NBA Playoff Betting Picks May 6 – Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics

Written by:
Phil Simon
Published on:
May/06/2019

He’s probably going to win the NBA’s MVP award and Giannis Antetokounmpo showed why he is deserving of the honor leading the Milwaukee Bucks to consecutive wins after dropping the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

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The Bucks can take a commanding lead in the series with a win on Monday night at the Garden unless the Boston Celtics figure out a way to stop the Greek Freak, which for the most part they’ve been unable to do.

Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics

Date and Time: Monday, May 6, 2019, 7 p.m. ET

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Opening NBA Odds: Boston -1.5, O/U 222

Bucks at Celtics TV Coverage: TNT

Odds Analysis

What happened to the Bucks in Game 1 of this series? The NBA’s most efficient offensive team during the regular season went into a funk and produced just 90 points, their lowest by far in the playoffs and their fewest against the Celtics this season. Quickly figuring out what to do, the Bucks dropped 123 points in each of the next two games and they’ve scored at least 119 points in six of their seven postseason games. That kind of production has led to the Bucks cashing the over in five of those games.

The Celtics haven’t been able to duplicate the success they had in the opener when they held the Bucks to 34.8 percent shooting and won by 22 points. But nobody said beating the best team in the league was going to be easy. One thing the Cs can do to improve their chances of leveling the series is avoid fouling Antetokounmpo, which is easier said than done. Giannis went to the line 22 times in Game 3 and the Celtics voiced their displeasure over the officiating afterwards. We’ll see what happens on Monday, but I doubt Antetokounmpo will get 22 freebies.

Bucks

Following their Game 1 setback, the Bucks said they didn’t need to change anything except their aggressiveness and execution. A timid performance saw the Bucks shoot just 34.8 percent and go 13 of 39 from deep. The result was an ugly 112-90 loss. Better accuracy the next time out prevented the Bucks from falling into a 0-2 hole with Antetokounmpo scoring 29 points hitting 13 of 18 free throws.

Seeing how effective they can be against the Celtics with their aggressive style, the Bucks continued to work in Game 3. With Antetokounmpo continuously pounding the paint, the Celtics had no answer but to foul the presumptive MVP, resulting in 22 free throw attempts. The Freak made 16 tries and flirted with a triple-double posting 32 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. And when he gets help like in Game 3, the Bucks are tough to beat. George Hill dropped 21 points in 29 minutes and the Bucks got 42 points off the bench.

Celtics

Slowing down Antetokounmpo is a priority, but the Celtics aren’t going to win if their scorers continue to have trouble putting the basketball through the hoop. Kyrie Irving scored 26 points on 12 of 21 shooting in Game 1 but went a combined 12 of 40 from the floor in Games 2 and 3. Irving totaled 29 points on Friday hitting 8 of 22 shots. He shouldn’t complain too harshly about the officiating since he hit 11 of 12 free throws in that contest.

The Celtics could be bolstered by the return of Marcus Smart, who is getting close to returning after missing an extended period of time. One of Boston’s better defenders, Smart will help on the wing where the Bucks have been effective from distance. His return will also help Boston’s bench, which was outscored 42-16 in Game 3. Gordon Hayward has endured struggles as well going 3 of 13 from the field in the last two games.

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As much as Irving and the Celtics complained about the fouls in Game 3, Boston attempted just four fewer free throws and scored six more points at the stripe. Milwaukee countered by shooting over 50 percent from the field overall and 40.6 percent form deep. That was enough to overcome the difference at the line. Boston’s 17 turnovers also led to easy buckets at the other end and the Cs were outscored by 28 points in the paint. Irving wants to be the leader and now is the time for him to lead. I expect Boston to get some calls on Monday, leading to a victory.

NBA Playoff Score Prediction: Celtics 112, Bucks 109

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