We're starting where we should: with  absences. Robert

Williams played a few minutes. The Bucks were in perfect

form except for Bobby Portis. Tuesday's game looked like a

serious game. Only it wasn't frivolous as the ever-rising

Malcolm Brogdon, Blake Griffin, Grant Williams, Mike

Muscala, Sam Hauser and  Derrick White took it very

seriously. Meanwhile, they nearly knocked out a 10-game

winning Bucks team from Tuesday's game and walked away

with a very timid overtime win. Of course, you can't take

these things into the playoffs. The Celtics won't blast the

Bucks with Tatum, Brown, Horford and Smart on the  list just

because they came close to beating the Bucks in their

absence. That's not how the NBA works, many players have

played very well, but all of these players are  in the NBA,

which means they are great basketball players. Giannis

Ntetokounmpo is also a standout player  for the NBA, and