Milwaukee Bucks opened the season in a difficult way. They started out in Boston, where they ended the regular season last season, and then welcome Cleveland on Friday night. Those are supposedly the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. No one would have faulted the Bucks for losing their first two games. But Milwaukee did not have that issue as they won game 1 of 82 with a 108-100 win over Boston Celtics. It was a good road win with a big Giannis game, and strong fourth quarter defense.

Things I liked
Hell of a debut for Giannis – If you want to talk about Giannis MVP considerations, you might want to look at the statement he made in Game 1. Antetokounmpo finished the game with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in a massive stat line to start the 2017-2018. After LeBron James put up similar numbers against Boston, Giannis exploited their young wings as well with a variety of post moves.

Malcolm Brogdon, Celtics killer – There’s something about this gym that works out for Malcolm Brogdon. He ended up with 19 points and three made 3-pointers including a clutch one down the stretch to push Milwaukee’s lead out a little further. Brogdon saw over 40 minutes last night which is more than what he typically saw last season. He made the most of it.

Delly and Henson’s Fourth – What a game from the much-maligned bench players. John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova each had strong fourth quarter that helped Milwaukee win this basketball game. Jason Kidd rode with Henson for defense down the stretch, and it paid off. This was as good as I’ve seen Henson in a long while. Delly did a great job defending Kyrie Irving who was held in check for the most part and hit a dagger three with under a minute left to give Milwaukee a five point

Thing I didn’t like
Khris Middleton’s rough start – We will not get too excited or too down about anything Bucks-related, but you have to be disappointed in the start for Khris Middleton. He goes 6-for-17 including an airball of a three in the fourth quarter. Middleton will have to be better for Milwaukee to reach their peak.

Next up
Cleveland Cavaliers open the final year of the Bradley Center with a 6:00 pm national televised tip on ESPN. It should be a doozy.

Charlie.