Brad vs. Bud
In the end, this series between the Celtics and Bucks could very well come down to the adjustments that each coach ends up making either during each game or after each of them. Unless one team absolutely dominates the other, there will almost certainly be a number of adjustments needed to win the series.
Whether that revolves around throwing different defenders and defensive schemes at Giannis, or attacking the Celtics with different closing lineups, that will fall on the hands and shoulders of Brad Stevens and Mike Budenholzer – two coaches that have both done fantastic jobs with their respective rosters this year.
Budenholzer, in his first year with the Bucks, has been a huge game-changer for a team that simply could never put their talent together when it mattered most. So far this season, coach Bud can’t seem to do no wrong. He’s catapulted a young team with immense talent to a real contender in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the team’s shortcomings as a whole, Stevens has done a respectable job in balancing the comebacks of both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, while also continuing to develop the young talent of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum with the Celtics.
For two teams as talented as the Bucks and Celtics are, coaching is one area which could tip the scale in one way or another.