The most startling number in the Eastern Conference right now isn’t a box score figure — it’s the absence. When the Milwaukee Bucks tip off against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, November 4, 2026, at 7:30 PM ET, the Bucks will take the floor without Giannis Antetokounmpo, shipped to Miami in the blockbuster trade that sent Bobby Portis along with him in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakucionis, CelticsBlog reported. For a franchise and a city that built two decades of expectations around one man, that is the story before the story.
The Celtics, meanwhile, sit at 5-2 and third in the East, behind only Philadelphia (7-1) and Detroit (6-1), and they have not lost at home this season, going 4-0 at TD Garden. The Bucks arrive at 1-6, 14th in the conference with only Brooklyn behind them, their lone win a home game against Indiana. CelticsBlog reported that Boston has won three straight against Milwaukee and holds a 77-40 all-time advantage in games played in Boston, part of a 124-113 overall edge. This is the first of three meetings this season, with rematches set for Milwaukee on November 8 and Boston on April 11.
Milwaukee’s Overhaul Meets Boston’s Home Fortress
The Bucks have essentially become a different team since last season. Beyond the Giannis deal, they traded for Caris LeVert from Detroit, signed Bogoljub Markovic in free agency, drafted Braydon Burries 10th overall and Nate Ament 13th, and brought in Pete Nance and Kam Jones on two-way contracts. They lost Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson, and Kevin Porter alongside Giannis and Portis, and they replaced Doc Rivers with Taylor Jenkins as head coach. The starting lineup — Burries, Herro, Jaquez, Kyle Kuzma, and Miles Turner — has started all seven games so far, and CelticsBlog projects the same five take the court Wednesday.
What that group brings is volume from deep. Milwaukee ranks third in the league attempting 43.7 three-pointers per game, and CelticsBlog notes the Bucks are third in the NBA with 49.6 rebounds per game and second with 15 offensive boards. They also rank third in second-chance points at 19.0 per game. The Celtics counter with the league’s eighth-highest three-point volume at 40.6 per game, though they shoot just 34.5% from beyond the arc, and they sit 20th in rebounding at 42.4 per game.
The Matchups That Will Decide It
Tyler Herro, in his first season in Milwaukee after arriving from Miami, is averaging 21.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 45.9% from the field and 43.1% from three, and CelticsBlog expects Hugo Gonzalez to draw the primary assignment, with Derrick White running point against Burries. Paul George will likely guard Jaquez Jr., who is putting up 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 50.6% shooting. With Jayson Tatum listed out for rest after playing both games of a back-to-back, the Celtics’ frontcourt spot remains fluid — Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, or Sam Hauser could all see the start alongside Neemias Queta, who is projected to match up with Turner.
Milwaukee Bucks (1-6) at Boston Celtics (5-2) Game #8 11/4/26 https://t.co/1tnT4HzRSv
Boston will be without Devin Carter, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis after missing the final three preseason games and has no timetable for a return, and Payton Pritchard is questionable with a right shoulder contusion. Milwaukee has only Kam Jones (ankle) listed as questionable. The Celtics’ defensive rating of 109.3 ranks 11th in the league; the Bucks’ 118.6 ranks 26th. That gap, combined with Boston’s 4-0 home record against Milwaukee’s 0-1 road mark this season, is the clearest statistical edge in the building.
Why This Game Carries Weight Beyond the Standings
For Boston, a win extends the home streak to five and keeps the Celtics packed tightly behind the East’s two unbeaten-ish leaders, with a demanding stretch ahead: Charlotte, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Toronto on the road, then Dallas and Orlando at home before a West Coast swing through Denver, Sacramento, Golden State, and Washington. For Milwaukee, a road win in Boston would show the post-Giannis roster can win away from home — something the Bucks have not done this season.
The Celtics’ own lineup is still a work in progress under Joe Mazzulla, with Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta all having started alongside Derrick White, Paul George, and Tatum at various points. CelticsBlog projects White, Gonzalez, George, Walsh, and Queta on Wednesday, but with Tatum resting, the fifth starter is genuinely unpredictable.
Last season Boston took the series 3-1, losing once in Milwaukee. This season the Bucks are trying to prove that a roster built around Herro, Jaquez, and a rookie backcourt can still compete with the Celtics at TD Garden. The next chapter arrives quickly — the teams meet again in Milwaukee on November 8.
More on Boston Celtics
Bucks at Celtics – TD Garden – November 4, 2026 – Starters Boston –White, Gonzalez, George, Hauser, Queta Milwaukee – Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Kyle Kuzma, Jaine Jacquez Jr., Myles Turner OUT – Boston: Tatum, Carter Milwaukee: Jones pic.twitter.com/vBo2OTMDPx
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