It’s the team with the best regular season record in the league against the playoff team with the worst this coming Sunday, as the Detroit Pistons, who barely made it to the postseason, will take on the Milwaukee Bucks (+600 to win the NBA title). The Bucks’ transformation from a middle-of-the-pack team to a serious contender in just one season is amazing to say the least, but they still have yet to prove they can dominate in the playoffs. Will the Pistons shock Milwaukee in Game 1? Or will the Bucks torch Detroit (+75,000) right out of the gate?
The Pistons will go as far in the playoffs as where the duo of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond takes them. Griffin’s versatility gives Detroit plenty possibilities on offense, though, he will have to take his game to the next level if he is to lead the Pistons into upsetting Milwaukee. The Pistons have lost all four meetings with Milwaukee this season, though, they were very competitive in a 107-104 defeat at home back in December. The immediate concern now for Detroit is the health of Griffin, who missed Detroit’s regular season finale – a 115-89 road win over the New York Knicks – because of a left knee issue. His injury’s timing is awful to for the Pistons to say the least. If he can’t go or isn’t 100 percent by the time Game 1 kicks off, the Pistons may be forced to start Thon Maker again. Griffin averaged 24.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists against Milwaukee this season, while Drummond had double-double numbers of 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Detroit is 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last four road games.
Betting on the Milwaukee Bucks (60-22)
Giannis Antetokounmpo will look to pummel Detroit once again – this time in the playoffs. The Greek Freak has tormented the Pistons repeatedly in the regular season. In the four times Milwaukee played the Pistons this season thus far, Antetokounmpo averaged 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists. Detroit doesn’t seem to have any solid answer for Antetokounmpo, as evidenced by the fact that the MVP candidate shot 58.3 percent from the field against the Pistons. But that kind of shooting efficiency also goes for the entire Bucks team. Milwaukee made 52.4 percent of their shots against Detroit. Defensively, the Bucks appear to have the tools to cripple Drummond and the Pistons’ inside game. The Bucks finished the regular season having allowed the fewest points in the paint per game with just 42.2. Their defense is arguably the best in the league, as Milwaukee has limited opponents to a league-worst 43.3 percent shooting from the field. On offense, the excellent spacing brought mostly by the Bucks’ outside shooting should keep Detroit sweating on defense all game/series long. Milwaukee dropped 13.5 3-pointers per game back in the regular season.
