BOSTON- The number two Celtics are ready to rumble against the seventh seed Milwaukee Bucks. It may seem like an obvious first round exit for Milwaukee but put the brakes on that assumption. The Celtics are weakened by injuries to three of their star players which is bad news for bean town. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward will still miss the playoffs. Marcus Smart may also be out due to thumb surgery but might return late in round one. Daniel Theis and Guerschon Yabusele are also out.
This will negatively impact the Celtics offense and take away some of their defense. There is very little chance that the Celtics will advance to the second round since they are far from full strength. Does this sound audacious? Normally, it’s insane and foolish to say there is any chance that a seventh seed will defeat a second seed. However, Irving scored 24.4 points per game this season and 10.2 points per game from Smart. Hayward could easily chip in 15 points per game since that is his career average. It isn’t fair to point out his points per game for the 2017-2018 season since he was injured five minutes into the game during the season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
How can the Celtics win against the team led by the Greek freak Giannis Antentokounmpo who averaged 26.9 points this season. Guard Eric Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points per game . We also can’t forget the rising star forward Kris Middleton who averaged 20.1 points per game. Malcolm Brogdon scored 13 points per game last season.
The point is the Bucks are have youth and athleticism on their side. They are going against a depleted Celtics team that may have a tough time matching up to what Milwaukee throws at them. It should still be a six or seven game series regardless of which team emerges as the victor but just don’t expect Boston to have an easy time. The Celtics will be fortunate just to win the series.