Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from big Game 4 win vs. Celtics

3. Tale of two halves

After the first 24 minutes of Game 4 elapsed, it was clear that the Boston Celtics came out to the tune of prioritizing ball movement on offense and physicality on defense. By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics limited themselves to just two turnovers in contrast to nine assists, all while attacking the offensive glass.

The insertion of Marcus Smart provided the Celtics with the physicality needed to combat the MVP favorite and startle the white-hot Middleton to begin the game.

With just two assists in the opening quarter for the Bucks, after the insertion of George Hill (and more importantly, the lack of any resistance from the Celtics inside three feet), Milwaukee stopped settling for contested jumpers and reverted to attacking the heart of the Celtics’ defense.

The gluttony of true small forwards (Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown) were forced to play power forward on their heels for the majority of the game, helping Milwaukee outscore gang green in each quarter from then on.