The Box aren’t playing pretty basketball at all right now, or they’re not a perfect match without Chris Middleton. Their bench is very thin, there are two players on the team who can make shots, they can’t win a play-off game where Giannis Antocoanmpo doesn’t score 40 or more, and also, they rely on violence expert Grayson Allen. Things besides mam opponents. They are now 3-2 up in their wild second-round series against the Boston Celtics and have an advantage on the home court, which is not a reasonable situation. The good news: NBA playoff math bows to beef, and the Box Conference is on the verge of a final thanks to their ability to knock out the Celtics.
Where Box Hall is, a bunch of guys are walking around Antetokunampo and trying to make it work, the Celtics know exactly who they are. They led most of Game 5, thanks to Jason Tatum, Jillian Brown and Marcus Smart holding the offense steadily and thanks to the ruthless feeling of prejudice more than the Celtics leaned on in the first four games. They led 11 in the fourth quarter, then had six minutes left. The Box went after Derrick White, who passed for a weak link in Boston’s closing lineup, and he blocked both Jaru Holiday and Antetokunumpo. Boston should have won this game, and they would have, if the game had not suddenly and violently moved to the Blood Zone,
While Boston was occupying their late six-point lead in the giant Al Harford Dunk, Antetocunumpo was hit by his teammate Pat Conton over his left eye and began to bleed everywhere. This immediately sparked a backlash from the box, as in the next play Antitoconumpo blocked a three-nail, Milwaukee caught a one-handed rebound in traffic after stopping Boston, then Jeru Holiday saw three splashes to tie it. Antetokounmpo finished the game with 40 points and 11 rebounds. His sixth The 40-10 game of the playoffs was already over, and for the Celtics it was as physically irresistible as ever. Boston can throw a lot of huge wings and spray bugs at him like any team in the playoffs, although he still seems to get regular easy-looking buckets every time he gets a rock within nine feet of the hoop.
After Giannis III, Milwaukee’s other jurors took over. Antetocunumpo missed a game-tying free throw with 14 seconds left, only for Bobby Portis to make an offensive rebound and conversion. Portis is coming off the bench for a few games here, and when he shot -14 for just 4 on Wednesday, he caught 15 rebounds and gave the box an untouchable lead with his 15th. It is a matter of determining if the play is off Those who got the most dawg among them, Very few can argue with Portis. The Gambit of Boston in this series (with the exception of Robert Williams anyway) is that they can press enough stops and rebounds from their short lineup so that they can always stock up on the floor with four shooters on the offensive end. The risk is that someone like Bobby Portis does something like taking seven offensive rebounds in five of your entire team and paying you.
The game has not yet been won, although the Celtics will not try another shot, thanks only to Holiday. Celtics coach Ime Udoka drew… OK, I’m not really sure it was out of an attempt to shoot up with enough time on the clock for a dozen offensive rebounds. No matter. Holiday Marcus removes Smart’s floater, then corals the ball and drops it off Smart’s leg while maintaining its balance. After two free throws, Smart was driving toward a game-tying three when Holiday picked up his pockets again and finished the game.
Holiday spent the entire game that the Celtics insisted on fulfilling his uncompromising determination, although they were skilled enough to get out of trouble most of the night. No matter how banded-up Philly is and how surprisingly toothless Miami is, Milwaukee could be a favorite in any version of the speculative Eastern Conference finals. However, if Box’s Bastard Bona Feeds is a story in this series, it’s just a supporting narrative for Central Arc, that speed is as low as home court, and enough for both parties to smoke if both parties can impose their will. Boston didn’t die on the game, just beaten.