Winner Of Celtics-Bucks Series Will Go To NBA Finals

If the Milwaukee Bucks want to repeat as NBA Champions, they'll need to get through one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last three months in the Boston Celtics.

After pushing the Chicago Bulls around before eliminating them in five games, Milwaukee opens as the underdog (+168 FanDuel, +175 DraftKings) in their second-round series against the Celtics (-200, -210), who won 26 of their last 32 regular-season games before sweeping the Nets in the first round.

There's a big difference between what Boston brings to the court compared to what the Bucks were able to breeze through against Chicago though, and the winner of this series should be expected to win the east as well.

Change In Mindset

The Celtics' turnaround this year was ignited by their changed mindset on defense before anything else. After looking lost on both sides of the court at times under new head coach Ime Udoka, as 2022 carried on, they did a complete 180, and their physicality and commitment on the defensive end of the court eventually led to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving looking lost game after game.

It's not just that the Celtics can throw Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart at you either, with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Grant Williams all getting time locking down Durant during the series. This philosophy of course started long before that series, but it stayed consistent over recent months, leading to that showcase against Brooklyn.

Now, Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely respond to that toughness Boston brings a little differently than Durant, and he better because it'll take a lot more for him to match his 28.6 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists he put up against the Bulls. Chicago finished the regular season allowing 117.7 points per game while allowing Milwaukee to hit at least 110 in every game besides Game 1.

The Celtics had the league’s top-ranked defense in the regular season and held Durant to just 39% shooting, so yeah, this will be a lot different.

Patience Pays Off

There was a time when the Tatum-Brown duo looked like it might not click. Before the trade deadline, you could find more than enough conversation around whether those two could find the chemistry the Celtics needed to be once again looked at as a title contender, even after making it to the second round four times over the last five years before this season. Whether it was Tatum's shooting slump or Smart saying that every team in the NBA knows neither "want to pass the ball", it was an ugly start.

Once it all clicked though, it really clicked. Boston averaged 118.1 points per game over those last 32 regular-season games, while holding opponents to just 103.7.

This team's chemistry is also the best it's been since the early Brad Stevens coaching years, and the "everyone knows their role" aspect is peaking at just the right time, thanks to Udoka and Stevens' patience.

Boston still has plenty to prove on this stage, while the Bucks have eyes on a repeat, bringing two very different situations into the matchup. Both though have the same ultimate goal of winning an NBA Championship this June, and whoever comes out of this fight will be more battle-tested than anyone else left on that side of the bracket, and ready to do just that.