It is Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Suns and Bucks! Our NBA experts have previewed and picked the winner for tonight’s Playoff game.
Read on below as our NBA picks dissects every aspect of tonight’s Game 2 to bring you the best predictions and bets!
Milwaukee Bucks @ Phoenix Suns (Game 2) – 9pm EDT
The Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns will host the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks for Game 2 of the 2021 NBA Finals. As the result of a 35-27 third quarter in Game 1, Phoenix extended their eight point half time lead to 16 points at the final break. Although Milwaukee won the final quarter and they at one point shrunk the margin back to just seven, Phoenix once again took control down the stretch to take a 13 points win and subsequently a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
Chris Paul was the best player on the floor in his NBA Finals debut, scoring a game high 32 points on 63.2% field goal shooting and 57.1% three point shooting. Paul also added a team high nine assists as he was supported by fellow All-Star Devin Booker and emerging big man De’Andre Ayton. Booker added 27 points, six assists and three steals, while Ayton scored 22 points and collected a game high 19 rebounds.
Elite company 👀
Chris Paul is the first player with 30 points and 8 assists in an #NBAFinals debut since Michael Jordan in 1991. pic.twitter.com/6gNKVNQvcd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 7, 2021
Although they lost the game, the Bucks will take a lot of confidence out of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s performance in Game 1. Antetokounmpo was not at his best offensively, however the two time regular season MVP added 20 points and 17 rebounds in his first game back after hyperextending his knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Milwaukee also got a strong performance out of Kris Middleton, who scored a team high 29 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
When looking ahead to Game 2, the Bucks will need to improve on their defensive switching outside the three point line. Brook Lopez performed admirably when switching onto the injured Trae Young in the Eastern Conference Finals last week, however Lopez failed to keep up with the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker in Game 1 on Tuesday. Given his size and Antetokounmpo’s injury, Lopez will need to switch off Phoenix’s guards and put more rebounding pressure onto De’Andre Ayton. Paul, Booker and Mikal Bridges will look to once again exploit any mismatches behind the arc in Game 2, as the three suns combined for seven three pointers on Tuesday night.
Seeing as Game 2 is once again in Phoenix, where the Suns boasted a 27-9 record during the regular season, we are going to pick the home team to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Thursday. When looking at the stats from Game 1, Milwaukee finished with a +4 advantage in total rebounds and +12% advantage in three point shooting, however the Bucks still went down by 13 points. As well as that, the Suns got to the free throw line with ease on Tuesday night and more importantly they made their shots, hitting 25/26 attempts compared to the Bucks who hit just 9/16.
“Of course I notice. There’s 20,000 people yelling one, two, three, four.”
Giannis on the Suns fans chants while he’s at the FT line 😂 pic.twitter.com/YEybCDasZR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 7, 2021
Considering that Antetokounmpo has struggled at the line this postseason, we can’t see Milwaukee correcting this disadvantage by Thursday night. The Bucks went down by 13 points in Game 1 despite being the better shooting and rebounding team on the floor. We believe that the Suns will make the necessary adjustments to improve in Game 2 and like Phoenix to take a 2-0 lead in the 2021 NBA Finals.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-240)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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