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

1. Giannis continuing his MVP-caliber play

All year long, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been considered one of the two frontrunners in the MVP race. He’s put up gaudy stat lines, and they would have been even nuttier if the Bucks hadn’t been blowing teams out of the water.

He was third in the NBA in scoring at 27.7 points per game, and he did while playing fewer minutes per game than 18 of the other 19 players in the top 20 from this season’s scoring leaders. (The other was Julius Randle of the New Orleans Pelicans.) He also threw in a whopping 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game on 57.8 percent shooting for good measure.

Against the Pistons, Giannis was a dominant force that couldn’t be stopped. One thing that helped that, though, was Detroit had no wing player or big that could capably guard Giannis. Most teams don’t, but the Celtics have a number of bodies that they can throw at him. They can put Tatum, Brown, Morris, Hayward and even Semi Ojeleye on him throughout the entire game. They might not wear down, but will Giannis over the course of the series if it extends to six or seven games?

Like the Celtics will go as far as Irving is able to drive them, the Bucks will go as far as the Greek Freak is able to take them. There are other stars on this team, and multiple players can do damage. However, it all starts and ends with Giannis. He is their defensive and offensive leader, and the team follows him. If he is able to be the best player in the series like he has been the best in the NBA this year, this should be a very winnable series for Milwaukee.