The Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Bucks and the Celtics are about to start. And the defending champions are already at a disadvantage even before the series began.  

The news that Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton is expected to miss the entire series against the Boston Celtics comes as a shock to the Bucks fans. And even if the Bucks advance, Khris might miss out on the Conference finals too. 

But the NBA fans are already crowning the Boston Celtics as the winners of this series on Twitter owing to Khris’ injury. 

The Bucks won their series against the Bulls without Khris Middleton after the first 2 games. But the Boston Celtics are one of the best defensive sides in the league with DPOY Marcus Smart. And the way they swept Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Nets is a prime example of it. They shut down two of the most prolific scorers in the game right now. Additionally, they handled both Kyrie and Durant with their strength, size, and physicality. 

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Can Giannis and the Bucks beat the Celtics?

It won’t be an easy series for Giannis and the Bucks even if they had Khris. The Boston Celtics’ defense will make life tougher for Giannis. And without his fellow All-Star Khris Middleton, it will be interesting to see how Giannis and the Bucks fare. 

However, Giannis is someone who thrives on his own physicality and uses his strength to score and defend. Giannis Antetokounmpo is 7-5 in the postseason against the Celtics and averaged 26.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. But we can expect a lot of doubling up on Giannis.

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Khris Middleton averages 20 points in 69 career playoff games. Since the 2017-18 season, Middleton has faced the Celtics in two playoff series, shooting 51.6% for an average of 22.4 points per game. With the absence of Khris, this Bucks team needs to share the scoring burden. While Brook Lopez, Connaughton, Grayson Allen, Jrue Holiday, and Portis can do that, it is Khris’ ability to make big plays that will be missed. 

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But the defending champs are no pushovers either. The Bucks didn’t give Bulls’ star DeMar DeRozan any breathing room. Other than game 2 where DeMar scored 41 points with a FG% of 51.6, they kept him quiet. He scrapped just 11 points in game 5 and game 3. So the Bucks won’t be going easy on the Celtics’ stars Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown even though Khris would be missed.

Granted that Khris Middleton missing the series is a tremendous blow, but Giannis and the defending champs can’t be written off yet.

Who do you think will win this series?