2018 NBA Playoffs: Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks series preview

3. Who wins the matchup of All-Stars?

We touched on this earlier, but it is worth highlighting further. While both teams boast a combination of rising talent and established veterans, each has just one All-Star who will take the court — and they play the same position.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a breakout season, thrusting himself into the MVP conversation while putting up ridiculous numbers. Al Horford himself is playing some of the best basketball of his career, especially on defense, where he has seemingly been everywhere.

Everything for Milwaukee rises and falls with Antetokounmpo. With him, they have the best player on the court and a shot at beating anyone. Without him, they are a collection of ill-fitting parts who want to take turns isolating on offense. Can Horford slow the All-NBA forward down?

Boston is less reliant on Al Horford to generate offense, although it relies on his spacing and passing to open up lanes for its ball-handlers to score. If Antetokounmpo can walk the line between closing off driving lanes and recovering to Horford, the Celtics’ offense could stumble.