The second round series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets figures to be a barnburner right from the opening tip of Game 1 on Saturday night with these teams combining for an average of 240.3 points per game in their three regular season standoffs. To little surprise, online sportsbooks hit the series opener with a 240-point O/U and installed the homebased Nets 4-point favorites to get out to the 1-0 series lead. Milwaukee took two of the three regular season tussles both SU and ATS, but only won those games by an average of 4.5 points. Mind you, none of the matchups saw Brooklyn at full strength which is no longer the case with the “Big Three” of James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving getting some major burn with one another over the last month. Do the Bucks have what it takes to win this series outright as substantial underdogs? I wouldn’t bet on it!
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 5, 2021 from the Barclays Center. The game will be broadcast live on TNT. We'll have NBA Playoff odds and player props available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game going on today’s NBA slate.
NBA Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Milwaukee Bucks +4
Brooklyn Nets -4
O/U 240
Odds Analysis
Brooklyn initially hit the board as 3.5-point favorites with the O/U lined at 241 for Game 1. Since the numbers to beat were opened up to the betting public, we’ve seen line movement with both the point spread and total. The Nets have been bumped up a half-point to -4 while the total has been bet down a full point to 240. As easily each team disposed of its first round opponent, it comes with little surprise to see even action on both sides. The total on the decline is a bit of a surprise however. When you pair the Nets excelled 3-point shooting up against the Bucks No. 29 ranked perimeter defense and Milwaukee’s No. 3 ranked 2-point offense up against Brooklyn’s porous interior defense, it makes no sense! Brooklyn opened as -180 favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the offering now clocks in at -207 and continues to climb. The betting markets look to be very bullish on Steve Nash’s troops advancing.
Milwaukee Bucks
After getting bounced by the Miami Heat in the bubble last postseason, the Bucks wasted little time letting it be known just how annoyed they were about bowing out early. Save for being taken to overtime in the series opener and still coming out victorious, Milwaukee had few issues getting the best of Jimmy Butler and company the rest of the way. The next three games saw them win by one-sided 132-98, 113-84 and 120-103 tallies to punch a ticket to the semis. In the process, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his mates covered all three games with ease to set up this heavyweight bout with the Nets. Keep in mind just how terrible Milwaukee was on the road in the regular season after accruing a bankroll killing 14-22 ATS mark against the closing NBA odds.
Brooklyn Nets
It took a Herculean effort from Jayson Tatum in Game 3 to prevent Brooklyn from busting out the brooms upon the division rival Celtics in the first round. If not for his 50 points scored, the Nets would’ve cruised to the 4-0 sweep after winning the other four games by an average of 15.5 points per game. Needless to say, but the Nets easily covered the closing impost in all four of their triumphs. KD, Kyrie and “The Beard” combined for 83 of the Nets 123 points in Tuesday night’s series finale letting it be known just how dangerous this team currently is at full health. As competitive the regular season matchups were without the team at full strength, Brooklyn should know a war is coming their way. With that, I don’t foresee any sort of letup occurring heading into this series.
Milwaukee vs. Brooklyn Prediction
If you’re a fan of offensive-minded basketball – who isn’t in this day and age of the NBA – then this series will be right up your alley. Though Brooklyn has stepped its defensive game up in recent weeks, I’m still not buying into this unit being able to keep a potent Bucks offense in check. Same goes for Milwaukee. It’s got some beef down low to clog the paint, but its 3-point defense is embarrassing to say the least with it allowing a league-worst 14.7 3-point makes per game. Brooklyn’s sharpshooters are going to eat in this series! I expect good fortune from the perimeter to be had right from the outset. On the flipside, Blake Griffin and company won’t have it in them to keep Milwaukee from doing as it pleases in the paint. The Bucks averaged 47.3 points per game down low in the three regular season tussles. With that, I recommend investing on the over in Game 1 and wouldn’t be opposed to backing the Nets minus the points since I think they win this series and backed that belief up with a series wager – good luck!
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