and was not happy with a 124-103 loss to the Pelicans in the final scrimmage on Monday. "Obviously losing is a bad thing, but I think it's going to be good just moving forward just to know we have to play at our high level, it doesn't matter who we play against," forward Ersan Ilyasova told reporters, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I think this is one of those games, like, a wake-up call for us. We're here for one reason, obviously, to win a championship." Ilyasova, who posted a double-double in the scrimmage, is an example of the impressive depth of the Bucks and shoots 37.1 percent from 3-point range while averaging 16 minutes off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks PF Marvin Williams (groin) is questionable for Friday.
2. Brown is averaging career highs in points (20.4) field-goal percentage (49) and rebounds (6.4).
3. The teams split the first two meetings, with each prevailing at home.