 and made just 3 of 14 3-point attempts.Pistons coach Dwane Casey said his team made a big step forward in qualifying for the playoffs but vowed to fight against the heavily favored Bucks.''We're not in the class of where Milwaukee is with their program right now,'' Casey said. ''They were not two or three years ago.''I remember coming here a couple years ago (with Toronto) and playing against them. They were getting started, building what they've got now. Their patience has paid off. It's a great experience for us to come in and play against a great team like Milwaukee.'' TIP-INSDetroit: Casey said Griffin was ''day-to-day but too sore to go'' in Game 1. The Pistons forward averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 75 games in his first full season with the Pistons. ... Griffin was called for a technical for protesting Drummond's ejection . Former Bucks forward Thon Maker faced his former team and started in Griffin's place. He avoided a flagrant foul when he brought Antetokounmpo to the floor in the second quarter. Maker came to Detroit in the three-team trade in February that brought Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks from New Orleans. He had four points and four rebounds in 22 minutes and was booed heavily by the home crowd. ''You don't have to say giddy-up to Thon Maker,'' Casey said. ''He wakes up in the morning ready to go.'' . Former Bucks assistants Sean Sweeney and Tim Grgurich are on the Pistons' staff. . Detroit entered with a 14-3 playoff record against Milwaukee, winning all four series.Milwaukee: Mirotic was available and played 15 minutes while scoring four points. ''He's just getting back in conditioning and health and everything like that,'' Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. Mirotic had missed the last 11 regular-season games after fracturing his left thumb on March 19 against the Los Angeles Lakers. . The Bucks' 70 points were the second-most in a first half in franchise history. They scored 77 in March 1970. . Budenholzer said he was concerned about the rebounding battle and going against league-leading rebounder Drummond (15.6 per game). ''It's going to take our whole group to make sure we're taking care of the defensive boards. It's not the big guys' job or the center; we have to do it collectively,'' Budenholzer said. The Bucks had a 54-46 rebounding advantage.UP NEXTGame 2 is Wednesday night in Milwaukee.)
Apr 13, 2019Boston entered the season as the Eastern Conference favorite. Philadelphia has a star-studded lineup. Perennial playoff participant Toronto is now led by 2014 Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard.None of those teams head the playoffs as the conference's top seed. Milwaukee holds that distinction and is eager to prove it's worthy of that status.The Bucks, who won a league-high 60 games and have home-court advantage throughout the postseason, begin their quest for a ring on Sunday when they host No. 8 seed Detroit.Led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks come into the postseason brimming with confidence."The playoffs bring pressure," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Now is the time when you've got to execute defensively and offensively. There's no 'two weeks from now we need to get better' or 'a month from now.' Every team feels that pressure, the sense of the playoffs. I think our guys are excited about that and the coaching staff the same." With the Pistons' best player a major health concern, the Bucks are a heavy favorite to end their long drought of winning a playoff series. They haven't advanced in the postseason since the 2000-01 campaign, when they reached the conference finals.Since that point, the Bucks have been bounced in the first round eight times, including the last two seasons. They came close last spring, losing a Game 7 to Boston.Milwaukee's players are well aware of the team's playoff history."As a team we know what our goal is," Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We haven't recently been out of the first round. We have to take it step by step. Got to win the first game on Sunday, then we can move on." Getting past the Pistons in the first round would be the first of three series victories required to reach the Finals for the first time since the 1973-74 season."We know what's at stake," swingman Khris Middleton said to the Journal Sentinel. "We know we have to get past the first round. We haven't been (past that) yet. Just keep doing what we do." The Bucks will open the series without guards Tony Snell (left ankle sprain) and Malcolm Brogdon (plantar fascia tear). Forward Nikola Mirotic missed the last 11 games with a thumb fracture but practiced Friday.Pistons All-Star forward Blake Griffin is questionable to play after sitting out four of the last seven games with a sore left knee. Detroit (41-41) is making its second playoff appearance since the 2008-09 season.The Pistons didn't qualify until they defeated New York on the last night of the regular season. They're embracing the underdog role."We have to go and play hard, play loose," coach Dwane Casey said. "Nobody on this planet that's an NBA fan is going to expect us to win. That's great. I think a lot of our guys have been underdogs all their lives. I've been an underdog all my life. ... That's the approach we're taking - that nobody expects us to be here anyway." Milwaukee swept the four-game season series by an average of 14.8 points."They're one of the best teams I've seen in the last few years as far as shooting the ball, defending, playing tough," Casey said. "They have so many strengths. I just don't know what we can do initially. But we're going to go in and try." --Field Level Media
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