Mickael Pietrus | Boston Sports Blog

The Celtics (16-17) are looking to start another winning streak as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks (14-20). The Celtics are now tied for seventh place in the eastern conference with the Knicks and are 2.5 games ahead of the Bucks in the race for the 8^th spot. The Celtics are coming off of a 86-83 win against the pesky Cleveland Cavaliers where the Bucks are coming off the a 119-118 win over the Washington Wizards.

Brandon Bass came back from his injury and hit his first five shots for the Celtics last night. It was pretty promising as both he and Wilcox looked healthy. Wilcox grabbed 11 rebounds. The Celtics were led by Ray Allen who looked fresh after having the All-Star break off as he went for 22 points. Pietrus also had his biggest dunk of the season with that surgically repaired knee starting to look real good. Finally my man Avery Bradley played well again going 3-5 from the floor with 3 assists and no turnovers.

The Bucks are being led by Brandon Jennings as he is averaging 18.2 points per game and 5.3 assists per game. Last night Mike Dunleavy came off the bench to score 28 points. The Celtics have to be careful with the ball tonight because the Bucks scored 26 points off of 15 turnovers. The Celtics also have to watch out for Ersan Ilyasova who has been a beast on the boards this season. He has 4 double-doubles in his last five games including a 29-25 game against the New Jersey Nets 10 days ago.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers

As it has been all season the Celtics have to keep the turnovers down to a minimum. Pierce and Rondo had 11 turnovers. As the Bucks turn a lot of turnovers into points, the Celtics are going to need to take care of the ball if they’re going to want to get the winning streak to 2.

Rebounding

As I mentioned earlier Ilyasova is a beast. He has been killing teams on the boards this year. And the Celtics have been getting killed by everyone on the boards. They need to box out and go after rebounds defensively and offensively. It’s not a you-take-it kinda deal. I want to see them fight for rebounds and stop giving up easy second chance points.

Tip-Off is at 7:30 tonight.

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	+/-	PER
Paul Pierce	17.6	5	5.3	.48	1.21	+145	19.1

Positives: Pierce is looking more as a creator this year averaging a career high in assists per game. Especially in games where Rondo is out, Pierce takes over ball handling duties and creates for other players. He has been looking more of the Pierce of old as of late as he is attacking the rim and getting much more in game shape. Is still the Celtics best scorer and has the ability to go off in a quarter. Above average defensive player who uses his strength on defense.

Negatives: Pierce is averaging his lowest points per game since his rookie season in 98-99. Came into the season out of shape and used at least the first fifteen games to get acclimated to playing again. Lost a lot of athleticism and age is becoming a factor.

Grade: B-

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	+/-	PER
Mickael Pietrus	7.1	3.3	.6	.22	.48	+25	9.0

Positives: Expectations were low for Pietrus as he was a late signing and coming off of a knee surgery. He has been a major surprise to the Celtics, providing key 3 point shooting and great defense. He has lit a fire into the second unit and allowed Doc not to have to play Sasha Pavlovic or Marquis Daniels extended time. Doc has helped him out a lot this season, he has progressed from a player who has great defensive talents, to being a great defensive players.

Negatives: Has been relatively cold lately from beyond the arc. Cannot really create his own shot, is more of a spot up shooter. May be due to his poor ball handling ability, has only become a 3-point threat offensively.

Grade: B+

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	+/-	PER
Sasha Pavlovic	2.4	1.1	.2	.44	.28	-25	5.8

Positives: Not too much to be positive of here. Pavlovic has shown in the past that he can be a 3 point shooter. Every once in a while he comes up with a steal or two as he did against Orlando this year.

Negatives: Where should I start? Sasha does not get to the line, has trouble driving the ball to the basket, and has a non-existent post game. He does not have a handle to run the point guard position or gets rebounds on the offensive or defensive glass unless they fall to him. He is more or less Scal without bringing anything else to the table. I wish the Celtics would have used his money to sign Gerald Green back to the team (as the Nets just did).

Grade: F

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