Following two eventful games, the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics find themselves tied at 1-1 in their second round matchup.
With the series shifting to Milwaukee for the next two outings, the Bucks will aim to bounce back after an ugly Game 2 loss as the Celtics will look to steal one on the road. After three full days off, both teams should be well-rested and hopefully energized for this Game 3. As both teams fight to take a 2-1 lead, here are three players of interest that could be difference-makers in Game 3.
Jaylen Brown will be a player of interest in Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 3 matchup versus Boston Celtics
Boston’s Jaylen Brown has had two very different games to begin this series. Throughout Game 1, Brown could not buy a bucket consistently as he scored just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, which included 3-of-9 from deep. Browns’s poor performance in Game 1 seemingly ignited something in him, as the guard came out firing in the first few minutes of Game 2, having scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first quarter alone. He ultimately finished with 30 points while shooting an efficient 11-of-18 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from long range, as the 25-year-old proved to be too much for Milwaukee, who had no answer to his onslaught.
The Bucks must look to limit Brown from the opening tip in Game 3 to prevent the All-Star guard from heating up as he did in Game 2. The main player that will have their hands full trying to slow him down is Jrue Holiday. According to NBA.com/stats, Holiday has guarded Brown more than any other Buck in this series, matching up across 44.4 partial possessions. In that timeframe, Brown has gotten the upper hand as he has scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep. Holiday must look to keep the guard in check throughout this matchup, making every shot difficult for him with his physicality while also forcing turnovers whenever possible.
The difference-maker for Brown in this game will likely be his 3-point shooting, as evidenced over the first two games in this series. He could not hit his outside shots consistently in Game 1, and it plagued his overall performance. He came out and shot 60 percent from 3-point range in Game 2, which sparked a massive bounce-back game for him to lead Boston to victory. With Milwaukee’s main focus revolving around protecting the interior, Brown will get his share of quality looks from behind the arc, and him hitting them or missing them will be a significant factor in this matchup. Brown’s outside shooting could make him Boston’s biggest X-factor in this pivotal Game 3, which makes him a prominent player of interest.