Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 4 victory vs. Pacers

1. The Milwaukee Bucks should fear the Boston Celtics

The Celtics did something in this series that they haven’t been able to do in two years of being a competitive basketball team: They won on the road. It wasn’t just that they won, it was that they won close games that they were trailing or battling in late in the fourth quarter on the road.

This Boston team has displayed an ability to remain calm and under control during the late stages of playoff games, which simply wasn’t present a season ago. In the case of Terry Rozier, who has found his play maligned this season after an explosion in last year’s playoffs, he has displayed intelligence under duress that was lacking during the regular season.

Likewise, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have found their explosiveness again. Brown in particular was able to tally 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field in the Celtics’ two first round road games. He also played some of the best defense of his career, with high-level effort on every play and until the final buzzer.

The return of the Jays’ quality play is the biggest development for the Celtics, outside of Hayward turning his corner. The Jays were pivotal in Boston’s deep playoff run a season ago, exceeding their perceived developmental curves and coming into their own as future NBA stars.

The Milwaukee Bucks should be afraid. While they’ve been able to coast over the Detroit Pistons, the Celtics will offer an entirely different test as they throw a plethora of former All-Stars at an injured Bucks team. Expect the Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon injuries to weigh heavy on this series. Should the Celtics or Bucks be able to return their hobbled guard, it could be the turning point of the Eastern Conference playoffs.