Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics: Three big talking points ahead of Christmas day action | NBA News

So, we have canvassed the top three talking points, detailing individual battles, a deeper look into the formbook, and all the relevant statistics on hand. Delve into the below…

Boston’s brilliance

If the best team in the league are to pip their closest contenders in the Eastern Conference, it will have to be with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown orchestrating the attack.

So far, the pair have been transcendent, from their ballhandling to transitional moves. While Tatum is averaging career highs across major categories – 30.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 4.1 apg – Brown has more than done his part as the perfect partner-in-crime.

Both seem hell-bent on avenging the Celtics’ loss in last season’s NBA Finals, and the MVP 2022/23 predictions and picks certainly reflect that.

In a poll run by ESPN, Tatum led the way with 759 total points, followed closely by – guess who? – this Christmas’ opposition: Giannis Antetokounmpo (687 points).

The 82-point gap between Tatum and Antetokounmpo is the second-closest between first and second place across the 11 straw polls that have been conducted since the 2016-17 season.

If the Celtics are to maintain their stronghold over the league, then both will need to be at peak efficiency. Our projections see Tatum edging the action in both points and performance, with the Bucks unable to deny them access within the paint.

The Greek Freak

The Boston boys might be ripping it up this side of the league, but they are not the only ones doing it. Enter stage right: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Here is a man who has been playing without his star defensive forward Khris Middleton, sometimes having to watch from the side-lines himself and still, his team have the second-best record.

Giannis is indeed having one of his best seasons to date, on both ends of the court. Currently averaging 31.8 points and 11.2 assists a game, he’s also spent the last two weeks shooting 79.4 per cent inside the dotted lines, 35.0 per cent from three, and 71.7 per cent on 10 free-throw attempts per game.

It’s a monstrous set of stats to hold, and yet, there seems to be more to his game that we have seen otherwise obscured from fouls and ejections.

It goes without saying, if he’s anywhere close to the kind of form he’s been in of late, then the Celtics are in trouble. There’s very few men who can deny a man of Giannis’ physique around the rim, making rebounds and counterattacks his forte, and exact method to take down opponents.

A kink in the armour?

There was a recent three-game slump, and then defeat to the Orlando Magic. Proof, that even the best team in the league stutters.

Perhaps the absence of Tatum, who was celebrating his son’s birthday, might have made it easier for Paulo Banchero and co to dismantle the Boston defence.

The result was 25 points for Moritz Wagner, 20 for Banchero, and four other players who found themselves in double digits.

It seems when the Celtics do not have all their figurines lined up, they do find it difficult to stop teams from countering, using width and inside channels to set up screens, and generally keep track of players, like Banchero, with quick hands.

In the end, Orlando picked up the win despite only shooting at 42 per cent. On the other hand, the Bucks’ most recent win proved that they can achieve victory, even when some of their prize players are on the side-lines.

Indeed, in a 123-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, they played without Middleton, as well as Antetokounmpo, who sat out because of soreness in his left knee, the fifth game he has missed this season.

In their absence, it was Bobby Portis who scored 22 points and nabbed 14 rebounds, finishing with his 17th double-double of the season.

Jrue Holiday added 21 points and eight assists and center Brook Lopez had 18 points and eight rebounds to help the Bucks bounce back from a 41-point loss in Memphis on Thursday night.

It does seem the Bucks have had better practice at winning even when things are not going entirely their way, with rotated starting line-ups, or even when injury mar their best intentions.

Any changes for Boston, and they may just tap into that primal instinct, with Giannis, the Greek Freak, leading the line.

Our final thoughts? A tight game, but one that Boston should marginally edge.