THE NBA is back and we tip-off the season with a replay – and possibly a preview – of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Milwaukee Bucks welcome the Brooklyn Nets into what will be a rocking Fiserv Forum Arena for opening night. The Nets will be looking to exact revenge after they came within literal inches (shoutout KD and his oversized shoes) of clinching an Eastern Conference Final birth when the sides last met.
The Bucks have been regular season juggernauts for the better part of the last five seasons under Coach Budenholzer, and that trend isn’t going anywhere in 2021/22. The often maligned head coach has had the Bucks run one of the most efficient offences in the league by dominating opponents in the paint, while still being able to score the ball effectively at all three levels. In their matchups last season, and as we saw in the playoffs, scoring in the paint and their advantage on the boards was a big reason why the Bucks were able to overcome the Nets.
For the most part, Milwaukee will welcome back a large core of their championship team and this continuity on the roster is a huge positive at the start of a new season. Throw in the additions of rotational guards such as Grayson Allen, George Hill, Rodney Hood, the eventual return of Donte Divincenzo and we are looking at a formidable regular season team that has added a lot of depth, scoring options and facilitation.
Brooklyn will be without star guard Kyrie Irving but the perks of having the most talented roster in the NBA is that there are plenty of competent replacement pieces to take the court beside the other two All Star, MVP caliber players in Kevin Durant and James Harden.
This team had little trouble navigating the regular season in their first attempt together and I would very much expect that to be the case once again.
The Nets are the undeniable favourites to win the title, and deservedly so, but the Bucks give them problems in areas not many other teams are capable of doing. Milwaukee are a clear tier above anyone else in the East outside of the Nets so it’s hard to have them valued so far off Brooklyn – especially on their home floor.
Both teams match up fairly well across the court but the biggest thing that will likely determine this one come tip-off will be the re-introduction of crowds; which in turn, will bring back a friendly home-court whistle.
Much has been made of the impact of fans (or lack there of) over the past two seasons. As much as assume a favourable whistle will provide advantage to the home team, it’s probably more important to note that fans in the seats will likely correlate with road teams showing offensive regression on what they put forth last season.
My Power Ratings show the Bucks as 2.5 point favourites here with home court now relevant again and I expect them to put their best foot forward on ring night against the team that everyone is saying is “the best team in the east”.
Our best bet: Milwaukee Bucks win
