The last week of the NBA regular season is finally upon us, and just a few games remain to decide the playoff matchups for the next month and a half, one of which sees the Milwaukee Bucks host the Boston Celtics tonight. Boston have all but wrapped up the Eastern Conference, and are – according to some – the favorites to win the Finals this year. The Bucks have had a 15-17 record since Doc Rivers was appointed as head coach, and will certainly need to improve, especially on the defensive side of things, if they are to make a deep postseason run after last year’s disappointing first-round exit to the Miami Heat. The pressure in this game is all on the Bucks, but with Giannis and Lillard finally healthy and available at the same time, can they upset the Celtics and instill a degree of fear in their Eastern Conference rivals? Its tough to see a way the Bukcs could win this matchup, especially when we consider they’ve only won one of the last seven games. A positive aspect for the Bucks is the fact that they very narrowly lost to Boston on March 20th with Giannis out through injury.
The Bucks need a win, as their last four games this season are against tough opposition: after hosting Boston, Milwaukee still needs to face Orlando twice and the OKC Thunder who are in the hunt for top spot in the Western Conference.What makes this end of the season even more interesting is that the Orlando Magic, along with the New York Knicks, currently sit just one game behind the Bucks. And whoever gets that coveted second place has the certainly of not facing Boston until the Conference Finals, if everything aligns perfectly. That means the Bucks need to get in shape and focus defensively, and they need to do it quickly: one loss could derail their season’s ambitions by dropping them down the standings. Then again, if they finish in second, that may well mean facing Miami Heat or the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, two very tough prospects. Either way, the Bucks will have a tough postseason, and winning this game could do a lot of good for the entire team’s morale after some disappointing losses to the likes of Memphis, Toronto and Washington, before another home loss to the Knicks a couple days ago.
On the flip side, Boston will want to finish the season strongly and get into the playoff groove as soon as possible. Jayson Tatum and company have made deep runs in every season these past three years, but have never achieved the ultimate goa of winning a championship. This may well be their best chance yet, as the only team that could stack up in a seven game series is the Denver Nuggets (to whom they lost to twice during the regular season), and with such a stacked Western Conference, who knows if the Nuggets will even get that far this time around. I predict an intense and free flowing game – if both teams play their actual starting five. Giannis to have over 27.5 points (1.89) is great value for money, as Porzingis likely won’t have the necessary physicality to keep him out of the paint. Overall, however, even though the game is in Milwaukee, I still have to give Boston the edge in this one. As the green war commences tonight, who will these sides face off in the playoffs next week? We’ll just have to wait and see.
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Milwaukee Bucks to Win – 2.15
Boston Celtics to Win – 1.74
