2018 NBA Playoffs: Grading each first round playoff series 

Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks - A+

Giannis Antetokounmpo drives to the rim

Looking back at this series, we can clearly see the difference between the exemplarily coached and immaculately drilled Boston Celtics and the rather hit-and-miss Milwaukee Bucks.

Both teams won all of their home games, and Brad Stevens' side took full reapings of homecourt advantage to make it through to the second round despite not having their 2 best players for the length of this postseason.

The series started off with a humdinger of a game; one which featured Khris Middleton hitting nothing but net from 30 feet out with 0.5 seconds of the game remaining by the time he received the inbound pass. This sequence was played out after Terry Rozier left Eric Bledsoe for dead and nailed a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 3-point lead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo played about as well as he could, but his impact was severely limited by the excellent defensive schemes used by the Celtics for the better part of most games. He did have Khris Middleton in support, but the rest of the Bucks (with the exception of Thon Maker, who excelled given his skillset) played below their potential.

Much of the credit for containing the Bucks unit has to go to Stevens, but the Celtics had no dearth of players contributing to the series win. Al Horford absolutely took over Game 7 of the series, while Jaylen Brown's shooting won them Game 2.

The likes of Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, and Terry Rozier all played their part, and the Celtics received a shot in the arm with the return of Marcus Smart in Game 5.