NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks

NBA Basketball

2024-04-21 - Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks
United States : NBA Basketball PlayOffs First Round Game 1
Sunday 21st April 2024 - Scheduled 7pm
12am (British Time)

---

Preview

This was supposed to be a season in which the Milwaukee Bucks were going to be able to challenge for the NBA Championship once again.

Signing Damian Lillard to pair him with Giannis Antetokounmpo after the hugely disappointing First Round PlayOff exit was supposed to take the Bucks much further, but it has been an up and down season.

Firing a first year Head Coach just mere months into the season, despite a solid enough record, and hiring Doc Rivers has not exactly sparked the Bucks. A defeat on the final day of the regular season saw Milwaukee slip out of the Number 2 Seed and into this tough looking First Round Series against the Indiana Pacers.

To make matters worse, Antetokounmpo is set to miss Game 1 of this Series and there is a real concern that Milwaukee could be without their best player for considerably longer. That will be tough to overcome, especially as the Bucks have not matched up well with the Indiana Pacers already this season.

They missed the PlayOffs last season, but the Indiana Pacers have played really well this season and Tyrese Haliburton is a genuine star in the making.

Four wins in their last five games have seen the Pacers hold off the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat for a top six spot in the Eastern Conference, while they have won four of the five regular season games against Milwaukee.

The Pacers have won two of three games on the road against the Bucks and they are a very trendy pick to cause one of the upsets of the First Round by working their way into the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.

Momentum is certainly with the Pacers and they are a team that will know how to beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

With the main player out for the home team, this looks a huge opportunity for the Indiana Pacers to at least steal away home court advantage in this First Round Series and they can do that with a win in Game 1.

Prediction

Lay the points with the surprising favourite in Game 1 of this Series.

The Pick :

Milwaukee Bucks 112-116 Indiana Pacers

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Indiana Pacers - 1 Point at -110 with Bovada