Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for in Game 3 against Boston Celtics
Rule of threes
Although plenty of focus following Game 2 was given to the number of tactical and personnel changes the Bucks made in order to even up the series, head coach Mike Budenholzer leaned in even further to one of the core tenets he and his staff have preached from the opening day of training camp, that being letting it fly.
The result was a lethal shooting performance from downtown as the Bucks connected on 20 of their 47 tries from long range, which made for a 42.6 three-point percentage. As of now, that’s the most effective the Bucks have been shooting the ball from that range in a single game this postseason, edging out their Game 2 120-99 win over the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
Undoubtedly the most instrumental figure behind the Bucks’ three-point shooting display in Game 2 was Khris Middleton, who was simply lights out stroking the ball from deep as he went 7-of-10 from deep to fuel his 28-point outing that night. Needless to say, Middleton continues to stand as a riddle the Celtics can’t solve. And there’s this:
Khris Middleton is shooting 71.4% from 3 so far in the series. That's tied for the best 3P% thru the first two games of an Conference Semifinal series https://t.co/7iTtrfdLlv pic.twitter.com/u709rHfE2H
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) May 1, 2019
It remains to be seen whether they’ll experience a shooting performance as sparkling as Game 2, but stretching the Celtics’ defense apart and continuing to ding them from beyond the arc will be one of the Bucks’ biggest offensive priorities over the remainder of the series.
Considering the Celtics have the fourth-most three-point attempts per game this postseason, it’s up to the Bucks’ three-point firepower to find enough room to sustain their level of success following Game 2.