9:10 pm
July 6

Bucks @ Suns

Who will WIN this matchup?

Milwaukee Bucks (46-26)

@ Phoenix Suns (51-21)

 

Current odds:

Milwaukee Bucks: (+210)

Phoenix Suns: (-250)

 

• The line for this game is Suns by 5.5 points.

• Top seeds and super teams will be spectators Tuesday when the Phoenix Suns play host to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the smaller-market NBA Finals. The Suns, a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, face the No. 3 seed from the East in the Bucks, with both franchises ending long Finals droughts. Neither has been this deep in the playoffs in 28 years. Milwaukee, which has not been to the Finals since 1974, has just one title, while the Suns return to the championship round for the first time since 1993 having never won it all.

• A second NBA title for Milwaukee likely will hinge on the health of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is listed as doubtful for the opener because of a left knee injury. Antetokounmpo hyperextended the knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and has not played since. The Bucks still won the final two games of the conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks.

• The Suns have worked through their own availability issues with a superstar. Phoenix survived three playoff rounds, even as point guard Chris Paul was forced to work his way through a shoulder injury in the first round and a COVID-19 hiatus at the outset of the Western finals. Paul is back into the flow, delivering a clutch 41-point performance in the conference final-clinching victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, even with a sore right hand. Devin Booker scored 22 points and averaged 25.5 points in the series.

• Phoenix’s re-emergence was years in the making, drafting Booker and Deandre Ayton, but a championship run became realistic once Paul arrived. The Suns are the first team to make the NBA Finals after missing the playoffs in each of the previous 10 seasons.

• The Bucks’ arrival came a few years earlier, earning the Eastern Conference’s best regular-season record in 2018-19. But a Finals appearance has escaped them, and it looked as if the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets had better NBA Finals prospects this year.

• Like the Suns, the arrival of a point guard has helped the Bucks. Holiday runs the floor in Milwaukee now, helping Antetokounmpo (28.2 points, 12.7 rebounds in the playoffs) and Khris Middleton (23.4 points, 8.0 rebounds) draw within four victories of a title.

• The Suns and Bucks have met twice this season, with Phoenix winning by a point each time. The Suns earned a 125-124 victory on Feb. 10 as Antetokounmpo missed a 19-footer at the buzzer. The Suns won again 128-127 in double overtime at Milwaukee on April 19 as four Phoenix starters scored at least 20 points.

• The Suns’ Jae Crowder is the only player on either team with NBA Finals experience, playing six games in last season’s Finals with the Miami Heat.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Phoenix Suns
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