A tall task all but surely awaits the Boston Celtics.
With the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers both holding commanding 3-1 leads in their respective first-round series, the Milwaukee Bucks likely are on deck for the fourth-seeded Celtics. Boston punched its ticket to the second round Sunday afternoon when it completed a series sweep of the Indiana Pacers.
This would be the second consecutive year the Celtics and Bucks meet in the postseason. Milwaukee pushed Boston to the limit last year in the teams’ first-round tilt, but the C’s ultimately powered through in Game 7. While a whole lot has changed for both teams since, Terry Rozier believes the Celtics can take lessons learned from that matchup into this year’s series should the two Eastern Conference powers square off again.
“We’re gonna prepare like we prepared last year. Try to make it tough for them guys, try to load up on Giannis,” Rozier said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up!” “He’s a great player, they have a great team over there. They have a lot of great things going on. We’re just gonna make it tough. We’re trying to be the harder-playing team. We’re looking forward to that matchup. We’re looking to bring some excitement to this game. Some trash talk, a little fun.”
Loading up on Antetokounmpo probably is an understatement. The Greek Freak has taken his game to new heights this season, which likely will garner the star forward an MVP award. Antetokounmpo averaged 25.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game through the first-round series against the Celtics last season, so one can imagine the type of numbers he’ll post this time around. Not to mention, Milwaukee’s cast of role players is stronger than it was last season.
That said, the Celtics have the star power to match Giannis, who had yet to make it out of the first round prior to these playoffs. Kyrie Irving and Co. are a battle-tested bunch and they appear to be hitting their stride at the perfect time. So while it’s a near guarantee Antetokounmpo will stuff the stat sheet each game against Boston, that doesn’t necessarily mean his team will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
