In one of the most anticipated series of the entire NBA Playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Saturday, June 5. The game tips at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, when the Bucks will look to go out there and steal home-court advantage early.
Will Milwaukee find a way to win the opener? Find out in our Bucks vs. Nets picks and predictions.
Bucks vs Nets game info
• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Date: Saturday, June 5, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
Bucks vs Nets odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NBA Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonBrooklyn, long the favorite to win the NBA championship, opened -3.5 at TwinSpires Sportsbook and is out to -4 at 6 p.m. ET for Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal. The Nets are attracting 57 percent of spread tickets, while the Bucks are taking 53 percent of spread cash. "We're split down the middle. Great two-way action," TwinSpires trading analyst Zachary Lucas said. The total is up a point to 240, with 80 percent of tickets/77% of money on the Over. "We're rooting for the Under," Lucas said.
Check out the full line movement for this gameBucks vs Nets series odds
Bucks: +175
Nets: -227
Bucks vs Nets betting preview
Injuries
Bucks: G Donte DiVincenzo (out)
Nets: G Spencer Dinwiddie (out), F Jeff Green (out)
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Nets are 6-0 ATS in their last six home games. Find more NBA betting trends for Bucks vs. Nets.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
With Donte DiVincenzo out for the series, things are going to be a lot more difficult on the Bucks. With DiVincenzo in the lineup, Milwaukee could have put Jrue Holiday on Kyrie Irving, DiVincenzo on James Harden and Khris Middleton on Kevin Durant, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo in something of a free safety role that wouldn’t have been too taxing on him. Keeping the Greek Freak fresh enough to shoulder a massive offensive load would have been a real luxury for the Bucks, but he’ll now have to chase around Durant, with Middleton sliding down and guarding Harden. That last matchup is not good one for Milwaukee.
Harden is a lot quicker than Middleton, which creates a huge advantage for Brooklyn. Look for the lefty to throw it back to his Houston days a bit, as he can swing this thing in the Nets favor by lighting up the Bucks as a scorer. Harden’s unselfishness has been an asset for Brooklyn all season, but he’d be wise to dial it back a bit and just focus on scoring. Holiday is one of the best defenders in all of basketball, so it won’t be all that easy for Irving to get his isolation buckets. That’s not to say that he won’t be able to do it at all, but it makes a little bit of sense for Irving to be a little less of a pure scorer than he was during the regular season. Having said that, both of them should be able to cook Milwaukee in pick-and-roll situations when Brook Lopez is the Bucks center. Lopez likes to drop back on defense, which gives all of the Nets scorers some nice opportunities in the mid-range area.
The Bucks will eventually have to roll out some lineups with Antetokounmpo and P.J. Tucker as the team’s two big men. However, they will surely give Lopez a chance to earn his keep before making that adjustment. That’s why Brooklyn should have an advantage early in the series. The Nets are so talented that they can just roll out the ball and play a pick-up style, and the Bucks are going to need some time to figure it out.
PREDICTION: Nets -3.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
This series is absolutely loaded with elite offensive talent, but both of these groups know the importance of getting stops on the other end. And while there will surely be quite a few track meets between these teams, this total just seems far too high for the opener.
During the regular season, both of the games these teams played against one another went Under the total, and this one is going to have playoff intensity. Look for both of them to lock in and try to focus on being smart defensively. For what it’s worth, five of the last seven games Brooklyn has played would have gone Under this number, and the same goes for seven of the last eight Milwaukee games.
PREDICTION: Under 239.5 (-110)
Player prop pick
Harden was likely going to see a lot of DiVincenzo in this series, and that would have been a somewhat difficult matchup for him. Instead, we’ll likely see Holiday spending a lot of time on Irving, and that could mean that Brooklyn will turn to Harden as a scorer in this one.
As mentioned earlier, if Middleton ends up being the one that checks Harden, the lefty is going to blow by him frequently. And considering Lopez likes to play in drop coverage, Harden will have a ton of opportunities to get to his floater in pick-and-roll situations. He also has the quickness to create a ton of separation from Middleton with his step-back jumper. Harden has been more of a point guard since arriving in Brooklyn, but the Nets are going to need him to score a lot of points in this series. Don’t be surprised if he scores 30 or so in the opener.
PREDICTION: James Harden Over 26.5 Points (-118)
Bucks vs Nets betting card
- Nets -3.5 (-110)
- Under 239.5 (-110)
- James Harden Over 26.5 Points (-118)
Picks made on 6/5/2021 at 1:45 a.m. ET
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