On May 4, Beijing time, the Celtics, who had previously fallen behind 0-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, finally played a good game today. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals G2, the Celtics beat the Bucks on the road, and the final score was 109-86. The Green Army beat the Bucks by 23 points! Although the Bucks' MVP alphabet brother single-handedly bombed a beautiful 28+9+7 stats, it is a bit difficult to beat four hands compared to the Celtics' "double probe" Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Look at the data, although the alphabet brother is still brave, but the Celtics' double probe also played MVP-level data: Jaylen Brown shot 11 of 18 in 38 minutes, 6 of 10 three-pointers, 2 of 2 from the free throw line, and shot down 30 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, plus or minus as high as +16. Another forward, Tatum, also still has a first-class performance, he is 10 of 20 in 43 minutes, 5 of 10 from three-point range and 4 of 5 from the free throw line, contributing 29 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in a single game.
The duo combined to cut 59 points, 8 rebounds plus 14 assists! More importantly, the Green Army played their best in the first quarter, leading the Bucks by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, and the Bucks played again in the second quarter with a 19-33 score. The Bucks rebounded in the third quarter under the leadership of Alphabet Brother, winning 8 points at 26-18 in the single quarter, and in the 4th quarter, the Green Army fought back, and they won back 6 points 26-20.
If you look at the second half alone, the Bucks and the Green Army can be described as equal, but in the first 2 quarters of the first half, the Bucks simply could not find the state, including the alphabet brother, all the players were stunned by the strong offensive of the Green Army. Especially Tatum and Brown, the Bucks have no one to restrain them. At this time, I don't know if the Bucks and Alphabet Brother have begun to miss the injured and unable to play forward Middleton.
But in fact, even if Middleton can't play, the Bucks' biggest mistake is to let go of 37-year-old big forward PJ Tucker. As one of the Bucks' biggest contributors to last season's championship, Tucker is now playing well with the Heat, and he just limited Harden in yesterday's game, preventing Harden from scoring only 16 points and five turnovers. If Tucker is still in the Bucks now, the forward combination of Tucker + Alphabet Brother will definitely not lose to the Green Army double probe flower combination.
At least Brown and Tatum will not score on the court so casually, and Tucker, one of the strongest defensive forwards in the NBA, will certainly not let Brown and Tatum play too comfortably. Unfortunately, the Bucks did not want to give Tucker a contract extension after the end of last season, so Tucker went to the Heat and signed for 2 years and 14.35 million US dollars, becoming an important piece of the puzzle on the road to the Heat's championship.
On the other hand, the Bucks, although there are superstars like Alphabet Brother, there are also first-class star players such as Dalo, Holliday, and Middleton, but without the front gate PJ Tucker, their defense is always a problem. In order to give up the most important front defensive toughman for 7 million annual salary, the management of the Bucks really should reflect, and seeing the strong offensive firepower of the Green Army, whether the Bucks can pass this round of playoffs is really bottomless. Maybe without Tucker, Brother Alphabet will say goodbye to his second overall champion.