Both the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks cruised past their first round opponents and are set to play each other in the second round. The Bucks were able to get their revenge against the the Miami Heat in a 4-0 sweep. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and others stepped up and played great. Both offensively and defensively they can give any team in the league fits. They are a better team this year and better prepared for the playoffs. The addition of role players P.J. Tucker and Bryn Forbes has been extremely beneficial to the Bucks and gives them a better opportunity to beat a team like the Nets.
Despite how great they are, the Bucks have a tall task ahead of them as the Nets look almost impossible to beat if they are fully healthy. Durant is averaging 32.6 points, Harden is averaging 27.8 points and 10.6 assists and Irving has been averaging 24.8 points for the playoffs so far. Not to mention they even have one of the best 3-point shooters in the league in Joe Harris. The two teams played each other three times in the regular season which saw the Bucks win the season series 2-1. Nets won the first matchup 125-123 without Kyrie Irving and the Bucks won the last two games while the Nets where missing Harden.
Having said all that, if there’s a team that can upset the Nets it would be the Bucks and 76ers because both teams have a player that the Nets just can’t guard in Joel Embiid and Giannis. In the three games Giannis played against the Nets he averaged 39.6 points. If they can manage to make one of the Nets stars inefficient, they have a chance of upsetting them. Although the Nets cruised past the Celtics we must also keep in mind that Harden, Durant and Irving, haven’t even played 15 games together yet, so it’s possible that could be an issue for them when they play against the upper echelon teams.
The series is set to begin on Saturday, June 5th and I believe it’s a series that will go 7 games barring injury.
Stats Provided by NBA.com