NBA Following Giannis Antetokounmpo’s health in the Eastern Conference play-off first round matchup Milwaukee Bucks talented and young, who looked comfortable in the regular season with Indiana PacersWe will watch ‘s fight.
Five months ago, the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers fought for the game ball in the game in which Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 64 points! Now they will fight for a place in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. This is the first playoff meeting between these two Central Division rivals in 24 years, and we will also be watching two of the league’s six best offenses face off.
The Pacers won the regular season series 4-1, one of those wins coming in Las Vegas (in the Intraseason Tournament semifinals), and the last of those five games (January 3) before Indiana signed Pascal Siakam. These two teams haven’t met since one team made a big trade and the other made a coaching change.
Antetokounmpo’s health condition
The Bucks’ MVP candidate suffered a left calf strain in Game 79 and subsequently missed the last three games. The good news is that his injury is not worse, but it is reported that he will not be ready for Game 1 on Sunday.
The Bucks were able to get a 4-5 rating in the games they played without Antetokounmpo this season, and in the 172 minutes that Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez were on the field without the two-time MVP-elected star forward, they scored 23.2 points per 100 possessions (less than one point per possession) compared to their opponents. ) they were left behind.
This season, against the Pacers, the Bucks fell behind by 39 points in 53 minutes when Antetokounmpo was not on the field. It’s critical that he can play (and play big minutes) in this series.
Guards’ performance
Both of these teams are much better offensively than defensively. And both All-Star point guards can be attacked by opponents on the defensive end of the floor.
The Bucks will try to keep Tyrese Haliburton around, and that will be difficult if Antetokounmpo is healthy. He likes Milwaukee guards to set screens for Antetokounmpo. The guard who will set the most screens will probably be the one guarded by Haliburton, whose screen defense has been a problem at times this season.
With the Bucks starting Patrick Beverley instead of Malik Beasley, they have a good defender to man Haliburton on the other end of the floor. The Pacers don’t do a lot of guard screens, but they could be successful by putting Beasley and/or Lillard in action involving Haliburton or Pascal Siakam.
Result: Pacers in game six
If Antetokounmpo was healthy, if he was certain to be ready for Game 2 or 3, or if the Bucks faced an inferior opponent, they might still be the favorite here. But while there’s only “hope” that he can return at some point in this series, it’s hard to see a team that isn’t very good as a favorite when its best player isn’t on the field.
The Pacers played well against stronger teams all season long and achieved the second-best record (15-11) in matches played among the top eight in the East. They have a strong offense, an improved defense and they know they can beat this opponent, as they have shown during the season.
2024-04-20 00:05:35
#NBA #Playoff #Series #Analysis #Milwaukee #Bucks #Indiana #Pacers
