While there are a lot of uncertainties heading into the Boston Celtics’ second-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks, at least one member of the Celtics is already sounding pretty confident about how his team will play the defending NBA champions in the 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs.
That said member happens to be the eternally confident Grant Williams ought to come as no surprise — he did dub himself ‘Batman’ for a nickname, after all — and the Tennessee product gave a detailed account of how he and his teammates will be approaching the Bucks’ vaunted defense on Sunday.
“They collapse the paint on every drive, no matter who it is,” began Williams.
“It could be Payton (Pritchard) or somebody else going in there, they’ll have four or five guys in the paint,” offered the Charlotte native.
“For us, it’s a matter of having the right spacing, because I have confidence that not only myself, but others to not make those shots. So for us, it’s a matter of staying spaced, doing the right things on the opposite end, and then not letting them collapse into the paint. And punishing them on the rebounding end too, because when most teams crowd the paint like that, they don’t really crash the glass because everyone’s in there.”
“Still, imposing our will, and being able to say we got those extra possessions for our shooters, and those guys — make shots for (Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum) easier,” he continued.
Getting shooters open for the best possible shots will be critical against the defensive scheme the Bucks have made a reputation on, with Milwaukee walling off the rim from layups, cuts, and dunks.
But if Boston can find ways to get quality looks for their best long-range scorers while exploiting mismatches on the wing, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals may well be within their reach.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=video id=01g1vnke2420matnde5k playlist_id=01eqbzegwgnrje4tv2 player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g1vnke2420matnde5k/01g1vnke2420matnde5k-0553c17861e6545bc0131cdae90b03f9.jpg]
[lawrence-related id=101930,101922,101899,101872]
[listicle id=101858]
[vertical-gallery id=101749]
[listicle id=101832]
1
1
