The Eastern Conference is set of the semifinals, but as of now, only one series with get started this weekend. That series being the 3-seed, Milwaukee Bucks against the 2-seed, Brooklyn Nets. A matchup of the two scoring teams in the league from the regular season, Milwaukee (120 pts) and Brooklyn (118.6 pts). Both teams advance into the next round pretty quickly against two disappointing and underachieving teams in to the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
This series puts the two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo against the Big Three of the Nets in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Both teams have good to great supporting cast surrounding the stars which makes this series intriguing to watch closely.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks coming off Memorial Weekend feeling good about themselves. Sweeping the defending Eastern Conference Champs, Miami Heat swiftly and dominantly. Even though Miami has a disappointment, Milwaukee looks good. The Bucks have balance scoring and grit defensively which both got improved with the addition of Jrue Holiday from New Orleans, Bryn Forbes from San Antonio, and PJ Tucker from Houston.
The Bucks dominated the Heat after winning Game 1 in Overtime off a Khris Middleton jumper with 0.5 seconds left in the game. Milwaukee won Game 2 by 36, Game 3 by 29, and Game 4 by 17. Straight domination by the Bucks over the Heat. That is a 82-point difference from Game 2 to Game 4 for the Bucks.
Now the Bucks did not leave the Heat series unscathed though, the lost of Donte DiVincenzo to a torn ligament in his left ankle could be a big impact going forward especially against their next opponent.
Brooklyn Nets
The favorites to come out of the East and favorites to win the Finals have advance to the East Semis in swift fashion. The Brooklyn Nets looked good with Big Three intact against the Boston Celtics. It took the Nets five games to do so but nevertheless they did it swiftly.
Beside a 50-point game from Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart chipping in 23 points in Game 3 in a Boston win, the Nets dominated this series. Averaging 124.4 points in the Boston series so the fire power the Nets have and what it will take to beat them.
The Big Three combined to average 85.2 points per game in the Boston series. Kevin Durant 32.6, James Harden 27.8, and Kyrie Irving 24.8 PPG. All three shot around 50% or better in the series which just mind blowing.
Next up is a Milwaukee team who is relative healthy beside that DiVincenzo injury mentioned earlier with a more motivated Giannis coming to Brooklyn.
Matchups to Watch
Giannis vs. Kevin Durant
Jrue Holiday vs. Kyrie Irving
Khris Middleton vs. James Harden
Defensive Grit vs. Fire-Power Offense
My Predictions: Brooklyn Nets in 7
Game 1: Saturday, June 5 7:30PM on TNT
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