Gonna be tough on two levels. Obviously taking a big wing defender out against Brown and Tatum is a problem. But offensively, his ability to find a switch and go get a bucket himself is so important against good defensive teams like Boston. The Bucks have the shooting to overcome it, but those guys have to be assisted most of the time.
I'd lean Boston in 6 or 7 at this point.
The schedule is out for Milwaukee/Boston with tip times TBD:
https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/st...95830767611907
That schedule really seems drawn out, going from a Tuesday to Saturday. I wonder if the length of the series may make it possible for Middleton to return somewhere in the games 5-7 area (5/11-5/15).Originally Posted by MUFAN2003
He was injured on 4/20, so 5/11 is three full weeks away. Maybe game 6 or 7 (trying to be optimistic here).
Before Shams Charania's tweet, I thought that large gap (3 days off) would allow Middleton to return at some point in this series. Nothing official from the Bucks, I guess I was surprised as well that before the series even started, that someone could rule him out for the entire series (with an injury that is a sprain).
Interesting that the Bucks just came off a series where their opponent (Bulls) finished 4th in the league in 3FG% (36.9%). The Celtics were 14th as a team (35.6%). The Bucks, at least during the regular season, tend to give up 3's to their opponents despite wanting to take away attempts at the rim and beyond the arc (allowing tough 2's).
Some other interesting numbers from the 82-game regular season:
Offense
NET Rating: MIL-3.2 (8th) BOS-7.4 (2nd)
Offensive Rating: MIL-114.3 (3rd) BOS-113.6 (9th)
Effective FG%: MIL-54.6 (6th) BOS-54.2 (9th)
PPG: MIL-115.5 (3rd) BOS-111.8 (12th)
3FG%: MIL-36.6 (5th) BOS-35.6 (14th)
OREB%: MIL-26.9 (16th) BOS-27.7 (11th)
Defense
Defensive Rating: MIL-111.1 (14th) BOS-106.2 (1st) ***no Brook Lopez, MIL #1 in Playoffs
PPG: MIL-112.1 (19th) BOS-104.5 (1st)
FG%: MIL-45.6 (11th) BOS-43.4 (1st)
3FG%: MIL-35.6 (19th) BOS-33.9 (1st)
DREB%: MIL-74.7 (2nd) BOS-72.5 (16th)
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