The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers are set to meet up on Thursday night for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Playoff series. This has been a thrilling series up to this point, and another win by the Bucks will force a decisive Game 7.
Milwaukee has been dealing with a ton of adversity during this series, but they picked up a blowout win in Game 5. The Bucks now have to prove that they can win a game on the road, and they could get some players back.
Indiana missed out on a great opportunity to end the series in just five games, but they will now get a chance at home. The Pacers are a perfect 2-0 at home in this series, but one of those wins did come in overtime.
The Indiana Pacers are coming into this game as a 7.5-point betting favorite, and the over/under line is set at 215.5 total points.
Bucks Want to Defend
The Milwaukee Bucks just won a game without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, and they got it done with defense. Those two players could make a return on Thursday night, but the Bucks are going to want to play the exact same way.
The Bucks have held the Pacers to 94 points or fewer in their two wins in this series, and that is going to be a key moving forward. Milwaukee does have the offensive talent to win when fully healthy, but they just don’t have all of their weapons.
Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis each had 29 points in the Game 5 win, and those two players will need to step up in a big way again for the Bucks to move on.
Pacers Play With Pace
The Indiana Pacers were the highest scoring team in the NBA during the regular season, but the offense has been inconsistent in this series. Indiana wants to score over 120 points per game, but at some point this team must get stops.
Tyrese Haliburton has not been shooting the ball well in this series, and he is going to have to find a way to get going on offense. Pascal Siakam is scoring 23 points per game in this series, and he is giving the Bucks some problems.
Indiana should have a big night on offense in this game, but it’s going to take a great defensive effort to take control of this game as well.
Bucks Battle; Pacers Advance
This is a matchup of two teams that do not like each other, and that should create some great action on Thursday night. The Bucks could be getting two of their star players back in this game, but there is a threat of being a bit rusty.
The Pacers are a team that takes a ton of shots from deep, and they will be able to shoot the ball well on their home floor. Look for Indiana to get just enough stops to take control of this game, and playing at home is going to help.
Take the 7.5 points and bet on the Milwaukee Bucks to cover the spread in Game 6, but the Indiana Pacers will advance to the Second Round.
