Bucks Must Beat Pacers or Face Harsh Reality in Title Chances

Matt Levine | 17 Hours Ago

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

For the second time in less than a week, the Milwaukee Bucks will have a chance to face off against the Indiana Pacers. Milwaukee dropped the first game to the Pacers in dramatic fashion, with Indiana star guard Tyrese Haliburton hitting a game-winning shot to sink the Bucks.

But this game today offers the Bucks a chance at redemption. The scene has shifted over to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, giving the Bucks a slight edge over Indiana.

The Bucks have been very good at home this season, posting a record of 23-11 for the year. Even though Milwaukee has won two of three games against the Pacers this season, this game feels giant.

Currently, the two sides are tied for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference so this game could decide a lot within playoff seeding. For the Bucks, a win would give them a full game over Indiana in the standings plus the season series win.

In such a tight playoff race, having the tiebreaker could be the difference between having home-court in a first-round series. If the season ended right now, these two teams would be facing off once again against one another.

This game could be very competitive as both sides are expected to have their full arsenel of players. Indiana will have star guard Tyrese Haliburton and star forward Pascal Siakam available for this contest.

Read more: Is Pascal Siakam Playing vs Bucks? Pacers Reveal Injury Status For Star Forward

For the Bucks, they should have star guard Damian Lillard and star wing Giannis Antetokounmpo for the game. Both were on the injury report heading into the game but they were listed as probable, giving them essentially a green light to play.

Milwaukee has battled back from a very slow start to the year and everything now comes down to these final weeks of the regular season. This team has shown major inconsistency throughout the year, especially when it comes to facing some of the top teams in the league.

But with this game against Indiana, the Bucks could put some of those narratives to bed with a win. It would give them confidence if they were to meet the Pacers in a potential playoff series in a few weeks.

While it technically may only be one game in the standings, this game means a lot more than meets the eye.

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