NBA Mid-Season Eastern Conference Playoff Predictions: Sixers make surprising ECF run
By Matt Sidney
First round: 2nd seed Milwaukee Bucks vs. 7th seed Indiana Pacers
In regards to the recent firing of former head coach Adrian Griffin, please insert the lyrics from Disney Channel's Out of the Box's, Goodbye song, "So long, farewell, to you my friends. Goodbye for now, until we meet again." So long, farewell to Adrian Griffin and welcome back to the NBA coaching sphere, Doc Rivers.
What an interesting move halfway through the season. Griffin went 30-13 at the helm but ultimately was not getting the job done well enough to keep his job. The Bucks will be fine. They are still a formidable force and will continue to be, come playoff time. Damian Lillard's offensive impact is surely felt, however, so is the absence of Jrue Holiday's defense. Regardless, this team is just too darn good around Giannis Antetokounmpo to fall out of second place in the standings.
Their offense is humming, and their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Luckily their first-round matchup is not known to be much of a defensive stalwart itself in the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are a lot of fun to watch. They put up points with the best of them. This series is going to have many high-scoring affairs, which will make the watchability very high. In fact, the Pacers own a 4-1 record against the Bucks this year.
The Pacers recently made a move for former Champion, two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam, which will help the team on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, when going up against the Bucks, this won't matter too much. The Bucks are more experienced and come playoff time, who is going to stop Giannis? Aside from Giannis, the Bucks will take advantage of the youth of the Pacers and get Dame into switches that present great mismatches.
Come playoff time, it is all about the matchups. And contrary to the regular season record of 1-4 against the Pacers, I believe the Bucks will have better efforts in the playoffs. While these two offensive juggernauts will clash with all of their might, the Bucks just have a bit more. For that reason, we're going with the Bucks taking care of business here.
Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks win 4-2