Offense
In terms of what both benches have to offer offensively, the Bucks hold a clear advantage over the Celtics in terms of potency and more importantly, dynamism.
We all know fourth-year forward Jabari Parker can pack a scoring punch in the times he’s engaged, considering he averaged 12.6 points on shooting splits of .482/.383/.747 across the 31 games he played since he returned from his second ACL injury in early February.
The recent return of the reigning Rookie of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon, further bolsters the Bucks’ scoring threats off the bench and 40-year-old Jason Terry will keep on knocking down spot up, corner threes until he finishes his career in 2047.
Combine that with an opportunistic scorer such as Tyler Zeller, who has arguably been the Bucks’ best big man since he arrived to Milwaukee before the trade deadline, the Bucks have enough reinforcements to hold their own alongside their more premier offensive forces.
As for the Celtics, there’s only one player that stands out as a potential threat offensively and that’s Greg Monroe.
We obviously know Monroe’s game inside and out after seeing him play on a nightly basis over the last two-plus years. Additionally, we saw how important of a role the 27-year-old played in his first taste of playoff action with the Bucks last year.
However, it’ll be curious to see what kind of role Monroe plays for the Celtics within a playoff environment and beyond that, the Celtics will be relying on tertiary options like rookie Semi Ojeleye and Shane Larkin to bury the Bucks from beyond the arc.
With all that said, the one scenario that could change this outlook is whether forward Marcus Morris will start or come off the bench for head coach Brad Stevens. The 28-year-old can certainly provide enough offense to give the Celtics a boost within the post or from deep and do so leading the team’s second unit over the series.