Eastern Conference Semifinals Betting Preview: Boston vs. Milwaukee

Eastern Conference semifinals

Milwaukee vs. Boston

Boston is having an outstanding season and they just swept a very talented Brooklyn Nets’ squad. Jayson Tatum is becoming a superstar on both ends of the floor. He’s averaging 29.5 points and 7.3 assists in the playoffs, while shooting 45.6% from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc. The big question for Boston is who will defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 32.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Bucks’ two wins over Boston. He did not play Nov. 12 and Boston won 122-113. Another issue for the Celtics is their second-leading scorer Jaylen Brown, who has a hamstring issue. Brown is averaging 22.5 points and 4.3 assists on 49.3% shooting in the playoffs. He will play in Game 1, but will not be 100%. Fortunately, the Celtics have one of the premier defenses in the league led by 6-3 guard Marcus Smart (16.5ppg playoffs), who was named Defensive Player of the Year for the first time. With Robert Williams III (10ppg, 9.6rpg, 2.2bpg in regular season) back from injury, the Cs are deep and long. Whether they can overcome Milwaukee’s tremendous size is another issue.

The Bucks come into this series after beating up on Chicago in five games. The Bucks were fortunate that Chicago did not have point guard Lonzo Ball and wound up losing guards Alex Caruso and Zach LaVine in Game 5. But the Bucks had their own issues as they lost forward Khris Middleton to a knee injury and he will miss this series. Middleton averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 assists in two games in the Chicago series before injuring his knee. Milwaukee decided to go big with Middleton out as 6-11 Bobby Portis started alongside 7-0 Brook Lopez and 6-11 Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 27.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists on 53.4% shooting in the playoffs. Grayson Allen has been the wild card here, averaging 13 points on 61.1% three-point shooting coming off the bench. The concern is that bench as they only go seven players, though 6-10 Serge Ibaka and point guard Jevon Carter should see more action along with Allen and Pat Connaughton. Ibaka will probably see some time on Tatum along with Jrue Holiday, who is one of the top defenders in the league.

This should be an excellent series, but the value here is on the defending champ Milwaukee Bucks. They have the size and experience. They are an unselfish team and the best player on the floor in Antetokounmpo. Portis and Allen can make them forget about Middleton for just one series.

(odds from Draft Kings)

Series Price: Take Milwaukee +175

Series Correct Score:

Milwaukee 4-2 +500

Series Total Games:

6 games +210