2018 NBA Playoffs Preview: Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks, SWOT Analysis & Prediction

#4 X-Factor

Boston Celtics - Marcus Morris

Morris in action against the Bucks during the regular season

In order to compensate for Kyrie Irving's loss, the Celtics will probably look to Marcus Morris coming off the bench to put up high scoring numbers and keep the scoreboard ticking. Morris has had a sensational month of March, in which he scored a team-high 18.9 points per game on 48.3% shooting from the field and a mind-boggling 46.7% from outside the arc.

He has the skillset to score from mid-range, via post-ups as well as from the 3-point line, but what has been lacking through Morris' stop-start NBA career is consistency. If he gets buckets for the Celtics as their main scorer against the Bucks, those questions will cease.

Milwaukee Bucks: Jabari Parker

Parker posting up Kent Bazemore in 2016-17

As far as the Milwaukee Bucks go, the playoffs are the time for Jabari Parker to rise and shine, in order to make himself worthy of the max dollars that he'll definitely be looking for after his rookie contract expires this summer.

He definitely has the skillset to do it and in limited playing time this season he's already given us glimpses from his 2016/17 season when he was scoring over 20 points per game before going down with an ACL injury. If Jabari gets hot, the Bucks will run away with the series.