The Boston Celtics ended up with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and then proceeded to sweep the team everyone else was purposely losing at the conclusion of the regular season trying to avoid.
One of those squads, the Milwaukee Bucks, just escaped a six-game series with the No. 6 seeded Chicago Bulls and lost their second-best player in the process. Khris Middleton suffered a left MCL injury and a Grade 2 sprain and is expected to miss the entire second-round series vs. the Boston Celtics, per Shams Charania.
Ultimately, the strategy of finding the right matchup didn’t pay off for the Bucks, and now a fully healthy Cs squad that just knocked off the NBA title favorites at the beginning of the season awaits.
Celtics point guard and the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, commented on the strategy, keeping things short and cryptic:
The Bucks essentially decided they didn’t need home court advantage against the Celtics by sitting their regulars in the final game. Marcus Smart: “It happened. We see it. It’s part of the game. That was their choice. They decided to do that. That’s on them.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 28, 2022
More: “We’re not worried about anybody else but ourselves. We could care less what anybody else does. They’re the defending champs so they have every right to do whatever they please. … Well go out and play our game and let our game do the talking. And see where that leaves us.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 28, 2022
The Boston Celtics are betting favorites against Milwaukee
Against the Brooklyn Nets, Boston opened up as betting underdogs. Las Vegas has since wizened up and realized that Ime Udoka’s Cs are not to be slept on after the way this calendar year has unfolded so far.
The Celtics are a -200 series favorite, while the Bucks ML is at +175 to advance to their third Eastern Conference finals in four years.