Don’t be surprised if the Boston Celtics resume their 2019-20 NBA season under intense scrutiny.
ESPN’s Nick Friedell on Thursday named the Celtics’ matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks as one of the “must-see games” of the restarted campaign. The teams will face off July 31 in Orlando, Fla., in their first competitive outing since March, and Friedell cites its playoff implications for Boston as a reason for including it on his list.
“Giannis Antetokounmpo is fully recovered from a knee injury that gave him some trouble prior to the suspension of the season,” Friedell wrote. “His first chance to knock off more than four months of rust will be against the Celtics, a potential playoff foe. With a 6.5-game lead over the second-place Raptors, the Bucks can use the restart as a kind of preseason.
“The Celtics don’t have that luxury, sitting just 2.5 games in front of Miami as both teams try to avoid a showdown with the Bucks in the conference semifinals. Jayson Tatum scored 28 or more points in seven of his nine games following the All-Star break and will look to pick up where he left off.”
Although the Celtics’ restart schedule largely is favorable, and pundits increasingly like Boston’s NBA Finals chances to advance deep into the playoffs, the Milwaukee game will show fans exactly where Boston stands relative to the Eastern Conference leaders.
If the NBA’s long-awaited return won’t make sports fans tune into Celtics-Bucks, the immediate stakes riding on the game should pique their interest.
