NBA Playoffs: First-Round Matchup Projections
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
The Boston Celtics (55-27) may have finished the season with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the seventh-best nERD in the NBA (59.4), but being down arguably the team's two best players in Gordon Hayward (ankle) and Kyrie Irving (knee) for the entirety of the playoffs has this feeling like a transition year for the Celts.
The seventh-place Milwaukee Bucks (44-38) are just good enough to make this the closest series in the Eastern Conference, according to our algorithms, but their middling 16th-ranked nERD (51.3) suggests that they don't really have what it takes to upset the league's number-one defensive team, even if it's missing a few key players.
| Outcome | (2) Boston Celtics | (7) Milwaukee Bucks |
|---|---|---|
| Win in 4 | 7.23% | 4.28% |
| Win in 5 | 17.96% | 8.15% |
| Win in 6 | 14.33% | 16.28% |
| Win in 7 | 20.03% | 11.74% |
| Win series | 59.55% | 40.45% |
