Round two has been quite the back and forth affair between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks.
In Game 1, it was Boston who only scored 89 points and was held to one of their worst performances of the season. The 89.2 Offensive Rating posted by the C’s was their second-worst of the entire NBA season.
The script completely flipped for Game 2, however, as Boston shined in all aspects of the game while the Bucks faltered. The 86-point performance by the deer was the lowest scoring output of their playoff run thus far.
Giannis struggled against the home team’s top-tier defense as he shot 11-for-27 from the floor. That said, the “Greek Freak” still managed to pour in 28 points.
Only three other Bucks finished the game in double figures. On the other hand, the green and white had five players record at least ten points, three of whom had at least 21 points, including Grant Williams.
The forward chipped in this point total while knocking down a game-high six 3-pointers.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stepped up like superstars as the latter dropped 30 and the former added 29 of his own points.
The win for the C’s by 23 points was their largest margin of victory this postseason. Essentially the two teams flipped sides from their Game 1 showings.
Boston will now hit the road as they look to carry their momentum back home to Milwaukee. The shamrocks are 2-0 on the road during the 2022 playoffs, both of the wins coming in round one in Brooklyn.
While Milwaukee has the home-court advantage, the Celtics should gain a weapon of their own. 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart has been upgraded to probable on the injury report.
Smart missed Game 2 with a thigh injury.
Even without Smart, Ime Udoka’s squad was still able to deter the Bucks from having any offensive success.
Having him back in the lineup for Game 3 could be a major factor toward Boston taking the series lead.
On the flip side, Milwaukee will be without Khris Middleton as he continues to nurse a knee injury.
George Hill, who has not played in the 2022 playoffs, has been upgraded to probable as he is nearing a return from an abdomen injury.
At the time of this writing, the C’s +2 point underdogs as Milwaukee enters the contest at the favorites.
With a Saturday afternoon tip-off ahead, let’s take a look at 3 keys to a Boston Celtics victory in Game 3:
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 1) The Jays
In the keys to a Game 2 victory, we discussed how important the Jays were towards gaining a W. The sensational tandem showed up big time in the victory.
It will be just as important for them to play well as Game 3 approaches. When the superstars play up to their potential, it’s hard to stop this C’s team.
Jayson Tatum was a +21 in the Game 2 win, while Jaylen Brown was a +16. Derrick White and Grant Williams were each a team-high +22.
When Tatum and Brown are that high in the positives, not many teams can compete with the shamrocks.
JT and JB were more active in setting screens and it seemed Udoka emphasized playing through them as part of the offensive gameplan. For the Celtics to take the series lead, they must continue to play through the Jays.