2. The Boston Celtics have a much better head coach
This is with all due respect to Mike Budenholzer, but Brad Stevens is simply the better head coach. Budenholzer has been great and what he has done with the Bucks should not go unnoticed, but it is pretty clear that Stevens is the better game planner and could more effectively put his guys in a position to slow the Lakers down.
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Budenholzer is a two-time coach of the year after all and has plenty of experience in the job, so we cannot take him too lightly. However, in the playoffs, where we really start to split hairs, Budenholzer has never been as successful.
Budenholzer is 27-27 in the playoffs and was thoroughly outcoached after taking a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. Again, he is not a bad coach and he is not going to hurt the Bucks, I just do not think he will elevate them, as Stevens will do with the Celtics.
Stevens does not have a great playoff record, either (27-29) but he has proven to be a great coach in the playoffs, overachieving with two Celtics teams that made back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals despite seemingly not having the talent.
He is a defensive wizard as well and while the Bucks are the best defensive team in the league, I think Stevens has a better chance of cracking the code with LeBron and AD.
Just look at the first encounter between the two teams in Boston. The Celtics held LeBron and AD to a combined 24 points on 8-19 shooting. Granted, they did not play much in the fourth quarter as it was a blowout, and the duo responded with a huge game the next time they matched up, but the success has been there.
The Celtics do not have the singular defender (like Giannis) that is really going to slow either of them down. Marcus Smart is a great defender that could be switched on LeBron in certain circumstances and Tatum can hold his own defensively, but together, because of Stevens coaching, the Lakers will have tougher looks at the basket.
Because of those two primary reasons, the Boston Celtics are a tougher NBA Finals matchup for the Los Angeles Lakers. But they do have to get past the Milwaukee Bucks first.