Bucks – Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in the Eastern Conference playoffs, with the Celtics having the chance to close the series as they are up 3-2 in this first round matchup.

The Bucks (44-38, 25-16 in regular season) had a chance to steal home court advantage away from the Celtics in the last game, but eventually they lost another close game in Boston, 87-92. The Bucks played reasonably well in this series but in all honesty they were expected to do better against a shorthanded Celtics team. They were not able to win on the road, so now they need to win this Game 6 at home in order to give themselves another chance.

The Celtics (55-27, 28-13 away) entered the playoffs without their two best players, Hayward and Irving, both our for the season. Role players Theis and Smart (who came back in Game 5) were also out, so nobody expected much of the Celtics in this postseason. However, Boston played some excellent team basketball and was very resilient at home, managing to take this 3-2 lead and now having two chances to close the series out.

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Team news: The Bucks have John Henson doubtful, while the Celtics will continue to miss Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis, but they did get back Marcus Smart in the previous game and he will be ready to play again.

This has been a close series, with home court advantage being decisive in each of the games, as neither team was able to win on the road so far. Looking at this Game 6, chances are it could follow the same scenario.

A well known fact in the NBA is that role players are much better at home than away, especially in the playoffs, and that has proved more than true in this series. Since there is only one superstar on the court, Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo, the performance of the role players is huge for both teams, and as expected they have played better at home.

Antetokounmpo is the best player on the floor by far, but his poor supporting cast was not enough for him to lead the Bucks to a road win. However, at home, when other guys are hitting some shots as well, the Bucks were able to do the job.

I expect a similar outcome this time around, with the well coached Celtics playing great team basketball, but with Milwaukee coming on top due to another huge night by Antetokounmpo, who should get some help by his supporting cast at home.

Most games in this series have been pretty close, so I`d rather stick with the simple bet on the home win as opposed to backing a handicap. My tip is the Bucks to win. Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks – Boston Celtics 105 – 98.

Pick: Bucks
Odds: 1.58 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.64
Event date: 26 April