Readers believe Boston Celtics would beat healthy Milwaukee Bucks

Was Bucks first-round playoff exit bad luck or something greater?

The Milwaukee Bucks bowed out of the playoffs in the first round for a second straight year. Is it simply bad injury luck or something more?

The Milwaukee Bucks, pressured to appease franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo, burned through future assets last October to acquire all-NBA guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers.

Earlier in the offseason, the Bucks extended Khris Middleton through his age-34 season. They also outbid the Houston Rockets to retain Brook Lopez, giving him a two-year, $48 million deal that carries the center through his age-36 season.

By committing resources to older players, Milwaukee expressed its desire for short-term success. However, late-season injuries derailed its title aspirations.

Antetokounmpo suffered a left calf strain April 9 against the Boston Celtics, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

In the Bucks’ opening-round playoff matchup versus the Indiana Pacers, Lillard aggravated his right Achilles. The injury forced him to miss Games 4 and 5 against an inexperienced Pacers team that eventually got swept in the Eastern Conference finals by the NBA-champion Celtics.

The Bucks may have been the only team in the Eastern Conference that could pose a legitimate challenge to the Celtics. The Journal Sentinel polled readers asking if they believed a healthy Milwaukee team could have defeated Boston.

Readers vote against their hometown team

The majority of readers believed that, even at full strength, the Celtics would have beaten them, with 74% of those polled voting for Boston in some capacity.

Nearly 40% (39.4%) of readers said Boston would have won the series in six or seven games, while 34.8% were convinced the Celtics would have disposed of Milwaukee in four or five games.

Of the 26% of readers who believed in the Bucks, nearly all said Milwaukee would have defeated the 2023-24 NBA champions in six or seven games. Just 2% of fans declared a Bucks victory in four or five games.

Below are some of the written responses to the poll.

Celtics in 4-5 games:

Marvin W: Celtics are a better team overall top to bottom plus they have better coaching (their system has been in place for a few years, players know their role, etc.)

Joe: Coaching and team chemistry was lacking. Personnel didn’t match what we needed to defend that Celtics team.

Andy D: There was no stopping that train.

Michael I: Everything in this matchup favors Boston. They are more talented, better coached, have more advantages offensively and defensively. Their defense with their 5 guys being able to switch everything would be problematic as well. Hard to see how we could even have Brook (Lopez), Pat (Connaughton), or (Bobby) Portis on the floor much, and (Jrue) Holiday, (Derrick) White, (Jayson) Tatum, and (Jaylen) Brown would make it awfully tough defensively on both Dame (Damian Lillard) and (Khris) Middleton. No way Bucks would even be competitive in a series with Boston.

Celtics in 6-7 games:

Antonio P: No. Boston has too many weapons while the Bucks can’t play defense consistently to stop Boston. It would be a good series, but Boston wins in 6. I’m not sure the Bucks given their defensive liabilities could have beaten Dallas.

Jim H: Style of Bucks’ play is not conducive to winning a championship. Several players choke at the idea of having to make a 3-pointer when needed.

Jerry: Celtics in 6! The big four are old. Slow getting back in transition − no young athletic perimeter or rim defenders. The Bucks are dismal at the free-throw line. Plus we gave them Jrue Holiday. Defense wins championships.

James F: I don’t believe the team’s health was/would have been the deciding factor. This team is no longer the elite defending championship team is was 3 years ago. It has been a slow drip of unforced errors and overreaction by Jon Horst that eroded the key underpinnings of that team.

Bucks in 6-7 games:

Alex V: The Bucks blew out the Celtics twice in Milwaukee and played them tough twice in Boston. A healthy Bucks team had a decent chance of winning the series and the title.

TC: The Bucks matched up well during the regular season with the Celtics, and dominated them at home. Jrue did not play well against the Bucks and he was the key to them winning.

Paul Krueger: I am not saying the Bucks would have, but could have. Boston was the best team in the NBA this season, hands down. However, I don’t know that they would have an answer for Giannis. And we saw what Jimmy Butler did to Jrue last season. The problem would be (defense) as any (offense) with Kash (Khris Middleton) as a third wheel would be hard to stop. If the Bucks kept games close, I have more faith in Dame and Kash closing than Tatum and Brown.

Jay: Giannis is a top-10 -20 player of all time and would have been a matchup nightmare for Boston. If Giannis was healthy, it changes everything. Injury luck is a big factor in winning a championship and Boston was fortunate to stay mostly healthy, especially to its top players in Tatum and Brown, while the Bucks of course did not.

Bucks in 4-5 games:

Kathy: A healthy Giannis would have destroyed them. He is the best player in the world.

Rich: Not stopping the big 3 when healthy!

How did Milwaukee fare against Boston in the regular season?

The Celtics and Bucks split their season series, 2-2, with the home team winning every contest. Of the four games, though, only the first one stood unblemished from injury or scheduling.

In their first meeting of the season on Nov. 22, Boston defeated Milwaukee 119-116. Lillard, Antetokounmpo, and Lopez combined for 76 points. Middleton struggled, scoring 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Boston had seven players with at least 10 or more points. Holiday finished with five points.

Next, on Jan. 11, the Bucks blew out the Celtics, 135-102, but Boston was on the second night of a back-to-back. The previous night, they defeated Minnesota in overtime, resulting in all of Boston’s starters registering 20 minutes of game time or less at Fiserv Forum.

On March 20, Boston won another close game 122-119. The Bucks played without Antetokounmpo, and the Celtics missed Holiday.

Most recently, Milwaukee defeated Boston 104-91 on April 9, but both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis did not play. Holiday had his best performance against his former team in this game, as he recorded 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

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Publish date : 2024-06-21 18:58:37

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