The Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns are both four wins away from attaining the most sought-after piece of hardware in professional basketball, the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy that is awarded to the winner of the NBA Finals each year.
The Bucks won an NBA Championship in 1971, but have not made it back to the finals since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was playing center for them. The Suns have never won a title but have been to the finals twice before.
Throughout the year, the NBA Playoff picture odds suggested a finals matchup that would feature the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Brooklyn Nets.
This pairing of the two largest metropolitan markets in the United States would draw more attention to the finals and aid in the NBA’s lagging television ratings, so it will be interesting to see how a Milwaukee and Phoenix-based series performs.
This now becomes an NBA Finals that will either reward the Suns with their first title in team history, or it will represent the moment that the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo elevates his game and reveals his championship pedigree.
Online NBA sportsbooks have posted an early line for Game One of the NBA Finals tomorrow night, and pro hoops oddsmakers believe that Phoenix will defend their home court and take the early series lead.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Phoenix Suns
- Point Spread: Bucks +5.5, Suns -5.5
- Moneyline: Bucks +195, Suns -235
- Over/Under: 217.0
As of this writing, the top NBA Playoff sportsbooks are only posting lines for game one and have yet to post any prop bets or futures that indicate how the remainder of the series will go down.
Much of this uncertainty could be due to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee injury that was suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks.
While the Bucks suggested that he could have been cleared for Game 7 of the semis, oddsmakers may be playing it cautiously until further reports on Giannis come in.
Another intriguing element of this series is the Suns’ Chris Paul. He is inarguably one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game, but he has not been able to achieve the NBA’s greatest prize. Will Paul be able to win the NBA Finals during the twilight of his career?
Tune in to Game 1 of the NBA Finals tomorrow night at 9:00 PM on ABC, and be sure to get your bets in before tipoff.
- You can find the above NBA Finals betting line at Bovada Sportsbook.
