Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from Game 7 vs. Celtics

2. The pressure of the Celtics was too much

Not only were the Celtics able to pressure the Bucks into turnovers thanks to the full-court pressure being exerted during periods of the game, but they were also reading where the Bucks liked to move the ball and getting into the passing lanes.

The Celtics had more than twice the steals than the Bucks, having a 9-4 advantage in this category. This does not sound like a huge number, but every time the Bucks tried to get into their offense, the Celtics were able to pressure the ball-handler. He would then make an ill-advised pass where a Celtics player was usually in the way.

On one instance, Tony Snell caught the ball on the 3-point line. He was chased off the line so he dribbled the ball into the paint. Here he was met by solid defense and was forced to pass the ball out to the opposite wing. He passed the ball out from inside the paint to the wing, straight to a Celtics defender.

This is the sort of defense that will take the Celtics deeper into the playoffs than most pundits would have predicted after Kyrie Irving went down. They study their opposition, figure out who to chase off the line then take away the second scoring option, forcing a pass that is under pressure.