Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Offers First Impressions Of New-Look Bucks

BOSTON — Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla understands the Bucks aren’t the same team this season.

The biggest offseason change, Damian Lillard, makes Milwaukee a different, but no less dangerous Eastern Conference foe for the Celtics. Mazzulla needs no reminder of that with both teams 14 games in ahead of their Wednesday night battle, however, there’s a double-sided coin Mazzulla made note of when assessing what the new-look Bucks have presented thus far.

“A lot of threes, a lot of off-the-dribble threes, and then they do a good job of changing the frequency of what they’re running,” Mazzulla said before tip-off from TD Garden. “Whether it’s Dame only, whether it’s Giannis (Antetokounmpo) only or both of them put together. While you’re doing those you can’t forget about Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton and their role guys because they make winning plays.

“They’re different because of the things that Lillard does at the point guard, but they’re also the same because they have those role guys and a bunch of guys that can affect the game in different ways.”

With a new head coach in Adrian Griffin, coupled with a Fantasy Basketball-like tandem in Antetokounmpo and Lillard, the Bucks did their part. Milwaukee maintained a competitive enough edge to convince Antetokounmpo to re-sign and assemble a product that — on paper — should keep the organization’s championship window open to compete with Boston.

So far, Milwaukee’s exhibited a few bumps and bruises in bringing that picture to life on the floor.

Lillard’s defense, while never worth riding home about, has only been exploited, playing a part in dragging the Bucks down entirely. Milwaukee ranks 23rd in defensive rating (115.4) while allowing 117.7 points to opposing offenses which is also 23rd among all NBA teams.

The offensive firepower? That’s still in play with the Bucks averaging 120.8 points on a 49.8% FG shooting rate that places Milwaukee fourth.

Parting ways from now-Celtics guard Jrue Holiday can easily be attributed to that drop-off in defensive effectiveness. Boston’s defensive rating (107) ranks third among all teams and pairing Holiday, who ranks second in rebounds (7.4) among all guards, with Derrick White, has made for a Celtics backcourt that’s arguably the most impactful in the NBA.

Regardless of how different the Bucks — or Celtics for that matter — look, the race for the No. 1 seed in the East should include both teams down the line.