The second round of the NBA's 2021-22 playoffs in the East will usher in a set of focus duels: Defending champion Milwaukee Bucks will face the Boston Celtics, who are now leading the league in probability of winning the championship. The strong dialogue between these two teams will undoubtedly be the most anticipated set of duels. Especially after the Green Army completed the only sweep in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets, it made all fans look at them with surprise.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's growth is also eye-catching. In the series against the Chicago Bulls, although there are several also All-Star players present, the Greek monsters' dominance on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends is obviously not in the same order of magnitude, and his performance dwarfs the so-called Big Three on the Windy City side.
Obviously, this series will be a strong dialogue between the tip of the needle and The McMan, and the intensity and excitement are far from being comparable to the first round. For the Green Army, a big advantage is that Middleton, who is known as "Mi Wen Yuan" and has come to the Green Army, is basically absent from the Eastern Conference semifinals, but it should be noted that the Bucks can guarantee the basic set as long as the alphabet brother is still there, and the "bad boy" Grayson Allen stood up and filled the position of Rice Bean very well. This round of the series will be split into three levels of duels from the perspective of book strength, and each set of duels has the opportunity to determine the final trend of the series.
Bench battle
Both teams have decent rotation depth, and on the bench there are bench players with very different styles who can shine on specific occasions. In terms of rotation, Coach Budenholzer is accustomed to solidifying rotation, which will undoubtedly give bench players more opportunities to perform; Coach Uduka was impressive in his first season in charge, inspiring the potential of many players on the bench. That's going to be an interesting highlight of this series – which side of the bench will be more trustworthy?
On the Bucks side, Bobby Portis has proven himself last season, considering his $4 million worth, can he be asked to do more? He brings unlimited energy and passion to the team on the pitch, which is especially important when it comes to players like Smart. Grayson Allen's first-round magic of hitting at least five three-pointers in two consecutive games and shooting more than 70 percent of the way made him the second in the playoffs after Danny Green. The performance of these two people is worth looking forward to.
On the Celtic side, Derrick White's organization and judgment on the court have guaranteed themselves a place in the tiebreaker era. Returning veteran Daniel Theis did a good job of propping up the team's interior in the number of games Rowe couldn't play due to injury. In addition, the young Peyton Pu richard deserves a bit of attention, he is full of hard work, no soft shots, once the defending champion does not notice him, Pu Richard may play the role of a surprise soldier.
Judah Holliday vs Marcus Smart
In a sense, the Bucks and Celtics are very similar in their backcourt configuration: the starting number one of the two teams is the top soldier who is not afraid of confrontation on the scoring end, and has to take on a large part of the outside defensive task on the defensive end. Holiday Brother and Smart are probably the top 2 defenders in the league.
Holliday will face heavy defensive tasks in this series, and the height and arms of the double probe flower are very troublesome to him. Middleton's absence means that in addition to the organization, he also has to take on more personal offensive scenes. Holiday Brother's efficiency may not look so good, but the Bucks need him to digest that part of the ball.
Smart was one of the key factors in the Celtics' second-half fixture breakout. As a new DPOY winner, Smart delivered a trusted answer on the defensive end against the Nets. He also averaged 16.5 points per game, shooting slightly more than Holliday's 41 percent from the field.
Both the Bucks and the Celtics need their starting number one to show better competitive form, both defensively and offensively. As the commander of the field, the number one will decide which side the advantage is in regular time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Jason Tatum
As mentioned earlier, the two Number One positions will determine the direction of regular time, so what about the decisive moment? Naturally, it was the ace-to-ace stage – with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jason Tatum on the stage. The two superstars, who each led their teams after All-Star Weekend to a record of impressive results, will compete on the Eastern Conference semifinals stage. In the final stages of the regular season, the Bucks let the Green Army choose to ascend to the second position in the East in the final moments to play against the Nets first, and the momentum has lost half a point. This time, can the alphabet brother find the field again?
In fact, the Greek monsters in the final stage of the MVP is very high, by the playoffs he can average 28.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, his shooting rate is as high as 56.8%, and what is even more incredible is that he has also made great progress in mid-range shooting and free throws.
Tatum hit the incredible layup in the first game of the playoffs, thus completing the first home playoff kill in the history of the Celtics, and this alone has left his name in the long history of the Celtics. Tatum, who averaged 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists in the first round, also has a 42 percent shooting efficiency outside the three-point line. And the alphabet brother can be regarded as having their own strengths.
In the decider round, both of them will undoubtedly carry the team on their shoulders, and what kind of spark will the two people who each use eighteen martial arts collide? Let's wait and see! Especially the two people fighting each other at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, it is difficult to imagine who will laugh at the end. Alphabet or Tatum? Who are you more optimistic about?