The Boston Celtics will be out to defend their perfect record in the 2024-25 NBA season when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden on Tuesday morning.
The Celts are already 3-0 this season and looking in great shape, while the Bucks are 1-1 following a 10-point defeat to the Chicago Bulls over the weekend.
Match preview
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While it is still too early in the season to make definitive predictions, the Boston Celtics are already looking like the team to beat again this term following three very impressive performances.
The Celts dominated the Knicks 132-109 in their opening match, followed by a 122-102 victory over the Wizards on Friday and rounded out the weekend with a 124-118 win on the road to the Detroit Pistons.
Jayson Tatum has now shortened in the MVP betting markets and the Celts' All-Star was incredible on Sunday, putting up 37 points, including six in the final 65 seconds of the match to help his side hold on to the victory.
Boston looked as though they were en route to breaking the NBA record of 29 threes made in a match after notching up 15 in the first 18 minutes, but a slowdown in the second period saw them only manage four of 14 from long-range as the Pistons closed the gap to keep things interesting.
While Detroit mounted a proper challenge late on, Joe Mazzulla's side showed why they are the reigning champions, as they kept their heads and concentrated on working their way back into the game which paid dividends in the end.
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Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have experienced a fairly poor start to their NBA campaign, blowing away the 76ers in their season opener before being humbled by a high-scoring Bulls on Saturday and falling to the Nets last night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the standout performer against Chicago and Brooklyn, putting up 38 and 22 points respectively points, while Damian Lillard contributed 28 and 21 points in the two defeats.
However, despite the losses, it is not yet time to start sounding the alarm bells if you are a Bucks fan, as the Bulls' exceptional shooting performance was a rare occurrence - their best since 2021 - and Milwaukee have the talent and depth in their squad to recover effectively.
Of course, that will not be a straightforward task against the formidable Celts, but Doc Rivers's side did beat Boston in their last matchup 104-91 in April and have split the last six three apiece.
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Team News
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The Celts came out of their last match unscathed but Mazzulla may consider bringing Payton Pritchard into the starting five, potentially for Jrue Holiday, who only managed seven points in 36 minutes against the Pistons.
As far as injuries go, Sam Hauser is currently flagged as day-to-day owing to a back injury, while Kristaps Porzingis is the only confirmed absentee for this match as he continues his recovery from a foot injury.
For the Bucks, Andre Jackson Jr was reportedly involved in a car crash after their defeat to the Bulls but he is believed to have not sustained any injuries and is expected to be part of the team on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo is a minor doubt due to a knee injury, AJ Green is marked as day-to-day with a toe injury, and Khris Middleton is ruled out for the next few weeks with an injured ankle.
Boston Celtics possible starting five:
Brown, Tatum, Halford, White, Pritchard
Milwaukee Bukcs possible starting five:
Antetokounmpo, Prince, Lopez, Lillard, Trent Jr
We say: Boston Celtics to win by 3+ points
While the Bucks have done well against this opponent in recent times, it is difficult to back against the Celts given the form they have shown in pre-season and over the first three matches of the new campaign.
This will arguably be Boston's biggest challenge of the season to date, but we feel they will be able to hold off the Bucks in this one.
Devesh Jaganath
