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Two teams have already passed the first round of the NBA playoffs, with Milwaukee Bucks (# 1) sweeping the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics sweeping the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks were helped by the fact that Blake Griffin has played in the last two games of the series only because of a knee injury. For their part, the Pacers were forced to play without Victor Oladipo because of an injury to the quad at the end of the season he had suffered earlier in the year and the Celtics were able to impose their will throughout the series.
Here's all you need to know about the second-round series between the Bucks and the Celtics.
# 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. # 5 Boston Celtics
How to watch the game 1
- Date: Sunday, April 28
- Time: 1 pm ET
- Location: Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TV channel: ABC
- Live Statistics: Game tracker
- Streaming Online: WatchESPN
- chances: To be determined
Playoff Schedule
* All times is
- Game 1: Celtics at Bucks, 13h – TV: ABC
- Game 2: Celtics at Bucks – TV: To be determined
- Game 3: Bucks at the Celtics – TV: To be determined
- Game 4: Bucks at the Celtics – TV: To be determined
- Game 5: * Celtics at Bucks – TV: To be determined
- Game 6: * Bucks at the Celtics – TV: To be determined
- Game 7 *: Celtics at Bucks – TV: To be determined
*If necessary
TV Lists
All games will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV during the playoffs. Games on TNT and NBA TV can be streamed via fuboTV (try it for free).
Ratings and Analysis
Check out the Sportsline NBA Selection Sheet for all your daily odds.
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storylines
Bucks: Head Coach Mike Budenholzer led the Bucks in a remarkable regular season in his first season with the team and Milwaukee had the best record in the NBA. This also did not detract from the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo had another season of MVP caliber and did not even have much to do during his first-round series. The Bucks will certainly have a much tougher challenge this time against the Celtics.
Celtics: Meanwhile, the Celtics should be one of the best teams in the NBA this season. Boston, however, struggled to find some consistency for most of the year, but has really excelled in its opening series. Kyrie Irving was sensational although the team did not have Marcus Smart, which was an oblique injury. It will be interesting to see if the team continues to flourish as it did against Indiana.
Matchups to watch
1. Slow down Antetokounmpo: It's certainly easier said than done. Antetokounmpo has turned out to be an imbalance for the majority of the league, so it's no wonder that he is one of the MVP Award leaders. It's worth keeping an eye on the type of defensive assignments that head coach Brad Stevens dismissed, but veteran forward Marcus Morris could be instructed to keep Antetokounmpo quite often, taking into account of his physical nature.
2. Benches: Depth is something that both teams have certainly possessed throughout the season. On the Boston side, Gordon Hayward signed with the team two years ago to be one of the best offensive options, but came off the bench for most of the 2018-1919 season. Hayward averaged 12.3 points and finished double digits in three of four games against the Pacers, including a 20-point performance in the series' decisive win. Milwaukee is also equally deep with stellar veterans such as Nikola Mirotic and Ersan Ilyasova coming off the bench and providing a powerful shot at the perimeter.
3. Three-point shooting: In the playoffs, the Celtics are shooting 39.8% from the back of the arc, which is good for fourth place playoff teams. The Bucks are just behind the Celtics in fifth place with 37.0% success over three. These are the two best shooting teams among the post-season teams at the Eastern Conference. A three-point shot could make all the difference in this series. That's one of the reasons why Milwaukee traded against Mirotic on the deadline and it could be a huge x factor in this series.
Original series prediction, choice
Bucks in six: The Bucks have crossed the Pistons and have not faced a ton of resistance throughout this series. It is safe to say that it will be a little more competitive when they face the Celtics. After all, the Celtics have been chosen by many as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference before the season.
This could certainly be a series of six or seven games because of the depth of both sides. The Bucks have just too much firepower to not win and the team could also bring back Malcolm Brogdon at some point in the series.
2019 NBA Playoff Support
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