Hardwood Houdini
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Boston Celtics need to bounce back with defense

By Joshua Bateman

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 20: Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo howls after he slammed home the first two points of the game while the Celtics' Al Horford and Jaylen Brown look on. The Boston Celtics visit the Milwaukee Bucks for Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NBA Playoffs at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 20: Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo howls after he slammed home the first two points of the game while the Celtics' Al Horford and Jaylen Brown look on. The Boston Celtics visit the Milwaukee Bucks for Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NBA Playoffs at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics need to rely on defense to bounce back against the Milwaukee Bucks

The Boston Celtics are still in a great position to win the series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but game four is always going to be a turning point. The Celtics know they can close this out in five, and do not want to trade home wins and risk a disaster happening in game seven.

In game three, the Celtics came down to earth in a brutal way. They had one of their best performances of the season in game two, and everyone came together on both ends for a truly complete performance.

In game three, they did not look like that at any point in the game. They looked lost and disjointed, and no one could establish any kind of rhythm. The Celtics looked frustrated, and they are going to struggle whenever they are not comfortable.

The worst thing that could happen to the Celtics is if they think they can bail themselves out with offense. They got remarkable contributions across the board in the first two games. They set a standard to start this season that gives this team a tremendous amount of potential, but all that youth will inevitably have consistency problems if they are relying so much on outside shooting.

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The Celtics can feel good about their offense, and know it will be a part of the equation if they are going to get out of this series in five games. Nevertheless, defense has been the identity of this team all season long, and they need to get everything going on that end.

The Celtics have one of the most dangerous transition attacks in the NBA with Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown, and they need to manufacture as many easy buckets as possible. The Celtics still do not have that pure number one scoring option to replace Kyrie Irving, and getting those easy looks are the only way this roster is able to make up for that impact.

The Celtics want to dictate the pace of this game, and want to force the Bucks to adjust to something that is not their strength. The only way the Celtics can really impose their will on their opponents is with their defense.

Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton have been playing out of their minds in this series. In games one and two, the Celtics needed special performances from at least four or five guys to overcome that, and they were able to do it.

The Celtics cannot expect all these players to come together in a special way like that every night, and the only way to overcome that is by slowing down what the Bucks are doing more. The Celtics know how they need to play in order to beat the Bucks, and they will not be able to get there if they are not playing great on defense.

The Celtic were the best team at defending the three pointer in the regular season, and have allowed the Bucks to shoot 48 percent, 41 percent and 38 percent from deep. With the Celtics holding teams to 33.9 percent from three during the regular season, and the Bucks shooting just 35.5 percent on the season, the Celtics know they have to do a better job.

This is a matchup where the Celtics should get a huge advantage form three point range. The Bucks were no where near the league tops in scoring or defending the three, and the Celtics know they need to make things right from deep.

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The Celtics can be confident in their ability to create good looks and hit a lot of threes. That being said, they need to start things on the defensive end, and if they can bring the Bucks back down to their season average from three point range, they will be in a great position to get the road victory.

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