If you’re going to become champions, then most likely you’ll need to beat the current champs, and the Milwaukee Bucks have put the NBA on notice that that will be no easy task. The Bucks easily dispatched their neighbors down I-94 to the south, the Chicago Bulls, in a first round NBA Playoffs series that was about as lopsided as it gets.
Milwaukee started their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against second-seeded Boston by very convincingly winning game 1, 101-89, despite being as road underdogs against the Celtics. “Fear the Deer” indeed.
The money lines for this game are fairly close, as are the intake numbers. About 53% of the bet count and 56% of the handle is coming in on the Celtics right now.
The Milwaukee Bucks (+450) have the third most favorable NBA championship odds right now, behind only the Golden State Warriors (+260) and the Phoenix Suns (+300).
When it comes to NBA championship futures, they’re sixth in percent of the bet count and fifth in percent of the handle. Both numbers account for the entire NBA playoff field at large, including teams that have already been eliminated.
The Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, reminded everybody why he is, arguably, the league’s alpha dog right now with a triple double in game 1.
The Celtics have now already lost home court advantage in this series, and it was clear that their first round opponent, the Brooklyn Nets, did absolutely nothing to prepare them for what they’re facing now in the Milwaukee Bucks.
The series is far from over though as the Celts have history on their side. Other than the L.A. Lakers, no team can match the Celtics’ 17 NBA titles. And in head coach Brad Stevens, Boston has a brilliant basketball mind who can scheme and plan with the best of them.
Will it be enough to overcome an opponent this talented, accomplished and seasoned? Maybe not, but definitely expect this series to go six, if not all seven games for sure.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.