NBA Matchups: May 1

Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics

Team Totals: Bucks 106.5, Celtics 111

Injury Report: George Hill (O, abdomen), Khris Middleton (O, knee)

Bucks projected starters: Jrue Holiday, Wesley Matthews, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez

Celtics projected starters: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Offensive Ranks: Bucks 5th, Celtics 10th (Bucks 6th in halfcourt, Celtics 8th; Boston was 1st/1st after the break)

Defensive Ranks: Bucks 14th, Celtics 1st (Bucks 22nd in halfcourt, Celtics 1st)

Season Series: 2-2

Noteworthy Missed Games: Brook Lopez (3 missed), Khris Middleton (1), Giannis Antetokounmpo (1), Grayson Allen (1), Al Horford (2), Robert Williams (1), Jayson Tatum (1), Jaylen Brown (1)

Budenholzer quotes: Said Giannis’ wrist is OK after the Game 5 win, said they have to lean into the defensive end while Middleton is out, didn’t want to reveal any thoughts on the Celtics, said Connaughton and Allen have to be able to catch and shoot in the playoffs for offensive spacing.

Udoka quotes: Said everyone else besides Jaylen Brown is good to go, said they got some hard practices in to stay ready for this series, said they’re away of how the Bucks will try to space them out, said they really need to get back to make sure Giannis doesn’t carve them up in the open court, said taking care of the ball is paramount in this series and they want to get the best shots they can to help their defense, said they have to be ready to “let it fly” from the 3-point line.

Stats and Notes: 

*No team is hotter than the Boston Celtics. They’re coming off the only first-round sweep against a team that was widely viewed as the toughest team to get knocked out, and they managed a rank of first for both offense and defense after the break. They have some of the best rim protection in the league, and they’re one of the best teams at keeping teams off the glass with a third-ranked 17.5 putback points per 100 misses since the break. Meanwhile, the Bucks were not able to get their halfcourt D in a good rhythm for most of the season with a 29th-ranked 104.2 halfcourt D rating. The Bucks did get their defense going in the last round, but the Bulls were such an easy matchup for them.

*The Celtics getting their defense set is a massive advantage. After a make on the other end, the Celtics obviously had the best defense at 1.02 PPP while the Bucks were tied for sixth worst. The Bucks not being able to stop the Celtics would snowball on the other end.

*Both of these teams are excellent with their rim protection. After the break, the Bucks ranked second while the Celtics ranked fourth. However, the Bucks were not all that great at limiting efficiency, ranking 20th in accuracy. After the break, the Bucks were the league’s worst team at limiting 3-point volume at 40.5% while the Celtics were in the middle of the pack at 14th (35.7%).