On April 28, Beijing time, the Bucks defeated the Bulls to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 4-1 aggregate score, meeting with the Celtics, and alphabet brothers bombed 33 points. The first group of the second round of the playoffs will be created, and the second-place Celtics in the East will face the third-place Bucks for a peak showdown. The two teams have a record of 51 wins and 31 losses in the regular season, and they have won 2 games in the regular season, which is undoubtedly two opponents of similar strength. What will this series look like?
1. Letters brother PK Tatum
Alphabet Brother and Tatum are both All-Star forwards and have both been great this season. The alignment between the two is quite exciting. In the first round of the playoffs, Tatum defended Durant perfectly, limiting the play of the Grim Reaper, and facing the stronger alphabet brother in the second round, can he and the Green Army's defense continue the previous performance?
From the regular season head-to-head data, the two played 3 of the 4 games each, Tatum averaged 31.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, shooting 47.1% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range, all of which were higher than the season average. Alphabet Brother averaged 28.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, shooting 53.4% from the field and shooting 0% from three-point range (0-of-9), all four of which were lower than the season average.
2. Middleton's injury is variable
According to The Famous Woj, sources revealed that Middleton's recovery time from his left knee injury is expected to take longer than expected. Middleton, who will be reassessing the injury next week, is unlikely to return in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with the best-case scenario likely to return at some stage in the Eastern Conference Finals. Middleton suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee in previous series G2 with the Bulls.
Middleton's injury became a major variable in the Bucks and Greens series. Looking at this season's game against the Green Army, Middleton averaged 14.3 points per game and shot 41 percent from the field, below the season average (20.1 points and 44.3 percent). However, the Bucks have enough depth in the lineup, and they have the likes of Portis and Allen to replace. Middleton's injury, which is the X factor of this series, may not be bad for the Bucks, and if the player who replaces him works well enough, it will be a trouble for the Green Army.
3. Home field advantage or the key to the promotion of the Green Army
In the final stages of the regular season, the Bucks chose to avoid the Nets, while the Green Army was willing to harden the Nets. Boston media reported that an important reason why the Green Army does not want to give up the second place in the East is that they can have home advantage when they meet the Bucks in the second round. The regular season met four times, with both sides winning two at home each. The Greens, with an extra home in a seven-to-four-win series, may play a key role when necessary.
In terms of playoff history, alphabet brother's Bucks and Tatum's green army have met twice in the playoffs, the first round of the 2018 Eastern Conference playoffs, the green army eliminated the Bucks 4-3, and in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bucks eliminated the green army 4-1.
In the view of the data website FiveThirtyEight, this time the Green Army is a more optimistic party, they are optimistic about the Green Army eliminating the Bucks to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. StatMuse, a data website, writes: "Please play 7 games in this series! "Do you think the Greens can eliminate last season's championship Bucks and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals? Welcome to leave a message to express your opinion.