Khris Middleton's domination, Kyrie's subpar defense and other leftover thoughts from Game 2

MILWAUKEE -- A collection of leftover thoughts and observations on the heels of the C's 21-point loss to the Bucks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

1. Khris Middleton remains a Celtics killer: Giannis Antetokounmpo easily gets the most attention out of anyone on the Bucks roster when the Celtics are on defense, but it’s about time the Celtics start playing with a little bit more urgency on the Bucks' second All-Star. Khris Middleton erupted for a playoff-career high 28 points in Game 2 with nearly all of his damage coming on the perimeter. The swingman knocked down 7-of-10 3s on the night, improving his 3-point accuracy to 71.4 percent for the series (9-of-13).

A couple of these 3s were well contested but the vast majority came in transition or against a broken down Celtics defense. Middleton is the last player on the Bucks the C’s can afford to give a wide-open jumper too but he found in that situation far too often, while also taking advantage of any space the C’s gave him to pull up.

After how well Middleton played last year against Boston in the postseason, one would think the Celtics would guard him with the same type of commitment they showed against Bojan Bogdanovic last round. Instead, he’s been a No. 1-A option for the Bucks that has been treated as an afterthought in transition.

“We have to do it a lot better than we did. It’s tough,” Brad Stevens said. “He’s really good. He’s an All-Star. He’s one of the 12 best players in the East this year and has had a good year, and he started that in the playoffs last year against us, I thought. But we have to do a better job on him. We did not do a good enough job on him all the way down the line. He still might make it, but he got too many looks where it was just too open.”

Dating back to last postseason, Middleton is now shooting 63 percent against the Celtics from 3-point range in the playoffs. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward all have to step up their awareness with Middleton and treat him like he’s Kyle Korver or JJ Redick to prevent him from getting comfortable moving forward in this series.

"I think that's also one of our main things, playing with pace,” Middleton said after the win. “They're a great defensive team once they get set and we're playing in the half court. So one of the main things is just for us to get out and try to get a stop and get out and run and play with pace and attack out of that, make quick decisions, and I was able to find open 3's and pull up 3's with that."

2. The Celtics let Nikola Mirotic off the hook in this game: The Bucks surprised the Celtics with a shift in the frontcourt, leaving two less mobile defenders on the floor next to Antetokounmpo for large stretches. The Celtics had the versatility at forward with Brown, Tatum and Morris to punish Mirotic, yet the Celtics largely resorted to unsuccessful isolations and contested jump shots, particularly in the second half. Jayson Tatum has been an offensive liability throughout this series after a terrific round one, shooting just 23.5 percent from the field and 0-of-3 from 3-point range. He’s shown the ability to abuse guys like Mirotic in the past with his speed and length, something he is going to have to prioritize much more in Game 3.

3. It might be time to try Semi Ojeleye on Antetokounmpo instead of Baynes: Stevens has remained committed to his veteran center off the bench, knowing that Antetokounmpo is the only subpar shooting big man that Baynes can get away with guarding on the perimeter. However, after piling up six fouls in 19 minutes of action this series including four in Game 4, it might be time for Stevens to go with someone a little quicker on Antetokounmpo when Horford needs a rest. Baynes just does not have the foot speed needed right now to cut off Antetokounmpo’s driving angles and that’s helping him get to the free throw rate at an incredible rate (18 free throws in just 31 minutes in Game 2). In addition, the Bucks are helping off Baynes a ton whenever he’s in the game, giving the Celtics offense far less room to operate. Ojeleye won’t help much on offense either but he’s a better driver than Baynes and has the foot speed to make the Bucks pay for cheating off him. It’s an adjustment Stevens has to consider making in Game 3. Otherwise, the Celtics may just be better off going with offense-first looks all game long with Morris playing center in order to maximize offensive spacing.

4. Terry Rozier continues to rebound the ball like a mad man: The reserve guard got a little too shot happy over the course of Game 2 (2-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes) but his work on the glass remains a huge asset to this group. He grabbed eight rebounds in Game 2 and now leads the team in defensive rebounding rate in the series after snagging 33 percent of all available rebounds while he’s on the floor. The Celtics continue to do a great job as a team defending the glass, although the Bucks made the most of their second chance opportunities in Game 2 (20 second-chance points). The Celtics defense needs to get better when its in scramble mode back in Boston, whether that’s on offensive boards or against transition opportunities.

5. Kyrie’s defense was almost as bad as his offense in this game: There were far more defensive breakdowns in Game 2 for Boston as the Bucks knocked down 20 3s in the 123 point performance. A great number of those came as a result of Irving’s miscues over the first 24 minutes. The point guard treated this game on the defensive end like it was a regular season slog in January, failing to fight through picks and calling for switches when they weren’t necessary. The Bucks turned this laziness into open 3s and easy looks on other parts of the floor. The Celtics need Irving to be better on offense but they can’t afford this type of effort for him on the defensive end either. The Bucks have too many weapons to make Boston pay on the perimeter, so he needs to lock in more and stay committed to his man, while helping and switching only when appropriate.