NBA Playoffs 2019: Five things to watch in Game 2 between the Pacers/Celtics, Pistons/Bucks and Jazz/Rockets

James McKern

NBA Playoffs 2019: Five things to watch in Game 2 between the Pacers/Celtics, Pistons/Bucks and Jazz/Rockets image

Another day of playoff action rolls around and there's three key games to keep your eye on Thursday.

The Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz will look to bounce back and level their respective series.

Boston, Houston and Milwaukee are out to strengthen their playoff push and grab a commanding 2-0 lead at home.

Before the games get underway here are five things to watch out for...

Can Celtics x-factor Marcus Morris replicate his Game 1 performance?

It was a low-scoring slog in the opening game of the series between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, but in front of their home fans, the Celtics got it done.

Kyrie Irving was the main talking point from the game, but it was Marcus Morris off the bench who brought the x-factor the Celtics had been missing.

Morris will continue to come off the bench, but his offensive outbursts will be integral to their chances of claiming a 2-0 series lead.


Defensive adjustments on James Harden…or will they continue to stand behind him

James Harden is one of the most gifted offensive players the NBA has seen and teams are tasked with trying to slow him down.

The Utah Jazz threw up a unique new look to The Beard in Game 1 by continually having his defender stand to the back and side of Harden.

It left the lane wide open and allowed Harden to drive straight into the teeth of the paint and either finish with his latest weapon, a floater, or dish it out to a teammate.


Can the Pistons fightback and take it to the Bucks

From the opening tip it was clear the Bucks were on a different level to the Pistons and they blew away the eight seed in stunning fashion.

Without Blake Griffin in their lineup, a fate they may have to live with for the remainder of the series, the Pistons offense failed to fire.

They'll need to bounce back in a big way and take the fight up the Bucks, if they don't Giannis and his fellow starters may not play more than 25 minutes in any game.

Houston's second unit

The Rockets starting five got it done in Game One, but the bench was just as effective as they toppled the Utah Jazz 122-90.

Kenneth Faried and Danuel House Jr. played key minutes in the series opener and will be pivotal to the Rockets' playoffs chances.


Jaylen Brown's lockdown defensive role

When Victor Oladipo went down, many doubted the Indiana Pacers could still be a force in the Eastern Conference. They continued to prove the doubters wrong thanks to a renewed team effort.

Of course, the performances of Bojan Bogdanovic played a key role and they were counting on him if they were going to pull off the upset of the Boston Celtics.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, Jaylen Brown made it his mission to completely shut down Bogdanovic and he accomplished that task in the opening game of the series.

Bogdanovic finished with only 12 points on 4-11 shooting from the floor as he struggled to get into any offensive rhythm,

James McKern