Predicting Remainder of Bucks vs Pacers Series

The Pacers have looked terrific, meanwhile, forcing the Bucks to play at their breakneck pace-and-space speed and relying on their depth and defense while two-time All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton struggles to nail a shot. That's likely to change.

But are the Bucks' fortunes also likely to change?

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With Damian Lillard back in the fold, the Bucks actually played pretty well against Indiana in Game 2. And it didn't even matter, as Tyler Smith of IndySportsLegends.com details.

Lillard, in his first game back from a scary deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right calf, logged a whopping 37 minutes of action and, although he looked a bit shaky at times, ultimately had a pretty encouraging night.

Lillard didn't shoot particularly well, scoring 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line, but he dished out seven dimes and didn't have any further serious health impacts.

Perpetual Sixth Man of the Year candidate Bobby Portis notched a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Antetokounmpo, who again is a top-3 MVP contender, scored 34 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and dished out seven assists (the improved passing is an unheralded aspect of his game these days). Following a historically bad Game 1 showing, starting small forward Kyle Kuzma looked like an NBA player again, scoring 12 points.

The Bucks didn't lead for a second in the wire-to-wire Pacers victory. As Smith observes, the Bucks only (ahem) paced the Pacers for a scant 1:41 in Game 1, throughout 96 minutes of action so far in the series.

Last year, the Bucks fell in six games to Indiana, although they were without Antetokounmpo for the entire series and were missing Lillard for two games.

This year, Lillard is working his way back into shape, starry new trade additions Kuzma and Kevin Porter can't shoot, Brook Lopez appears to have aged a decade, and Milwaukee's 3-pointers aren't falling the way they did in the Khris Middleton era.

Indiana is faster, younger, more athletic, better at shooting, and far more connected than Milwaukee. Barring a major health issue, this seems likely to be an unfortunately short series. Look for the Pacers to drop at least one of these impending two Milwaukee meetings, but to close things out at home in a five-game "gentleman's sweep."

More Milwaukee Bucks:

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Wild Trade Proposal Has Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Landing With Warriors

How Bobby Portis Can Replace Damian Lillard in Bucks Lineup

Nuggets’ Michael Malone Firing Has Instant Impact on Doc Rivers’ Bucks Future

For more news and notes on the Milwaukee Bucks, visit Milwaukee Bucks on SI.