The Eastern Conference quarterfinals were a lot less contentious than the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Miami, Boston and Toronto breezed to 4-0 sweeps over Indiana, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, respectively, and while Milwaukee dropped their opener against the Orlando Magic, they won the last four games to make the semifinal. In the second round, though, the lower seeds are having their day so far, as fifth-seed Miami has opened up a 2-0 lead on the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, and the third-seeded Celtics have a 2-0 lead on second-seeded Toronto. What does each of these teams need to do to get to the NBA Finals?
Take a look at our thoughts as you consider your NBA betting for the rest of this round and the conference finals.
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What Each Eastern Conference Semifinalist Must Do to Make the Finals
Heat vs Bucks Breakdown
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The Bucks lost Game 1 against Miami, and it was too soon to panic. However, with the Bucks in a 2-0 hole, it’s time to ask some questions. The Heat led by nine points after the first quarter, and the Bucks started chipping away at the gap. They were down by two points with 8.5 seconds left and fouled Jimmy Butler with 7.7 seconds left on the clock. Butler made one of two free throws, so the Bucks needed a three-ball to tie. Khris Middleton took the three and drew a phantom foul on Goran Dragic. Middleton sank all three shots, but then Miami had time to run a play, and Butler had the chance to shoot a three from the corner…and another phantom foul was called. Butler made two shots with no one on the floor to seal the win. What the Bucks need is better management of rotation by coach Mike Budenholzer. He was very conservative with the starters’ minutes in Game 1. In Game 2, Giannis Antetokounmpo had only played 16 minutes (of a possible 24) at halftime. Budenholzer pulled Giannis with 7:28 left in the fourth period, despite the fact that he had only played 30 minutes and Milwaukee was down nine. He came in about a minute and a half later. This sort of hamfisted mismanagement hurt the Bucks against the Raptors in their East semis loss a year ago, and someone needs to sit down with him and discuss how much time Giannis should be spending on the floor right now.
The Heat are getting transcendent play out of both Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler (do you think the 76ers wish they hadn’t let Butler get away?). Dragic shot 60 percent in Game 1 and put up 27 points. In Game 2, he led the Heat with 23 points and posted five boards and four assists. Yes, Jimmy Butler had a crazy fourth quarter in Game 1 and made the game-winning free throws in Game 2, but the biggest problem for Milwaukee’s defense has been Dragic, who is having a throwback postseason at the age of 34. Butler is continuing to mentor and encourage a young Heat core that has an excellent chance of ousting the top seed — and putting Boston and Toronto on notice that they are ready to go to the Finals.
Celtics vs Raptors Breakdown
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The Celtics blew out the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their East semifinals and held them off in Game 2. The Celtics are now 5-1 against Toronto this season, including a 3-0 record in the Orlando “bubble.” No other team in the NBA has beaten Toronto more than two times in the regular season and postseason combined. In Orlando, Boston is 2-0 against Toronto — who is 11-0 against all other teams. In Game 2, it was Marcus Smart who put the Celtics on his back, scoring 16 points over a three-minute time frame during the early part of the fourth period. Jayson Tatum led the way with 34 points. Smart’s run included five three-pointers and a free throw as he was fouled on one of the makes. Then Kemba Walker scored 11 of the 16 points that Boston would score from then on. Smart finished with 19 points, Walker posted 17 and Jaylen Brown chipped in 16. The key for Boston is that they have so many scorers that it is impossible for opposing defenses to shut them down. They need to keep up the ball sharing in order to keep moving on.
The Raptors got better shooting from Fred VanVleet in Game 2 (and he had an open look from downtown as time expired), as he put up 19 points. Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam each put up 17 points, and Kyle Lowry scored 16. Toronto had a 12-point lead late in the third quarter. It’s important to remember that Toronto went down 2-0 in their East semifinals before winning the next four games to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks last year. Toronto needs to improve their perimeter defense (in Game 1, 51 of the 112 Boston points came from behind the arc) and play a full game of defense in order to get back into this series.
