NBA Game Preview - Milwaukee at Boston

Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:30 PM EDT

Though just one week into the regular season, the Boston Celtics will soon have a complete (albeit early) picture of where they stand among the Eastern Conference elite.

After splitting contests against the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors, the Celtics earned a reprieve Saturday night against the woeful New York Knicks. Now it's back to the gauntlet, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks visit Wednesday.

Boston finished as the fourth seed in the East last season, behind Milwaukee, Toronto and Philadelphia, respectively. A new-look Celtics roster has shown encouraging signs in Boston so far this season. In Milwaukee, the Bucks have won two of their first three games, once again leaning heavily on the reigning MVP Antetokounmpo.

Boston struggled in a 107-93 loss at Philadelphia to begin the season on Oct. 23 before rebounding with a victory over defending champion Toronto on Friday. At New York the next night, the Celtics routed the Knicks 118-95, as new addition Kemba Walker finally enjoyed a breakout performance with 32 points.

Through his first seven quarters with the Celtics, Walker struggled mightily, hitting just 8 of 31 shots. He then scored 11 points in the fourth quarter in rallying past the Raptors and went 11 of 17 with seven 3-pointers against the Knicks.

"It's a new team, new situation for me," Walker said after the win. "But tonight in the second half, yeah, I felt great."

Walker's contributions to the team have also shown off the court, where the chemistry is said to have improved vastly from last season. Marcus Smart, the longest-tenured Celtics player, organized a movie night Sunday as he embraces his role as one of the leaders on the club.

"On and off the court it's an incredible force," said Smart. "Everybody's joking, everybody's laughing, everybody's happy. That was a big thing for us. A lot of people weren't happy last year. So to see everybody's happy faces and smiling and everything, it helps a lot."

Happiness was in rare supply last season, especially after the Celtics were bounced from the second round of the playoffs by the Bucks in five games. Milwaukee ultimately fell short in the conference finals but is seen as the odds-on favorite to make it out of the East this season.

The Bucks cruised past the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-112 on Monday behind seven players scoring in double digits. Antetokounmpo was one, though he hit just 5 of 15 shots for 14 points after scoring 30 and 29, respectively, in his first two games.

"I'm just trying to be aggressive," said Antetokounmpo. "One of the things I do well is finding others open shots. If I see a guy open, I just want to pass it on the money, and hopefully he'll knock it down."

The Bucks will be at full strength for their contest against the Celtics and later this week will return home to host the Raptors.

After Milwaukee, Boston plays its next three against clubs with losing records from last season. Big man Enes Kanter (knee) will miss his third straight game for the Celtics, while forward Daniel Theis (ankle) is questionable after practicing Tuesday. Theis missed Saturday's win in New York.

--Field Level Media