Boston Celtics save their best for game seven

The Boston Celtics brought the best on both ends in game seven against the Milwaukee Bucks

The Boston Celtics went into the playoffs unsusre of exactly how good the could be. They knew they could do damage with the three point shot, and had one of the truly elite defenses in the league. The problem is that they knew the Milwaukee Bucks would have the best player in the series in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Celtics had a lot of things to figure out.

When the series started, the Celtics did not look like the same team that won in the regular season. Even in the first two wins, the Celtics were playing uncharacteristically, and still figuring things out.

The Bucks were a middle of the pack three point team, both on offense and on defense. The Celtics, however, had the best three point defense in the NBA, and the second best three point percentage.

Naturally, the Bucks blew the Celtics away form beyond the arc, and left the Celtics in a bit of an identity crisis after they evened the series up at two games a piece. Khris Middleton alone was crushing the Celtics with his shooting, and secondary players like Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon and Jabarai Parker were blowing the Celtics away from deep.

More from Hardwood Houdini

The Celtics could not find their top form on either end, and the first games they won were executed in unexpected fashion, and made a lot of people question how well their young guys would be able to sustain things.

Turns out it was the Bucks that could not sustain things, because the moment Marcus Smart got back in the lineup, they rediscovered their identity, and got back to winning with defense. The problem is that the moment the defense showed up, the offense disappeared.

In game one, the Celtics were able to get a slight three point shooting edge, and rode their offense to a win despite giving up 107 points. In game two they stayed out of character, once again winning the game, despite giving up 106 points and allowing the Bucks to shoot over 41 percent from three.

The Celtics felt good after those first two games, but knew that is not how they sustain winning. When they lost their home court advantage, the Bucks were able to exploit those problems. Boston’s offense fell off a cliff, and could not make up for it on defense.

Game three was a complete a total failure, playing miserably on both ends and allowing the Bucks to do whatever they wanted. The Bucks shot 57 percent overall and 48 percent from three, and that tells you all you need to know about how poorly they played. On top of that, it might have been their worst game on offense.

Game four was the toughest loss to swallow. The Celtics were in a position to win late, and could not recapture that clutch success from the regular season, with Brogdon hitting the deadly go ahead three pointer. The Celtics got what they needed on offense, especial form Jaylen Brown with 34 points. Once again, however, the Bucks killed them shooting 43.5 percent from deep.

The Celtics were not defending the three at any point in this series, and could not trust their offense to make up for it. The Celtics looked lost, and it was unclear how they could get back on track.

Insert Smart into TD Garden and the defense came back to life. In game five they once again looked like themselves, playing horribly on offense, but doing everything they could to win on defense.

In game six, they got comfortable again with their defense, but did not find enough balance to get a win. It became clear that the Celtics could not be one dimensional and get a game seven victory. We knew about the potential on offense and defense, and saw them on separate occasions in this series.

Then game seven came round and the Celtics could not have timed things better. If you took the best of their offense and the best of their defense form this series, that is what happened in game seven. They made it too difficult for Antetokoumpo to take over the game, absolutely destroyed the game in transition, got the easy buckets on the inside, and even got that slight edge from three point range.

It was not perfect, because the Celtics still want to shoot better than 33 percent from three. That being said, the Celtics made sure they played good enough defense that they did not need a complete shooting game, and the second half surge was enough to keep all the separation created by great transition and play in the paint to start. It is also a great sign to see the Celtics score a lot, without needing too much from deep.

Next: Boston Celtics Young Three Coming up big

The Celtics have been inconsistent all year, but when things come together on both ends they look as good as anyone. Thankfully the Celtics were able to win this series with only one truly special performance on both ends. Against the 76ers, that needs to be the nightly standard, and now they have to play at that level without Brown for at least game one.

Home/Celtics News