Milwaukee Bucks: 5 keys to series vs. Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. What are five keys to winning the series?

The Milwaukee Bucks have had a roller coaster of a season, riding the highs of preseason darlings and the lows of organizational disappointment. As they suit up this weekend to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, they will look to right the ship and end the season on a high note.

This marks the first time since 2003-04 that the Milwaukee Bucks will make the postseason in consecutive years, but mere qualification is not the goal for a team stocked with a superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo and high-end talent at nearly every other position. The goal is nothing short of a series victory.

Milwaukee has not won a series since 2001, when Ray Allen and Sam Cassell led the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals. Last season they seemed close, winning Game 1 and Game 3 against the Toronto Raptors before eventually falling in Game 6. This year the odds of victory are greater — this is a better team, with a more polished star. But it will not be easy, and they will not be favored.

Their first round draw is certainly a best-case scenario, as the Celtics enter the postseason limping. Without Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis, the Celtics will be stretched thin. Another injury and their carefully built house of cards could collapse.

As currently constructed, the Celtics lost to the Bucks last week, but a seven-game playoff series is another thing entirely and it truly could be anyone’s series to win. What are the five keys to success for the Milwaukee Bucks?