Milwaukee vs Indiana is a good test for both sides.
I am interested to see is Milwaukee on the same level as Indy and NY Knicks or are the Bucks on a higher level than these two teams. I think they are but I am not 100% convinced yet.
I am still scarred by that MIL vs IND playoff series last year when Indy had no reliable shot-creator when things got tight. Nobody they could just give to and say "go get me a bucket". That has not changed.
I still feel IND will tighten up and struggle against the top teams in the East in a playoff series. They do well when the game is nice and open. Uptempo and with good movement. They still struggle when the game slows down and you have to play more one-on-one play. If not for injuries, MIL would have won that series last year -- to my surprise, I thought Indy would run them off the court but they couldn't force & maintain the pace, MIL slowed them down effectively.
I trust the one-on-one play of Lillard & Giannis much more so than Haliburton or Siakam.
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Interesting to also note that it is a 2pt game at halftime in favour of Indiana in Indiana .... while Jericho Sims (backup big) is a -9 in his short minutes. In the playoffs, they will be replacing Sims with Bobby Portis. MIL will be better in the playoffs than they are right now without B Portis.
J Sims is an earnest hustle guy but he has no offensive game and is mediocre defensively. He is not a rotation player in the NBA. He is at best a 3rd string center and even that is questionable. I root for him always because I love his hustle and rebounding ... but he is not a guy you want to be relying on as a rotation player on any team nevermind a playoff team. B Portis is a huge upgrade over him.
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Bucks vs Pacers looks the only good game tonight.
Cavs are missing D Mitchell and are losing to Brooklyn. The other guys aren't stepping up in his absence. I think he gets under-rated in terms of everything he has done for that team this season.
