It’s an exciting rematch of one half of last year’s East Semis, where the Boston Celtics got eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
The Celtics are enjoying a new core, while the Bucks are on a revenge tour of their own as they are gunning to be the East’s top dog again.
The new-look Celtics
The 2-1 Celtics enter the contest having won back-to-back games. In the first win, they beat the defending champions Toronto Raptors, 112-106, despite giving up 33 points to Pascal Siakam and 18 three-pointers to the team. The past win, meanwhile, had the Celtics showcasing a 115-98 domination of the New York Knicks.
Head coach Brad Stevens and his men are out to continue the momentum from the blowout victory, which saw them knock down 15 threes and force 25 turnovers. It’s easier said than done against a team like the Bucks, but hopes are high as they will play in front of their rabid home crowd.
Celtic players to look out for
Jayson Tatum (20.3 PPG) and Jaylen Brown (17.3 PPG) are both appearing to be coming into their own, and it will be interesting to watch if they can keep the pace up. The Celtics’ current leading scorer, however, Kemba Walker (22 PPG), is the number one guy to look out for. He should be in a fun match-up with the Bucks’ first-team All-Defense guard, Eric Bledsoe.
Combining the regular season and playoffs, the Celtics went 3-5 against the Bucks last season.
The Bucks are off to a slow start, but still…
Like the Celtics, the Bucks are also 2-1. It’s not an ideal start as they had to dig deep in the season-opening, 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets and then they followed it up by blowing a 17-point, halftime lead versus the Miami Heat and lost in overtime, 131-126.
What’s good, though, is the Bucks took care of business in Cleveland on Tuesday. They comfortably beat the Cavaliers on the road, 129-112, even with, Giannis Antetkounmpo, having a rather quiet day on offense (14 points on 5-for-15 shooting). Seven Bucks scored 14 or more points, two of which came from the bench – George Hill (19) and Pat Connaughton (17), and topped it all off by hitting 17 threes.
Giannis should be a beast again
Giannis has prematurely fouled out in two of the team’s three games on the season, but the overt aggression should be an easy fix. Look for the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player to have another big day against the Celtics. He’s been virtually unstoppable when facing their defense, as evident in putting up 31 PPG in the 2018-19 regular season series and 28.4 PPG in the playoffs.
PREDICTION:
The Bucks win a back-and-forth battle. Along with Walker vs. Bledsoe, the Giannis and Khris Middleton vs. Tatum and Brown match-up should provide for a lot of exciting moments.
