Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks Betting Preview/Player Prop
13 June 2021
The Nets dominated the first two games of this series, and they have been dominant throughout the playoffs as well. Brooklyn might only be the number two seed in the East, but they are the clear favorites to win the division.
Milwaukee was able to pick up an 86-83 win in Game 3 of the series, and the Bucks have to protect their home floor. The Bucks have plenty of recent playoff experience, but all of those trips have ended up in disappointment.
The Brooklyn Nets are 2.5-point favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon.
Dynamic Duo Leading Nets
With James Harden out of the lineup due to injury, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been leading the way for the Nets. Brooklyn doesn’t have a ton of depth on the roster, but they have enough talent to give their stars some support.
Kevin Durant is averaging 31.8 points per game so far in these playoffs, and Kyrie Irving has chipped in with over 24 points per game. The Nets are going to need Harden back to win the NBA Championship, but they can win this series without him.
Brooklyn has also been a much better defensive team in the postseason, and they have frustrated the explosive Milwaukee Bucks. Even though the Nets suffered a loss in Game 3, holding the Bucks to just 86 points is a great effort.
Bucks Need More Scoring
The Bucks led the NBA with 120 points per game during the regular season, but things have started to tighten up in the postseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still leading the way, but Milwaukee is not able to get easy buckets in transition.
Antetokounmpo leads the team with 25.6 points and 13.7 rebounds per game, and he has been known to carry his team in the playoffs. Milwaukee has also been getting great play from Khris Middleton, and those two stars did nearly all of the scoring in Game 3.
Milwaukee will need another great defensive effort on Sunday, but they can also take control by making shots. The Bucks are shooting just 29 percent from deep in the playoffs, and that’s not good enough to get it done.
Brooklyn Picks up Big Win
Even though Brooklyn is playing without James Harden, this team still has enough talent to win it all. The Nets can really score, but they have also been playing terrific defense in this series.
Milwaukee was able to pick up a win in Game 3 even though only two of the players really showed up. That is a recipe for disaster in Game 4 on Sunday, and it’s hard to see the Bucks playing well enough to win again.
Milwaukee was able to get back in the series in Game 3, but that will just have the Nets hungry and focused for this game. The Brooklyn Nets are winning this game comfortably, and betting on them at -2.5 is clearly the smart play.
Player Prop
Kyrie Irving (-113) Over 28.5 Points
Bruce Brown attracted much of the attention after Game 3 for failing to pass to Irving or Kevin Durant for a potential game-winning shot. In the case of Irving, it was the cap on what had been a disappointing performance.
Despite tying his high in the postseason with 45 minutes, the 29-year-old guard scored only 22 points – 2 points below his playoff average this season and nearly 5 points below his regular season average. His 40.9 percent shooting average (9-of-22 from the field; 2-of-8 from beyond the arc) was his lowest since connecting on just 35.3 percent in a 16-point effort against the Celtics in Game 3 of that series.
It should be noted that was the Nets only other loss in the postseason. And it served as a wake-up call for Irving as he rebounded in Game 4 with a postseason-high 39 points while shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range.
Irving certainly knows how to exploit Milwaukee’s defense as he averaged 29.0 points in their two regular-season contests, including a 38-point outburst against the Bucks in Milwaukee on May 4. We like Irving (-113) to put together a similar game today and go over 28.5 points.
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