Bucks-Celtics series preview: Giannis vs. Jayson Tatum, defensive plans,

We’ve done this before. Three years ago, we brought our beat writers together for a series preview of a second-round matchup between the Bucks and Celtics.

The Bucks were in the midst of a magical run through the league that seemed too good to be true. They had won 60 regular-season games in Mike Budenholzer’s first season in Milwaukee and swept the Pistons in the first round. They appeared unstoppable and primed to complete a shocking one-year turnaround that took them from a first-round playoff exit to a championship.

Spoiler alert: The magic ran out. The Bucks lost to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals when Nick Nurse and Co. built a wall in front of the rim and slowed down Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Celtics were in their second season with mercurial star Kyrie Irving. While the second regular season with Irving was rockier than his first in Boston, the Celtics had still made the Eastern Conference Finals that first season and the team was ready to sign Irving to a max extension in the offseason and form a meaningful, long-term extension with Irving.

Spoiler alert: They broke up. Irving left for Brooklyn where he eventually formed a “super team” with Kevin Durant, but that team got eliminated by the Bucks last postseason and the Celtics this postseason.

If the recent history of both franchises has taught us anything, it is that things can change in a hurry, so we need to focus on the current moment and figure out what could be coming next. Let’s take a closer look at this second-round matchup with Celtics writers Jared Weiss and Jay King and Bucks writer Eric Nehm.

Nehm: Fellas, thanks for joining me. Looking forward to making my way to Boston this weekend. Let me start here.

As I’ve rewatched some of the Bucks-Celtics games from earlier this season and then also watched the Celtics-Nets series, I’ve found myself struck by just how different the Celtics looked in December versus what they look like now. Can I get a CliffsNotes version of how this team managed to transform into what appears to be a potential postseason juggernaut?

Weiss: They’ll tell you it’s health, first and foremost. Sure, they have everyone and that’s going to make them better. But that health at least finally allowed them to fail enough at full strength to figure out who they are and who they need to be. Early January was when they really hit rock bottom and had to make some big changes from there. Ime Udoka stopped using Dennis Schröder as a floor spacer in crunch time, which went a long way to helping their offense not completely shut down late in games.

Udoka fully realized the potential of a double big lineup by having the power forward guard the pick-and-rolls and letting the center roam off weak side shooters or bigs in the dunker spot behind the hoop, so they can go make plays. Suddenly Al Horford was back to guarding pick-and-roll at an elite level and Rob Williams got into a rhythm helping off shooting guards in the corners so he could make life miserable for everyone trying to get to the rim. Once they brought in Derrick White for Josh Richardson and Payton Pritchard for Schröder after the deadline, their defense had more of an edge to it and they just moved the ball on offense with much more crispness and certainty. They’ve continued to improve since then while Udoka has shown over the past month that his game planning and mid-game adjustments are playoff-ready.

Boston is coming off a strong defensive performance against a superstar after taking Kevin Durant out of his game. Giannis presents different challenges, but he and Durant are the two guys who always have their length as the trump card for whatever the defense throws at them. After the Celtics were able to contain Durant for most of a sweep, they’ve gotta be a good bet to make a huge impact on Antetokounmpo. So after watching the Nets series, what do you think of Boston’s chances to throw him off his game with Khris Middleton out?

Nehm: At this point in his career, Antetokounmpo has seen every scheme, every coverage and every wall of help defense. He knows what teams are going to do to him and how to beat it, but that doesn’t mean he’s impossible to stop. All these years later, the formula against him has not changed.

To slow down Antetokounmpo effectively, it takes a three-pronged approach. First, on the ball, you need someone that either has the strength to crowd him and take some bumps or the foot speed to get underneath him and fall over. The Celtics have one of each of those players in Al Horford and Marcus Smart. Both players have taken turns on him and pestered him on the ball.

From there, you need a strong rim protector. The excellence of an elite on-ball defender on Antetokounmpo can be wasted if there is no one at the rim to clean up the attempts at the rim Antetokounmpo creates with Euro steps, pump fakes and step-through moves. The Celtics have one of those in Robert Williams.

And finally, you need…