In-depth analysis: Why are Holliday and Allen the X factor for the Bucks' second round?

After the past two Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden, the Bucks have been chased back to a 1-1 draw in the Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Celtics. Although this was a game at the home of the Celtics, and the next two games were indeed played at the home of the Bucks, they were tied after the first game of the Celtics, which also had to make people doubt the Winning Ability of the Bucks in the next game.

In the first two away games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics, the Bucks' performance in game two can be said to be a completely different team compared to the first game. With the next two series going to be played at home to the Bucks, it's clear that the Bucks need to re-play at the same level as the first game, as that Bucks only look like the team that can actually win the series, rather than the team in the second game that can't limit the Celtics on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.

To do that for the rest of the series, the Bucks need two core players who perform well enough on both ends of the spectrum, Ju Holliday and Grayson Allen, who are arguably the Bucks' biggest X-factor against the Celtics series.

Holliday and Allen were the biggest X-factor for the Bucks' second-round remaining games

The reason these two players will be called the X factor is in large part because their presence does make the game easier for the team's superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, at least in the past two games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Antetokounmpo's performance on the offensive end has not been comfortable, and even the Celtics' multiple tough defensive players with all-around defensive strength have made it difficult for Antetokounmpo to play an efficient scoring performance.

Statistically, Giannis Antetokounmpo did average 26 points and 11 rebounds in the first two games of the series, but he only had 38.5 percent shooting, and the Celtics even limited Antetokounmpo's shooting percentage in the box and painted area (non-restricted area) to 68.4 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively. Since the Celtics' strategy on the defensive end is to do everything possible to limit Antetokounmpo's play, this is an important premise why Ju holliday and Grayson Allen can give Antetokounmpo help.

1. Ju-Holliday

First of all, Juju Holliday can completely relieve the pressure on the scoring of star Giannis Antetokounmpo by providing a stable score on the offensive end, especially if the Bucks' core second scoring option still needs to be absent, and the Bucks need Ju Holliday to perform on the offensive end.

In the past two games, Ju holliday has averaged 22 points per game for the Bucks, which is still a very good scoring performance, but the problem is that he can only shoot 15 of 40 from the field (37.5% from the field), plus 4 of 11 from outside the three-point line (36.4% from three-point range), which is definitely not an efficient shooting performance. With Antetokounmpo drawing the attention of multiple Celtics defenders almost every round on the offensive end, Juju Holliday will need to take on more responsibility on the offensive end, especially as he needs to provide the Bucks with more efficient scoring efficiency.

In terms of scoring methods, the two areas that Juju Holliday needs to do well are his scores in the box and outside the three-point line. Statistically, Juho Horday's series was just 5-of-16 from within 10 feet of Lan's defense under the Celtics' defense, a very low shooting percentage performance. You know, Juju Holliday was able to shoot 54.7% from the field during the regular season, which is a world of difference compared to his performance in the restricted area of this series.

As for Juoldy's outside shooting performance, he has so far shot 36.4% from three-point range in this series, but his performance in the first two games has been inconsistent. In the first game of the series, Ju Holliday was able to hit three three-pointers in five three-point shots, but in the second game of the series, Ju Holliday could only contribute to the Bucks' 6-of-1 three-point line performance on the court, and this three-point efficiency was obviously not enough to help Antetokounmpo.

You know, so far this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been able to give Ju Holliday 37 assists, of which as many as 20 are from outside the three-point line, which is enough to prove that at least in the regular season, Antetokounmpo will try to give the ball to Juho Horliday, who can get a chance on the outside.

We all know that Juju Holliday can provide the Bucks with a stable outside defense on the court, but the biggest problem around him so far in this series is the offensive end, and even though the Bucks are unlikely to expect Juju Holliday to fully fill the gap on the offensive end of Chris Middleton, the team desperately needs to have a good enough offensive rhythm at home for the next. Because only Juju Holliday has a better performance on the offensive end, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the team's superstar, may have a greater threat to the Celtics with every possession on the court.

2. Grayson-Allen

As for Grayson Allen, his ability from beyond the three-point line could be a key part of the Bucks' victory in the next series, as Giannis Antetokounmpo does need teammates to have a consistent performance outside the three-point line.

For example, in the first game of the Celtics series, when the Celtics focused most of their defensive attention on Antetokounmpo, he kept passing the ball to his outside teammates, and a player with a stable outside projection ability like Grayson Allen was well suited to play the role of receiving the ball on the outside.

In this game, Antetokounmpo delivered 12 assists, including two three-point shots from Grayson Allen, and when he got a pass from Antetokounmpo, Grayson Allen was able to perform outside the three-point line of 2 of 2, which also helped him contribute 12 points to the Bucks in that game.

By the second game of the series, Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to focus more on individual scoring, and while he did deliver seven assists, he did have a number of offensive rounds in this game where he should have passed the ball to his outside teammates but was the most reluctant to shoot.

Grayson Allen's performance on the offensive end was also very mediocre when Antetokounmpo had more individual scoring attempts, scoring five points with only one three-point shot in the whole game, and such scoring firepower simply could not give Antetokounmpo enough help.

In the second game of the series, the Bucks only had 3 of 18 shots (16.7% three-point shooting) outside the three-point line, which is indeed a very bad game performance, especially in this era of emphasis on outside projection and game rhythm, and it is reasonable that the Bucks only have such an outside performance to eventually lose to the Celtics. The Bucks can definitely still take advantage of Grayson Allen's shooting ability on the outside, but it's a shame that he only made one shot attempt from outside the three-point line in this game.

Because of this, the Bucks will need to have Antetokounmpo and Grayson Allen more connected on the offensive end in the third game of the following series. You know, Grayson Allen has averaged 4.7 three-point shots per game so far this season, and can shoot 40.1% of these shots to shoot three-point shooting, which is enough to prove that Grayson Allen is a very good no-ball shooter in this Bucks team.

At the same time, antetokounmpo can also give Grayson Allen 64 assists in the regular season, of which 48 are assists outside the three-point line, simply put, at least in the regular season, Antetokounmpo and Grayson Allen are internal and external partners with good chemistry.

Judging from the defensive strategy of the Celtics in the first two games, it is believed that they will still stick to the box and limit The play of Antetokounmpo in the next series, after all, as the two-time regular season MVP and FMVP, Antetokounmpo has this level of threat on the offensive end, and the Celtics cannot suddenly change their defensive strategy and let players like Antetokounmpo get easier scoring opportunities in the box. That's why players like Grayson Allen need to be more involved in Antetokounmpo's attack.

So Antetokounmpo, who passes more on the offensive end and finds opportunities to get vacant spots, will be a very offensive style for the Bucks, such as in this year's playoff first-round series against the Bulls, Grayson Allen was able to perform from outside the three-point line of 11 out of 8 from Antetokounmpo's passes.

It's only in game two of the series, and since the Bucks aren't doing well enough from outside the three-point line (3-of-18 shooting), Antetokounmpo has to try to score on the offensive end, but in any case, the Bucks will need players like Grayson Allen to be good enough on the outside in the next game.

Write at the end

Ju holliday and Grayson Allen didn't do particularly well in either of the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Celtics, but for the next game, both were arguably the biggest X-factor in the Bucks' lineup.

If Juju Holliday can play well enough on the offensive end, and Grayson Allen can play as well as well enough in the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Bulls, then it will also improve the Bucks' chances of winning the series against the Celtics.