Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts on the bench after a teammate dunked against the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum on May 08, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks defeated the Celtics 116-91.
The NBA basketball world is waiting with bated breath for the MRI results on Kevin Durant’s right calf. The Warriors star came up gimpy in the 4th quarter of Wednesday night’s 104-99 victory over the visiting Rockets in Game 5.
With the recovery time as low as seven to 10 days to possibly season-ending, the NBA title favorite winds are changing for some. Fox Sports’ Nick Wright went as far to say that “The Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the NBA,” and that they will win the championship.
“The Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the NBA, and the Milwaukee Bucks are going to win the NBA Championship.” — @getnickwright
“The Milwaukee Bucks are the favorite,” he said across from Cris Carter. “The Milwaukee Bucks have the best player…given the uncertainty of Kevin Durant, given that if the Rockets get through (the conference semifinals), they will have gone through a gauntlet, given the fact that we don’t know yet if it’s going to be Toronto or Philly…any questions you had about Milwaukee were answered these last four games.”
The Bucks ravaged the Boston Celtics in the final four games of the conference semifinals, including a 116-91 rout in the decisive Game 5.
The Celtics were considered a favorite to make the Finals out of the East during the preseason, as they got to seven games against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the conference finals the year before. That was without Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward. With them in 2019, Milwaukee dispatched them with relative ease.
OddsShark still has the Warriors as the odds-on title favorites, with the Bucks close behind.
As Wright noted, the Raptors and Sixers are still battling for the other Eastern Conference final spot. Let’s take a look at the best matchup for the Bucks.
Bucks Conference Finals Best Matchup & Prediction
Updated odds to win the NBA Championship:
Warriors +110
Bucks +180
Rockets +400
Raptors +750
Nuggets +1800
76ers +4000
Trail Blazers +7500
Right now, the more likely opponent is Toronto. Behind Kawhi Leonard’s 31.2 points per game this postseason, the Raptors lead the Sixers 3-2 as the series heads back to Philadelphia for Game 6 Thursday night. With Joel Embiid struggling health-wise and getting outplayed by Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, this series might end sooner rather than later.
Tuesday’s 125-89 rout over the Sixers was indicative of which team is motivated more at the moment. Toronto is on a mission to reach its first-ever NBA Finals after getting swept last year by LeBron James and Cleveland.
Milwaukee took the season series 3-1, including the last meeting in Canada 105-92. One thing that Toronto is capable of more than anyone else in the league is a defensive star able to slow down Antetokounmpo. Led by Leonard, the Greek Freak failed to eclipse 20 points in two of the contests.
With that said, he erupted for 43 points and 18 rebounds in a 123-116 defeat at home on January 5.
On the downside for Toronto, the Bucks have down a good job at slowing Leonard, as well. He mustered just 16 points in the last meeting, as well as a solid but unspectacular 20 points in an early December loss at Scotiabank Arena.
That would put the onus on Kyle Lowry and Siakam to carry a higher scoring load. Lowry, on top of a notoriously underwhelming reputation in the postseason, scored a grand total of 19 points in three meeting with the Bucks this season.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s supporting cast is seemingly bottomless. Nikola Mirotic, George Hill, Ersan Ilyasova, Pat Connaughton, Malcolm Brogdon…the list goes on and on as these guys just rotate effective bench minutes.
I’m calling this series to be much like Toronto vs. Cleveland last year. Milwaukee’s superstar forward is turning into the next LeBron, while the supporting cast he has is far superior to Leonard’s. It may not be a sweep, but it’ll feel like it.
Prediction: Bucks in 5