"Most teams will game plan for a guy like Giannis or game plan for a guy like Kevin Durant" - JJ Redick credits Boston Celtics for their defensive prowess after dominant Game 2 win
After getting blown out in Game 1, the Boston Celtics returned the favor on Tuesday with a dominant 109-86 win. The win tied their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks at one apiece. Game 3 will be played in Milwaukee.
JJ Redick, on ESPN's "Get Up," talked about where he thought the Bucks' issues lay, and what the Celtics did right after Game 1, stating:
"A lot of this is the Bucks' defensive strategy. They're gonna pack the paint, they give up more threes than anyone in the league. The threes are going to be there. It's the type of threes. It's the swing-swings. It's the 'hit the paint and get it out to the three-point line'. "
On the Celtics' excellent defensive performance, Redick said:
"What a luxury to have, if you're the Boston Celtics, where you can not have the defensive player of the year in the line-up and still have multiple great individual defenders on the floor."
"Most teams have one or two great individual defenders and most teams will game plan for a guy like Giannis or game plan for a guy like Kevin Durant.
"What makes the Boston Celtics unique is that you're game planning, you're showing a crowd, but you've got four or five great individual defenders on the floor at all times."
Reigning defensive player of the year, Marcus Smart sat out on Tuesday with a quad contusion.
Review: Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks, Game 2
On the back of Jaylen Brown's (30/5/6) and Jayson Tatum's (29/3/8) performances, the Boston Celtics took the lead in the first quarter. They never gave it back.
17 of Jaylen Brown's 30 points came in the first quarter alone. The Celtics took advantage of the Bucks' defensive strategy and shot the lights out from the three-point range. They made 20 out of their 43 three-point attempts.
The Bucks' rough night was marked by a poor shooting performance, shooting 46.6% and a miserable 16.7% from the beyond the three-point line. The Bucks made just three three-pointers as a team, a record-low in the last 15 years.
The Celtics drained 20 3-pointers in tonight's Game 2 win, the most made threes in franchise playoff history.
Conversely, the Bucks only made 3 threes, the fewest in a postseason game for the team in the last 15 postseasons. https://t.co/Noih67MXrL
The series now moves to Milwaukee. Games 3 (Saturday, May 7) and 4 (Monday, May 9) will be played at the Fiserv Forum.