Milwaukee Bucks: 5 keys to second round series vs. Celtics

5. Winning the bench battle

The Celtics came into the year with the idea that their bench was going to be one of the best in the NBA. It’s been a pretty good group, but it’s come from a contributor that most people expected to be a starter. Gordon Hayward has been excelling in his super-sub role, and the team will need him to play at his absolute peak to keep up with the Bucks. He averaged 12.3 points per game in the first round, and they will likely need more from him here in the second round.

Pat Connaughton, George Hill and Ersan Ilyasova all excel in their roles off the bench. They know how to find space off the stars they are playing with, and they can cut to the basket at any time with a well-placed assist. Their length also presents a defensive issue for opposing teams. With Marcus Smart out for the Celtics and Terry Rozier still struggling to capture last year’s magic, can they slow down the bench for the entire game?

Another matchup to watch will be if Boston decides to go big against Milwaukee. The Bucks possess enough bigs, in Nikola Mirotic, D.J. Wilson and Ilyasova that they can keep bodies on bigs like Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes to reduce the mismatch they can cause some teams. Both teams bench units have good defenders, but it will matter who can produce more offense in those minutes when the game is winding down.