Bucks welcome Cavs to start longest home stand of the season

There's no better way to start the NBA season than by winning your first game. To do it on the road against a tough conference foe and then settle in for the longest home stand of the season?

Some might call that the cherry on top.

That's the situation the Milwaukee Bucks are in after knocking off the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at TD Garden. They'll spend more than a week in Milwaukee playing four home games, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The game will be televised on ESPN and Fox Sports Wisconsin.

While the road victory over the Celtics is a positive step, the Bucks know they're going to have to dial things up if they're going to take advantage of their home-heavy October schedule.

"A lot of good things, a lot of things that we can improve on; we're going to have to if we're going to compete with Cleveland," coach Jason Kidd said Thursday at the Sports Science Center following practice.

"Any time you play the best player in the world in LeBron (James), you've got to be ready."

Like the Celtics, the Cavaliers changed drastically over the off-season. James is now flanked by former Marquette standouts Dwyane Wade and Jae Crowder as well as 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose. Those players join Cleveland's core, which includes forward Kevin Love and guard J.R. Smith.

"They've got a lot of new players but they all know how to play," Kidd said.

Each team has played just one game, both beating the Celtics on back-to-back nights. Prior to Thursday's practice session, the Bucks spent plenty of time watching film and noted that improvements need to be made against the Cavaliers.

"I think rebounding, definitely," guard Matthew Dellavedova said. "We gave them (the Celtics) a lot of second shots (10). When you give up offensive rebounds it's either a layup or a three. If we can clean up that, keep getting back in defensive transition, loading to the ball ... I think that's probably two of the main focuses."

For Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks' star who made national headlines by recording 37 points on 13-of-22 shooting to go with 13 rebounds on Wednesday, Milwaukee's success going forward hinges on playing like it did in the fourth quarter in Boston.

During that frame, the Bucks assisted on seven of their nine made baskets, earned 13 shots at the free-throw line, dictated the tempo and locked the Celtics down at the other end, holding Boston to 8 of 32 shooting (25%).

It didn't hurt that Antetokounmpo took over during that quarter with 16 points and a pair of assists, including a kickout to Dellavedova for a critical three-pointer with less than a minute left.

"We had patience and I think that showed maturity as a team," Antetokounmposaid. "We're getting better, we're growing as a team. ... We've got to move the ball, I think. We can't go one-on-one or one against five; we've got to move the ball and try to attack at the right moments."

Much of the hype surrounding the game will center on Antetokounmpo, 22, going against James, who is widely regarded as the best player on the planet.

"I'm not thinking about that, I'm just thinking about what we've got to do as a team to get a win tomorrow," Antetokounmpo said. "The Cavs are a really good team, and one of the top teams in the East and that's where we want to get."

It's still early, but the Bucks can make a statement that they're a realistic competitor in the Eastern Conference against the Cavaliers on Friday. Bigger still, they can illustrate their growth and maturity by taking advantage of their home stand.

That's easier said than done considering four tough teams are coming to town, including a Saturday game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which beat the Phoenix Suns by 48 points Wednesday night.

"We're playing some talented teams when you talk about Cleveland and Portland on a back-to-back at home and then you have Charlotte and Boston again," Kidd said. "Not an easy home stand. This is the longest home stand of the season, so we've got to hopefully take advantage of that."

Center rotation: When Greg Monroe left Wednesday's game with a laceration by his right eye that required four stitches, John Henson jumped in as the third center off the bench.

By the end of the night, Henson logged more playing time (17 minutes, 13 seconds) than Monroe or starter Thon Maker. He made the most of the opportunity, finishing with five points, six rebounds and four blocks.

"I was going to go with the three centers," Kidd said. "I think John's been having a great camp for us. You can't be penalized, you've got to find time for him on the floor. I thought he did a great job in responding yesterday."

Henson even earned the nod to close out the game with 10 minutes of action in the fourth quarter. During that time he anchored the Bucks' best defensive stretch of the night when Milwaukee held Boston without a field goal for 4 1/2 minutes.

"Defense and then his ability to play make and also put the ball in the basket," Kidd said when asked why he chose Henson to close the game. "He's had a great preseason and training camp and we've got to find him some time. Yesterday it worked out for us."