The Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks will face off in a decisive game 7 in their first round NBA playoff series. The game will take place at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday evening. The Milwaukee Bucks forced a game 7 by beating the Celtics 97-86 in game 6 in Milwaukee.
This series has featured the home team winning each game through the first six. Neither team has been able to gain momentum from game to game, and this has been an incredibly competitive series. The Celtics and Bucks are very evenly matched, and this series looked like it was going to go the distance since the beginning. The Boston Celtics are -4.5 over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Celtics Will Enjoy Home Court Advantage
In a series that is so tightly contested, Boston will have the huge advantage of playing at home in game 7. The Celtics look like a completely different team playing in front of the TD Garden crowd. Celtics forward, Marcus Smart, returned in game 5 and provided a huge boost to the Celtics, but this was not the case in game 6. Smart struggled from the field and scored just 6 points on 2-9 shooting from the field.
Celtics Rookie, Jayson Tatum has had a terrific series for the Celtics. Tatum had a team-high 22 points in their game 6 loss. The Celtics are going to have to find a way to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo in game 7 if they want to advance. Look for Smart and Semi Ojeleye to spend most of the game chasing him around. The Celtics will need be play much better in game 7 if they want to advance.
How Far Can Giannis Take the Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks will only go as far as Giannis Antetokounmpo can take them, but at times it appears that he will take them far. The “Greek Freak” scored 31 points and had 14 rebounds in their game 6 win. When Antetokounmpo is playing well, the rest of the Bucks roster seems to get a confidence boost.
One Bucks players that doesn’t need a confidence boost, is Khris Middleton. Middleton has played great in his supporting role of Antetokounmpo all series and is averaging 23.5 points per game in this series. If these two players are on top of their games in game 7, the Bucks have an excellent chance to advance.
Boston Too Strong at Home
The Boston Celtics had a terrific regular season and are rewarded with game 7 being played in Boston. The home crowd will be electric, and the Celtics play much better and much harder in their own arena. Look for Marcus Smart to make huge plays early on and the rest of the team will follow his lead.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is able to dominate this series, but unfortunately sometimes is too passive. The Bucks need him to be aggressive in game 7, and they need someone else besides Middleton to have a great game. Look for the “Greek Freak” to have a great game on Saturday, but the Celtics will get just enough stops to survive. Boston gets the edge in game 7 simply because they are the home team. Take the Boston Celtics -4.5 on Saturday.
