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

2. Slowing down Kyrie Irving

The Celtics have more outside of Kyrie Irving, but at the end of the day and at the end of games, they will go as far as he’s able to carry them. He leads Boston in points, assists and 3-point efficiency by 2.6 percent. Irving was the catalyst for the Celtics against the Pacers. When they needed a bucket down the stretch, he’s the guy they went to. Unless he goes ice-cold from the field, it’s doubtful they will change from that strategy against Milwaukee.

Bledsoe and Hill both have the size to match up with Irving, but actually sticking with him is another matter. He’s younger than both of them, and his handles are so tight that he can leave defenders standing still while he drops in a finger roll at the rim. They can’t allow him to get hot.

In Boston’s wins this year, he had a slash line of .511/.442/.861. In the losses, those numbers fell hard to .460/.349/.891. When his offense is struggling, so is the remainder of the team’s.

One area that will be of great importance is their defense on Irving at the rim. He and Stephen Curry have a knack for scoring no matter the defense. During the regular season, Irving shot 60.5 percent from less than five feet. Giannis and Brook Lopez will need to contest every single shot at the rim. They just have to make sure to do it without fouling, because he’s going to make far more of those than he’s going to miss with a career mark of 87.5 percent at the free throw line.