The chance of stealing Game 1 slipped through the fingers of the Toronto Raptors vs the Milwaukee Bucks and now they’ll have to regroup if they want to even the series tonight in Game 2. The Raptors were outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter and the Bucks controlled the paint for most of the game, winning points in the paint (44-26), second-chance points (24-13) and fast-break points (25-15).
The Bucks opened as 6.5-point favorites with a total of 216.5.
Standout Stats
- Outside of a Game 1 loss vs the Celtics in the second round, the Bucks have been dominant in the postseason. They’re 9-1 SU and ATS in 10 games and seven of their wins have been by double digits. In six home playoff games, the Bucks have scored 115 points or more in four of them and own a +14.3 point differential.
- The Raptors were on the brink in the second round and are 3-3 SU and ATS in six road games in the postseason. They’ve had trouble scoring on the road in the playoffs as evidenced by their 100.3 scoring average in six away games while shooting a pitiful 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
- Kyle Lowry had perhaps the best playoff performance of his career in Game 1 as he scored 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting with seven three-pointers. He and Kawhi Leonard combined for 61 points but outside of that duo, the scoring was non-existent, with the rest of the roster shooting 8-for-31 from the field.
- One of the key reasons why the Bucks have crushed teams in the postseason is their ability to get to the rim. They’re third in the playoffs with an average of 27.4 free-throw attempts per game and they also have a +11.8 point differential in points in the paint.
- Coming into Game 2, Raptors games have been a huge boon for UNDER bettors. The UNDER has hit in 10 of their 13 playoff games with those outings having an average combined score of 199.8 points per game.
My Best Bet for Raptors vs Bucks
Bucks -6.5
You may have seen this before from me but I’ll remind you again: I’m all-in on the Bucks to win the Eastern Conference. So by that logic, I think they crush the Raptors tonight because even though the Bucks covered the spread, the whole roster didn’t have a great game. Giannis may have had the quietest 24 points a superstar can have in Game 1 and they still cut through the Raptors’ defense like butter in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Lowry isn’t likely going to have another 30-point game and the Raptors have been known to come up short on the road based on their scoring output in away games. I’m also high on taking the Bucks to cover the -3.5 first-half spread too.
