The Milwaukee Bucks entered their second-round NBA playoff series with the Boston Celtics shorthanded as Khris Middleton is dealing with a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Middleton injured his knee in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Chicago Bulls and isn’t expected back on the court.
The injury could not have come at a worse time, as Middleton is expected to miss the entirety of the series against the Celtics. There are also some reports stating that Middleton wouldn’t make it back for the Eastern Conference Finals either should the Bucks advance that far.
That will make an already difficult matchup against Boston that much tougher. But, as long as the Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court healthy, they will be able to hang with anyone.
In Game 1, Milwaukee shocked a lot of people, defeating Boston 101-89 on the road. Antetokounmpo finished with a triple-double, scoring 24 points to go with 13 rebounds and 12 assists.
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Given how easily the Boston Celtics disposed of the Brooklyn Nets in their first-round series, sweeping them in four games and holding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in check, many expected them to do the same to Milwaukee, sans Middleton. That was not the case, at least in Game 1, as the Milwaukee Bucks executed their game plan well.
“They were showing help, being physical,” Antetokounmpo said of the Celtics’ defense. “Bringing the help. Being active. They were really good.”
“The patience, keep working, keep working, keep reading the defense,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said about Antetokounmpo’s performance. “The spacing around him has got to be great and we’ve got to give him outlets. He just keeps reading the game. Sometimes it’s scoring, sometimes it’s sharing it. He knows he’s got to do both.”
There were certainly some challenges for Giannis, as he shot only 9-of-25 from the field and turned the ball over five times. But, he was able to step up and make plays when his team needed him the most, as his playmaking was excellent.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo Too Dominant For Celtics’ Defense?
Teammates have to take advantage of those opportunities presented to them and they did, as Bobby Portis, Jrue Holiday, and Grayson Allen all scored in double-figures. Portis, Allen, Pat Connaughton and Jevon Carter all shot at least 50 percent from the field as well, as Milwaukee’s bench outplayed Boston’s.
Defensively is where this game was won. The Celtics got whatever they wanted whenever they wanted against the Nets. The Bucks presented a much tougher challenge, holding the Celtics to only 89 points and 33.3 percent overall from the field.
“We’re playing hard defensively. I think we realized in order for us to be in the game, in order for us to win games, we’ve got to guard,” Antetokounmpo said. “Offensively, obviously one of our best scorers [Middleton] is not out there, so we know that we’ve got to guard, and offensively we’re going to figure it out.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo Too Dominant For Celtics’ Defense?
“At the end of the day, if we don’t guard, we don’t have a chance of being in the game. I think after Game 2 [against the Bulls in the first round] we were like, we got to start guarding. We got to take that pride defensively.”
If the Milwaukee Bucks can continue playing at that level defensively, they will present a lot of obstacles for the Boston Celtics to overcome. Grabbing a 1-0 lead should provide them with plenty of confidence going forward, as they know they can hang with the Celtics despite being without one of their top guns this series.
