2019 NBA Playoffs: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics preview

Key Question No. 2: Can Malcolm Brogdon or Marcus Smart return for the end of this series?

Both the Celtics and Bucks will enter this series missing X-factor players. Malcolm Brogdon, who suffered a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March, is still questionable for the series despite originally being expected to miss just 4-6 weeks.

Brogdon offered the Milwaukee backcourt a steady hand alongside Eric Bledsoe throughout the season. With the spacing provided by Giannis, Lopez and Middleton, the 26-year-old Brogdon was able to post career highs in shot attempts, field goal percentage and points per game before his injury.

The Bucks replaced Brogdon with a backcourt-by-committee, deploying the likes of Pat Connaughton, Sterling Brown and George Hill for high-volume minutes. Against the Pistons, they never really felt the impact of missing Brogdon. That should feel considerably more meaningful when Boston comes to town.

On the Celtics’ end, losing Marcus Smart has always been about one thing in particular: defense. The Oklahoma State guard has developed a reputation as a bulldog, or pit bull, in this league. His frenetic style on the defensive end of the floor has long been a staple of his game. This year, however, he found his stroke as a shooter as well.

The Celtics didn’t seem to miss Smart’s defense much against the Indiana Pacers, holding them under 100 points in three of their four first round games. While Milwaukee is a different story than the Victor Oladipo-less Pacers, Boston also has an advantage in that it can replace Smart with experience.

Jaylen Brown stepped back into the starter role as though he had never left. His defense was perhaps the highest level of his career, and he exploded for 23 points on an 8-of-9 shooting night in Game 3. Likewise, Terry Rozier saw a return to form in the first round, playing like the guard who put his name on the map in the postseason a year ago.

The Celtics won’t be looking for a committee to replace Smart; they’ll just ask for bigger minutes out of players who have already held the role.

That doesn’t change that the series could come down to a race for who gets healthy first. In that regard, it feels like Milwaukee has the distinct advantage. While updates on Brogdon seem vague, they also seem to indicate a return in the second round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Smart has gone through treadmill workouts with assistant coach Jay Larranaga, but Brad Stevens claims the timeline still hasn’t changed. Even Smart seemed hesitant to say he’ll be back to playing anytime soon:

"“We’re coming up on the two-week mark, and once again, I said earlier in the week, I’m still very ecstatic with the progress that I made. I’m obviously nowhere near coming back but to be able to get back on the court, get some shots up and be able to do a little more things actively is great progress for me.”"

It could very well be that neither player returns, in which case the Celtics seem poised to win a war of attrition. They have the deeper and more experienced bench, and have been playing the most consistent basketball of their season over the past few weeks.