Early January, Malik Beasley assured that Milwaukee and Indiana would meet in the playoffs. A little over three months later, we must recognize that the Bucks shooting guard was right! Bucks and Pacers will meet again in the first round of the playoffs, a series which highlights the beginning of the rivalry born between the two teams this season during their five confrontations, four in the regular season and one in the semi-final of the NBA Cup.
The Pacers had to digest Giannis Antetokounmpo's 64 points but have since recovered well, ultimately winning four out of five games, intense encounters each time, with great physical intensity which caused a few clashes. In summary, we couldn't dream of a better duel to spice up this first round of the playoffs in the East!
As soon as the regular season ended on Sunday, the Bucks were invited to speak on the subject. The least we can say is that Giannis Antetonkounmpo's teammates are ready, and Doc Rivers too. The coach will also bring a little freshness to this opposition, having not taken part in any of the previous matches in the regular season.
“Indiana has been on our backs all year, so they’re the ideal opponent. They played very well against us. They have great confidence against us. We will be very focused, because we will have to be”, Doc Rivers pointed out..
The start of a new season
For Damian Lillard, Milwaukee will be a completely different team compared to the last confrontation between the two teams, dating back to January 3. With more cohesion, and a Lillard-Middleton-Antetokounmpo trio who know each other better, which will be a big plus.
“We’ve been through a lot since then. We went through some tough times and we got through it. Then we had a new coach and we adopted a different attitude, a different style of play. We learned a lot of different things about ourselves going through these trials”slipped “Dame Time”.
The leader also insisted on the importance of not letting their emotions take over. The pressure, the hostile atmospheres, the decisive possessions, that's all that is the essence of the playoffs and that Milwaukee will have to try to manage as best they can.
“It’s important for us to understand what our goal is in playing in the playoffs. We must be responsible in this regard. We can't be too emotional, because in the playoffs, it can change a series. If we are too emotional, the opponent can take advantage of it.”
Great work on the video
For his part, Khris Middleton wants the Bucks to learn from their mistakes to show a better face. “It’s a new season that begins with the post-season. At the same time, we must not forget the past. We want to watch these matches again, understand what went wrong and find a way to correct it.”he recalled.
The confrontation will also be different because Indiana will present a different face, perhaps less dashing than at the beginning of January. We can particularly mention the state of form of Tyrese Haliburton, who has gone through difficult times, in terms of skill in particular, since his hamstring injury. But above all, Rick Carlisle lost two major players within a month of each other: Buddy Hield traded to Philadelphia in February; Bennedict Mathurin injured in early March. The latter represented a lethal weapon in his system behind Tyrese Haliburton, and his absence will inevitably complicate the Pacers' task.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 73 | 35.2 | 61.1 | 27.4 | 65.7 | 2.7 | 8.8 | 11.5 | 6.5 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 30.4 |
| Damian Lillard | 72 | 35.4 | 42.7 | 35.6 | 92.0 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 24.4 |
| Khris Middleton | 54 | 27.0 | 49.5 | 38.7 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 15.0 |
| Bobby Portis | 81 | 24.4 | 50.6 | 40.1 | 78.7 | 1.8 | 5.6 | 7.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 13.7 |
| Brook Lopez | 78 | 30.5 | 48.5 | 36.7 | 81.8 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 12.6 |
| Malik Beasley | 78 | 29.7 | 44.4 | 41.6 | 71.4 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 11.3 |
| Jae Crowder | 49 | 23.1 | 42.4 | 34.8 | 72.2 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 6.2 |
| Patrick Beverly | 25 | 20.7 | 39.3 | 36.6 | 85.2 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 6.2 |
| Cameron Payne | 47 | 14.9 | 45.5 | 39.7 | 84.1 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.2 |
| Pat Connaughton | 75 | 22.2 | 43.6 | 34.6 | 75.9 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.7 |
| Aj Green | 56 | 11.0 | 42.3 | 40.8 | 89.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| Marjon Beauchamp | 47 | 12.8 | 48.4 | 39.2 | 67.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 4.3 |
| Danilo Gallinari | 17 | 9.1 | 37.8 | 17.6 | 88.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| Andre Jackson, Jr. | 56 | 10.1 | 50.0 | 37.0 | 72.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Lindell Wigginton | 3 | 2.5 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Ryan Rollins | 2 | 2.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Chris Livingston | 21 | 4.3 | 50.0 | 20.0 | 75.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Robin Lopez | 16 | 4.0 | 36.8 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 33 | 4.5 | 53.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 10 | 4.9 | 18.8 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Bolden Brands | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
