

Jrue Holiday is the third star, but his offense was unreliable on last year’s title run and wasn’t good against Chicago with a 94 Offensive Rating on 48% True Shooting.Īllen started all 13 regular-season games that Middleton missed and averaged 17.2 points with 4.0 3s per game. The defense will have to carry the load here, though, without Middleton.Īs great as Antetokounmpo is, it’s Middleton who can best create a bucket late in games. Milwaukee ranked only 14th in Defensive Rating in the regular season, but the Bucks were third on offense. Were the Bucks saving it for the playoffs, or was Chicago just bad? Probably a little of both. Last year, Milwaukee’s defense was the NBA’s best in the postseason, but it wasn’t as stout this season. The big lineup dominated the glass, ending 82% of opponent possessions after one shot.

Milwaukee had an absurd 94.4 first-round Defensive Rating, almost 10 points per 100 better than any other team.
#Abc box milwaukee series
He’s +650 at FanDuel to lead this series in rebounding. Portis was a monster with 15.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game in 30 minutes per game and hit seven 3s in his three starts. The Bucks went big against Chicago without Middleton, starting Bobby Portis alongside Antetokounmpo and Lopez, and the results were fantastic. Pat Connaughton is a stout defender but only shoots 3s on offense. Milwaukee can use Grayson Allen’s shooting to juice the offense, but he’s a minus on defense. The Bucks are perilously short on wing depth, and he’s really their only two-way wing. That’s because they mostly leave out Brook Lopez, who missed most of the season injured, and include Middleton. Normally this is where we’d dig into the season-long metrics to get a profile of these Bucks, but most of those metrics aren’t particularly relevant. Milwaukee Faces Uphill Battle Without Middleton The defending champs against the 17-time NBA champs. Boston didn’t duck the matchup and swept Brooklyn in the first round. This year, Khris Middleton (knee) will miss the entire round, and Milwaukee would again be on the road for a potential Game 7 after tanking late to avoid the Nets. Last year’s series was marred by injuries to James Harden and Kyrie Irving but lived up to the hype anyway, with Milwaukee winning Game 7 when Kevin Durant’s shoe was one size too big. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here.įor a second straight postseason, a second-round series featuring the Milwaukee Bucks feels like a potential Finals matchup.
