The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics enter Game 3 with the series tied at one win apiece. Each team can pick out their positive and negative takeaways for what is expected to be a difficult series for both sides. The defending champion Bucks should be excited about their dominant win in Game 1 of the series. This victory stole home-court advantage from Boston as they can win their three remaining home games and advance to the next round. However, there are larger concerns on how the Celtics have effectively guarded Giannis Antetokounmpo that the team must address moving forward.
The big problems Bucks must solve for Game 3 vs Celtics:
Celtics defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Milwaukee Bucks have had great offensive success this season led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP is one of the most dominant players in the NBA and has a real argument for being the NBA’s best. The Bucks' offense is built around their 6’11” superstar. The Greek Freak has a unique skill set and is at his best when attacking the basket at full speed. His size and physicality make him a difficult matchup for any opponent, but the Celtics have done an effective job on the Bucks star.
The defensive identity of the Celtics has been developed throughout the season. They have more versatile players than the average NBA team and have utilized this on Giannis. The Celtics have used Al Horford, Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown on Antetokounmpo for stretches. This defensive versatility makes it more difficult for Giannis to hunt a mismatch and each has had their individual success.
When guarded by Al Horford, Giannis has shot 6 for 22 (27.3%) and turned the ball over five times. Horford may lack the quickness of Giannis but he is as technically sound of a defender as they come. The Celtics big man has the size to take the physicality of Giannis and slides his feet defensively to make life difficult overall. Horford’s career rejuvenation in Boston has been great to watch and his effectiveness has been put on display in this series.
The Celtics have also thrown a healthy dose of Grant Williams at the Greek Freak. Williams was the primary defender on Giannis for about 5:44 game minutes in Game 2. Antetokounmpo shot just 4-for-10 during this time on roughly 31 offensive possessions. Williams has provided an increased physicality and done his best to draw offensive fouls on Giannis as well.
Through two games, Giannis is shooting 20 of 52 from the field (38.5%). He also is just one of six on three-point attempts. Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has made the decision not to double the Greek Freak and the Celtics defenders have stepped up to challenge. The superstar has still been able to make an impact even with the impressive defense, but he certainly has been thrown off his game.
Missing Khris Middleton
There are few defenses that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have yet to see work against him. However, the concern is that most of the adjustments that this type of defense calls for involve Khris Middleton. The Milwaukee guard suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the opening round. The injury will keep him out for the entirety of this Boston matchup and it is still unclear if he can return if the Bucks are to advance.
Jrue Holiday has been effective in this series, but he handles a much larger role on the defensive side of the ball. The Bucks greatly miss the 20.1 points per game they can typically count on from Middleton. Beyond just the production, the threat of Middleton plays a major role in opening up space for Giannis to do his damage.
This is not to say that the Bucks superstar has been fully neutralized. He has ascended to the level of MVP and that is impossible to fully lockdown for an entire series. Through the first two games, the Greek Freak is averaging 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game. This is an incredibly effective pair of “off games” for Giannis.
Even so, the lack of efficiency that Giannis has displayed should still be a concern for the Bucks. Milwaukee does not possess the freedom to go away from him offensively and if the Celtics can keep their offensive production it could continue producing victories.
The Bucks must create more movement on the offensive end and stop the Celtics from getting clean one-on-one matchups on Giannis. While he is at his best when attacking downhill, the Bucks also should experiment with playing Giannis out of the post. Grant Williams stands just 6’6” and if Giannis is able to establish a deep position it could create easy looks. Expect Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer to get creative as the series heads back to Milwaukee.
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