Every day during the NBA Playoffs, The Athletic’s NBA writers will make their picks straight up. We put our picks and all series coverage, plus the latest odds, all in one place for fans to easily digest and follow. Our in-depth coverage from every team is linked below the picks. If you’d like a free year of The Athletic (or an extension!), BetMGM is running a special offer, which also includes $100 in bonus bets.
Game 5 – Milwaukee Bucks (-3) at Brooklyn Nets
Total: 218.5
GAME 4: BUCKS 107, NETS 96
Series: Tied 2-2
The biggest news from Game 4 in this series revolves around another injury. Kyrie Irving left the game halfway through the second quarter when he landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot. He would not return and is expected to miss Game 5, and possibly the rest of the series.
Most people don’t seem to be entertaining the idea that James Harden could return from his hamstring injury anytime soon, so that leaves the Nets in a best-of-three series with the Bucks moving forward, and two of their three stars may not even be available. This would be more manageable if Spencer Dinwiddie were healthy, but his knee isn’t likely to be ready for action until the NBA Finals at the very earliest.
Giannis dominated this game when he was around the basket, leading everybody with 34 points and 12 rebounds. PJ Tucker continued playing really good defense on Kevin Durant for the second straight game, and we saw Durant’s efficiency dip as the only star left on the team. He finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, but he couldn’t generate enough offense to overcome the Milwaukee attack. The Bucks starters alone combined for 86 points, just 10 off the Nets’ entire team total.
NBA Playoffs picks records
| Record | |
|---|---|
|
Sam Vecenie |
43-19 |
|
Ethan Strauss |
39-22 |
|
Richard Deitsch |
40-23 |
|
Seth Partnow |
38-25 |
NBA Playoffs
NBA Power Rankings: Who are the biggest title threats left in the playoffs?
NBA Playoff Betting Guide: Daily picks, odds, team rankings and win probabilities
Scores & schedule | NBA podcasts | Complete NBA coverage
(Photo of Giannis Antetokounmpo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images; The Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through links contained in the above article.)
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