Game 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs Brooklyn Nets Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions

The first game of the 2nd round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs takes place on Saturday in Barclays Center. The star-studded Nets will host the Bucks. Milwaukee is fresh from a dominant series against the Heat who they swept in 4 games. The 1st round was a continuation of their good regular season form as they won 12 times in the last 15 games. Their overall SU record now stands at 50-26. Against the spread, the Bucks are 35-41. The Nets also didn’t have much trouble in the opening round. They eliminated Boston, winning the series 4-1. The Game 3 loss was their only one in the last 10 games. Over the season, they’re 52-25 SU and 42-35 ATS. Milwaukee and Brooklyn met 3 times already this season. The Buck won twice.

Line Movement

The opening odds favored the Nets by -3.5. With most of the early action going their way, the line has moved to -4. The total opened at 241 but has dropped to 239.5 since the release.

Notes on Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks looked impressive as they swept Miami in the first round. After disappointing playoff exits in the previous two years, everyone in Milwaukee is hoping to mount a serious championship challenge this time. Against the Heat, they dominated on both ends of the floor. The Bucks recorded the best +/- statistics of all playoff teams. Their convincing offensive performance was expected as they were great on that end of the court throughout the season. They lead the league in points per game with 120.04. However, their defense was way above anything we’ve seen from them in the regular season. They kept Miami to only 98 points per 48 minutes. The biggest difference compared to the previous season is the addition of two elite defenders, Jrue Holiday and PJ Tucker. The two of them plus Giannis will be essential for their efforts to contain Brooklyn’s Big Three. The Bucks will surely miss Donte DiVincenzo who was an important part of the rotation and their second-best perimeter defender. Still, his injury opened more minutes for Bryn Forbes who had a breakout series against Miami.

Besides DiVincenzo, the only other injury worry for Milwaukee is Thanasis Antetokounmpo who isn’t part of the rotation anyway.

Notes on Brooklyn Nets

The first round showed how powerful the Nets are with all of their three stars on the court at the same time. They had almost no time together during the regular season and the Nets still finished with the best Offensive Rating in history with 117.3. With lass three available, they’re almost unstoppable. In the first round, the Nets recorded a mind-boggling Offensive Rating of 128.0. We can expect more of the same in the 2nd round as the Bucks are third from the bottom in defending the 3-point line. With the Big Three and Joe Harris, we can see the Nets being very successful from the deep. They went all-in with their small lineup as Griffin replaced Jordan in the starting 5 and it’s paying dividends. However, their chronic defensive issues are still present. They’ve allowed depleted Boston to score 112.2 points per game and had no answer for Jayson Tatum. Now they go against an elite offense led by Giannis and an extremely strong supporting cast. The question is will Brooklyn’s defense even matter with all the offensive power they possess.

Betting Pick: OVER 239.5

When two of the best offensive teams in the league meet, the OVER is a no-brainer. The total is pretty high, but both teams play at a frantic pace and feature extremely efficient offenses. In the previous three meetings, they scored 240.3 per game. Plus, the average pace was 103.1 possessions per 48 minutes. There’s no need to overthink this, go for OVER.