3 Bold Predictions for Game 1 of Bucks-Suns NBA Finals
By Peter Dewey
A wild postseason filled with upsets and injuries has finally led us to tonight’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix knocked off the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round before sweeping the Denver Nuggets to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Despite losing Chris Paul for two games due to COVID-19, the Suns were able to handle the Los Angeles Clippers in six games to advance to the Finals.
They have won 11 of their last 13 playoff games, but now they will face a battle-tested Milwaukee team.
The Bucks avenged last year’s loss to the Miami Heat in round one, and they knocked off the NBA Finals-favorite Brooklyn Nets in the second round. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee injury complicated things against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Milwaukee rallied to win back-to-back games to take the series in six.
Now, the Bucks may have to win a Finals game with Giannis, as he’s doubtful for tonight’s Game 1. Phoenix is now a six-point favorite on WynnBET to take Game 1, and the Suns are -200 favorites to win the series.
The beauty of a new series is that anything can happen, and neither team has any experience in the Finals outside of Jae Crowder.
So who will step up? The Bucks need to find some extra contributions without Giannis, and the Suns will try to stay hot in their quest for the franchise’s first NBA title.
Game 1 is going to set the tone for the series, and I’m hoping to do the same with some picks. Here are my bold player prop predictions for tonight’s opening matchup:
Jrue Holiday Hits Over 2.5 3-Pointers
Someone has to step up with Antetokounmpo trending in the wrong direction for the Bucks, and Jrue Holiday has done just that.
Holiday averaged 26.0 points, 11.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds in the final two games against Atlanta, and he’s been much more aggressive as a scorer with Antetokounmpo out of the lineup.
Holiday attempted 20 treys over those two games, hitting seven, and he went over 2.5 3-pointers in both. WynnBET has the odds on the over (+110) as a slight underdog for Holiday, but I like his chances of taking and making a bunch of 3s in Game 1.
Holiday shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season, and while he’s only hit the deep ball at a 29.9 percent clip this postseason, he seems to be trending in a positive direction, as he shot 37.0 percent from deep against the Hawks.
Holiday also hit over 2.5 3-pointers in four of those six games, and at plus odds, it’s hard to pass up a chance on Jrue staying hot.
Devin Booker Will Record a Double-Double
It’s the NBA Finals, so we’re going extra bold this series.
Booker has put up just four double-doubles this postseason, with his last one coming in Game 1 against the Clippers where he actually had a 40-point triple-double.
It seems like a long shot for Booker, but WynnBET has his odds to pick up a double-double at +900 (!!) and I just can’t pass that up.
The Bucks have shot just 31.1 percent from 3 in the playoffs, which is only better than the Lakers and Washington Wizards this postseason, which means there could be a lot of long rebounds for Booker to track down.
Booker hasn’t been a slouch in the non-scoring departments this postseason, as he’s averaging 6.4 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game. He’s totaled seven or more rebounds in half of his playoff games, and at +900 odds, it’s worth a shot that he finds himself grabbing 10 boards.
Mikal Bridges Scores Under 10.5 Points
I was all aboard the Mikal Bridges bounce-back game train in Game 6 of theme with a nine-point performance despite shooting an efficient 4-of-6 from the field.
Tonight, WynnBET has Bridges projected to score 10.5 points with the under (+104) as the underdog to the over (-125). While Bridges seems due for a big scoring game, his usage says otherwise.
Bridges scored over 10 points just once in his past five games, and he hasn’t attempted more than eight shots in a game since Game 1 against the Clippers. The other concern is that Bridges has played fewer than 28 minutes in three of his last five games, and he’s been an afterthought on offense since Paul returned to the lineup.
Until Bridges starts getting more touches, he’s going to be extremely volatile as a scorer. At +104 odds, I’ll gladly follow the trend and take the under.