Four Leaf Clover: Boston Celtics continue to dominate the Bucks

Dylan Woods

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 17: Terry Rozier

After Game 1 kept fans on their seats, Game 2 allowed many to leave their seats early. The Boston Celtics won 120-106 very comfortably.

No Kyrie Irving, no Gordon Hayward, no Marcus Smart. No problem. The Boston Celtics are on a roll.

I’ll admit it, Game 1 got me a little worried. The Bucks looked pretty good, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best player on the court, and the Celtics got stagnant on offense at times. After Sunday, this series felt like a 7-gamer.

But now, after Game 2, Boston looks nothing like a team without their two best players. They look nothing like a team many picked to lose in the first round. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself, but they look about as good as anyone in the East has so far in the playoffs.

What are the reasons for this success? Why have the Celtics taken a 2-0 advantage in the first round? Here are four reasons:

Terry Rozier vs. Eric Bledsoe

Even before Eric Bledsoe called Terry Rozier a nobody following Game 2, the mismatch was apparent between the two starting point guards. Even on the surface, Rozier was getting the better of Bledsoe. He was making shots, helping the offense flow, and creating for others. He actually looked like he wanted to be on the court.

Bledsoe, on the other hand, was a plug in the Milwaukee offense. I lost track of how many missed jumpers and floaters he had. He didn’t come close to making anyone say, “Hey, that Eric Bledsoe guy is good at the sport of basketball.” Just for his sake, I won’t bring up what happened at the end of Game 1 while guarding some guy on the Celtics. What was his name again?

https://twitter.com/CelticsDirect/status/985604229514649600

Looking at the stats is even more embarrassing for Bledsoe. In two games, he shot 9-25 (21 points) with 8 assists, 1 steal, and 6 turnovers. Rozier shot 15-32 (46 points) with 11 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. In terms of head to head, Rozier is up big on Bledsoe. The third-year point guard is severely outplaying the 8 year vet.

The Milwaukee Bucks defense

Or, I should say the lack of defense from the Milwaukee Bucks.

In the second half of Game 2, the Celtics got whatever they wanted. If they wanted a layup, they got a layup. When the Bucks went on mini-runs, the Celtics offense was allowed easy bucket after easy bucket. I guess I have to thank the Bucks for allowing the C’s to take a load off on the offensive end so they can work even harder on defense.

Boston scored 113 points or more just 15 times in the regular season. They did it without Kyrie Irving just twice. Now, in the first two games of the playoffs, they have done nothing but score 113 points or more.

Jaylen Brown had a career high (more on that in a second). Rozier is playing like a scoring point guard. Al Horford, the 12-5-5 guy, is averaging 20 points in the first two games. You know your defense is bad when someone who gets made fun of for not scoring points is scoring a lot of points.

A dynamic duo

Going into the series, I thought Jayson Tatum was going to emerge as the clear number one option for the Celtics on offense. However, he has barely needed to lift a finger now that two of his teammates decided to never miss a shot again.

First, Brown has turned it up a knotch in the playoffs. Every time he gets the ball in transition, the ball goes through the net, many times emphatically. His isolations often end in a layup or a trip to the line. Even the three ball, which has been a problem in the past, is working. Brown is shooting 7-for-17 in two games, which is a few more attempts than ideal, but the seven makes are encouraging.

Marcus Morris is a new animal. He brings a fire and a passion that the crowd loves to cheer on. Every big dunk or three is usually followed with a loud roar and a shot of Morris getting pumped up. Even if he wasn’t making shots, Morris would be a perfect guy to have in the postseason.

Of course, the making shots thing doesn’t hurt. In two games, “Mook” has 39 points in 65 minutes. After a slow start from the field in Game 1, he rebounded to shoot 6-11 (3-6 from three) in Game 2. Even more important, most of these points are coming in the fourth quarter. Morris is averaging 7 PPG in two fourth quarters which is the most on the team. IS AVERY BRADLEY DOING THAT?

Free Points

Even with all that, the biggest reason why the Celtics have a 2-0 advantage is the multitude of turnovers the Bucks have committed. In two games, Milwaukee has 35 turnovers. To give you some meaningless stats that put this in perspective, the Pacers and Cavs combined for seven fewer turnovers in Game 1 of their series. Two teams in the playoffs have less than 3 times the amount of turnovers that Milwaukee has so far. The Celtics total points off turnovers (48) is more than the Rockets, Pacers, Timberwolves, and Jazz combined (47).

Giving up the ball is not good, Milwaukee. However, I don’t think anyone here in Boston would mind if you keep doing it. Tatum, Shane Larkin, Brown, and Horford would be happy to keep picking off passes and getting easy buckets.

Next: Jaylen Brown has arrived

What’s Next?

Game 3. Friday. 9:30 P.M. ET. Milwaukee. Celtics. Bucks. Be there (or at least watch it on TV).