2018 NBA Playoffs Preview: Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks, SWOT Analysis & Prediction

Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics
Kyrie Irving is ruled out of the playoffs

#2 Weaknesses

Boston Celtics:

Golden State Warriors v Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown has improved this season

The lack of a featured scorer will hurt the Celtics' chances a lot in this series. While the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris and Al Horford have all got the capacity to score 20 points or more in particular games, they haven't put together any sort of scoring streak this season to suggest that they could really do this consistently in a 7-game playoff series.

As a whole, the Celtics shoot poorly in comparison to the league average, ranking 21st in field goal percentage and 18th in offensive efficiency. This lack of true offensive firepower could hurt them big-time in playoff time.

Like most other NBA teams, the Celtics also lack any player with the capability of guarding Giannis effectively. The Greek Freak has had a field day on all 4 of his outings against the Celtics this season. He's logged 33.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game against the C's - his points-per-game average against the Celtics ranks 2nd among all the NBA opposition he's faced this season.

Milwaukee Bucks:

Milwaukee Bucks v Chicago Bulls
John Henson will find it tough against the Celtics

The Bucks have possibly the worst center rotation in the league. Thon Maker and John Henson are both ineffective on offense, as well as no upside defensively. They also let go of Greg Monroe in order to acquire Eric Bledsoe, and Monroe winded up in the Celtics roster, looking better than either of these two.

Their defense, overall, is an issue as well. Despite having great players individually, the Bucks allow opponents to score off 37.2% of their 3-point attempts - a figure that's tied for the 3rd worst in the league.

They also don't have a featured threat from downtown, ranking 28th in percentage of points off 3-pointers. Other than Tony Snell and Khris Middleton, none of their main rotation players have the ability to get going from downtown, and this allows the Celtics to concentrate on interior defense.

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