Full Playoff Breakdown for Bucks vs Pacers Series

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the more desperate teams in the playoffs this season. They need a deep run in the postseason more than a lot of other teams in the Eastern Conference.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has put a massive amount of pressure on the franchise to win now. They have made two big trades in the last year to try to make that happen.

Bringing in Damian Lillard and Kyle Kuzma in the last two seasons has not yielded them much. The Bucks lost to the Pacers last year in the first round of the playoffs with Lillard and got Kuzma this year to make sure that doesn't happen again.

If the Bucks are going to beat the Pacers this time round, especially without Lillard to start the series, Antetokounmpo has to be special. He has to dictate everything that the Bucks do.

If he starts to dominate in the paint, the Pacers will have no choice but to double-team him. Once that happens, he can spray to open shooters, creating for everyone else.

Guys like Gary Trent Jr., Brook Lopez, and Kyle Kuzma are going to have to hit the open shots Antetokounmpo generates for them. That especially applies to Kuzma.

Kuzma is perhaps the most important guy in this series for Milwaukee. Without Lillard, he is going to have to be the second option on offense.

The Pacers are going to pick on him defensively. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam are going to seek him out and make him defend them one-on-one.

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Milwaukee needs Kuzma to not be horrendous on defense to warrant keeping him out there. If he can't do that, Bobby Portis is going to see a lot of time.

Portis was someone who got thrown out in one of the games these two teams played in last year.