Experts in Unanimous Agreement on Outcome of Bucks-Pacers Series

The Milwaukee Bucks enter the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, facing off with the Indiana Pacers in the first round, who they lost to last year.

The Bucks didn’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo last year because he was out with an injury, so things will be different this year, but they also won’t have Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. Lillard is reportedly out to start the playoffs with an injury, and Middleton was swapped for Kyle Kuzma in a trade.

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That means that many NBA experts are imagining this year’s series will go similarly to last year’s.

According to the NBA experts from CBS Sports, the Pacers are the clear winning team, with all seven of them picking the Pacers to beat the Bucks. They also all had the Cleveland Cavaliers beating the Pacers in the second round.

While it is understandable all of the experts picked the higher-seeded team, it is surprising that not one of them decided to believe in the team that has the best player in the series. Giannis has led the Bucks to a championship before, so he is certainly capable of winning a series single-handedly.

In what is a matchup with a one-seed difference, it would be expected that predictions would be closer, but it seems in general way more belief is towards the Pacers. The people who do believe in the Bucks’ chances seem to be the more casual NBA fans who don’t know the players on the Pacers as well, and only really know Giannis as an MVP candidate.

Based on advanced stats, the Bucks were actually the better team during the regular season. Their net rating is slightly higher than the Pacers, with a 2.4 net rating compared to a 2.1 rating.

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The Bucks have a slight advantage defensively over the Pacers with a 112.7 net rating compared to a 113.3 net rating. That advantage could be even greater with Damian Lillard being out, who helps the team’s offense tremendously but hurts the team on defense.

While more people believe in the Pacers, understandably, it is surprising there aren’t more people who believe in the possibility of Giannis carrying the team on offense and the defense stepping up its game on defense. The Pacers are a much deeper, well-balanced team, but any time a team has the best player in the series, they have a chance to win.

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