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The Boston Celtics failed to carry the momentum of their first-round sweep over the Brooklyn Nets into Game 1 of their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The defending NBA champions took down the C’s 101-89 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden, a game in which Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded a triple-double but shot just 9-for-25 from the field as Milwaukee survived the absence of an injured Khris Middleton.
It’s only one contest, obviously. And the Celtics already have overcome plenty of adversity this season under first-year head coach Ime Udoka. But Nick Wright explained Monday on FS1’s “First Things First” why Boston now faces a potentially insurmountable predicament in its quest to dethrone Milwaukee.
“Here’s why Boston should be in real trouble, or feel really nervous: They started this series down 2-0, because Giannis is worth two wins of greatness, 40-plus-point games, lock it in. Now, they’re down 3-0, because he didn’t have one of those games (Sunday),” Wright said. “That, to me, if you’re Boston, you only have one game in the series that you can lose that isn’t because Giannis just kicked your teeth in. And they already lost it. That, to me, is really concerning, if I’m Boston — you could only lose three, and I think Giannis is going to beat you by himself twice. So, in my head, Boston’s down 3-0.”
Is Wright overreacting?
Antetokounmpo might be the best player in the NBA. He’s capable of playing at an otherworldly level, evident by his crowded trophy case, and very well could go off as the series progresses. Letting the Bucks steal home-court advantage Sunday is a huge missed opportunity for the Celtics.
Now, one simply can point to Boston’s shutdown defensive performance against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Round 1 as proof the Celtics can slow top-notch talent with the stakes raised. It’s just not an apples-to-apples comparison, according to Wright, who believes the Celtics’ first-round sweep of the Nets has created a distorted view of Boston’s real potential in the NBA playoffs.
“The long tail of the Brooklyn Nets’ failure has now infected this series, because it has caused people to overrate the Boston Celtics,” Wright said. “It has caused people to think the Celtics, who are a very good team, are an all-time great team because of what they did to Brooklyn.
“Here’s the deal: Brooklyn has no rim protection, they don’t run an offense and they take terrible shots. Milwaukee has the best rim protection, they do run an offense and they take the smartest shots. So even without Khris Middleton, even with Giannis playing really well, they can still handle Boston, who just handled Brooklyn.”
The Celtics and Bucks return to the parquet Tuesday night, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
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