Betting odds show very little respect to Pacers in first round vs. Bucks
NBA Playoff odds for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers in the first round with injury questions around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
By Reed Wallach
The Indiana Pacers locked in the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference around the fine play from Tyrese Haliburton and mid-season acquisition Pascal Siakam.
Indiana is set to face a familiar foe in the Milwaukee Bucks, who the team won four of five meetings from during the regular season, and will possibly be short-handed with Giannis Antetokounmpo nursing a calf injury and listed as day-to-day.
Update on an All-NBA star ahead of playoffs:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 15, 2024
Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) is rehabbing daily but there's some real doubt for his status to begin series vs. Pacers on Sunday, sources say. Although Giannis has rare recovery ability, he's very much up in the air for Game 1.
Despite the injury to Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are still considerable favorites in this first round series against the league’s best offense as oddsmakers are bullish on Milwaukee navigating waters with Damian Lillard running the offense.
However, is this misguided?
The Pacers won four of five against the Bucks this season, but these two teams have changed complexions quite a bit during the course of the season.
The Pacers never played the Bucks coached by Doc, and the Bucks never played the Pacers with Siakam. The Pacers also played those games like playoff games, & the Bucks did not play those games like playoff games.
— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) April 14, 2024
It’s a fresh start. Favorable coverage for Tyrese. Should be fun.
Can the Pacers continue to defy the odds against Milwaukee? Here are the odds with an update since Anteteokounmpo was deemed questionable for Game 1 this weekend, moving from -5.5 to -1.5.
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Pacers vs. Bucks series odds
- Pacers: +144
- Bucks: -172
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.