Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 123-102 win over Boston Celtics

Bledsoe bounces back

A lot of the talk coming out of Game 1 was focused on how the Celtics clamped down on Giannis. Which is fair, few teams have been able to stifle the Greek Freak as Boston did in Game 1.

However, I wasn’t too worried about Giannis or even really Middleton. Giannis has a bad game once in a while, but he rarely has two and I don’t think any team can consistently thwart him if he stays aggressive enough.

The same goes with Middleton, they’ll figure things out eventually and be ok in the long run.

The player I did worry about was Bledsoe. With Malcolm Brogdon out for at least these first two games and possibly more, the Bucks couldn’t afford for Bledsoe to have another bad performance.

Bledsoe was just 1-of-5 for six points in Game 1 and wasn’t his usual self on defense either. Against an elite point guard like Irving and with bench players struggling, the Bucks needed more from Bledsoe in Game 2.

The Bledshow delivered.

From the opening tip, Bledsoe was much more aggressive on both ends. He had a couple of quick turnovers to start, but they were both from attacking the paint more, which is something you can live with.

I mentioned the big swat on Irving at the rim early in the first quarter which I think was big for both setting the tone on defense and for Bledsoe’s confidence.

In the second quarter, Bledsoe really started to make his presence felt, opening with a three-pointer and showcasing his nose for the ball by grabbing loose balls and attacking the rim with much more gusto.

Bledsoe on the attack in the paint opens up everything else in the Bucks’ offense and allows Giannis to attack a defense that is scrambling to help or recover instead of waiting for him.

At the end of the game, Bledsoe finished with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from deep and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

It was exactly the kind of performance the Bucks needed from Bledsoe, and Bledsoe needed for himself to exorcize some playoff demons against the Celtics from last year’s playoffs.

Even if Brogdon does come back this series, Bledsoe is still arguably going to be the Bucks’ most important player. I’ve been saying it all season but when Bledsoe plays his A-game, the Bucks are nearly unbeatable.

Bledsoe doesn’t need his A-game for every game this series in order for the Bucks to win, but he at least needs to stay aggressive and confident on both ends.

More Game 2 Bledsoe, please, less Game 1 Bledsoe.

Game 3 of the Bucks/Celtics Eastern Conference Semi-Finals takes place in Boston on Friday, May 3.