NBA Finals Betting July 8 – Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns Game 2

The return of Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t enough to save the Milwaukee Bucks from dropping Game 1 of the NBA Finals. But his presence should make the Bucks more of a threat as the series moves along. Behind their trio of postseason stars the Phoenix Suns pulled away for a 118-105 payout win on Tuesday and look to preserve homecourt advantage when the clubs hit the hardwood on Thursday for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. In their first Finals appearance in nearly three decades, the Suns are favored to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy and they hit the board as a 5.5-point favorite in Game 2.

Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns
Date and Time: Thursday, July 8, 2021, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Opening NBA Odds: Phoenix -5.5, O/U 218.5
Bucks at Suns TV Coverage: ABC

Odds Analysis

With Giannis a game-time decision ahead of the series opener we saw little movement on the line. The Suns closed as a 5.5-point favorite and easily covered in their 118-105 triumph. With the Freak showing no signs that his knee injury affected his play, the line for Game 2 hit the board at the same number. The Suns have been good on the floor and at the betting window this postseason improving to 13-4 SU and 12-5 ATS with their third win in as many games against the Bucks this season. The two regular season meetings were much closer with a single point deciding each contest. Milwaukee might feel like they can’t beat the Suns after dropping six of the last seven meetings overall. Don’t count them out, though. They rallied to knock off Brooklyn and Atlanta after losing the first game in each of those series. They’ve also cashed the OVER in each of their last three playoff games.

Milwaukee Bucks

It’s nice to see Antetokounmpo back on the floor after his scary injury in Game 4 of the Atlanta series. But it makes you wonder if maybe they rely on their superstar too much. They lost the last two games he started while emerging victorious in the two games he missed due to his injury. It’s hard to imagine them being better without Giannis, but the results showed that they have been recently. Antetokounmpo was back for Tuesday’s series opener and the Bucks got him in the flow early to ease concerns he might have about his effectiveness. In that regard Giannis passed the test and had a decent game scoring 20 points with 17 rebounds in over 35 minutes.

While their point total was below what we’d expect from the Bucks, it wasn’t unusual. The highest scoring team during the regular season has struggled to find consistency scoring the basketball. They played a clean game on Tuesday getting 29 points from Khris Middleton, but Jrue Holiday had an off night going just 4 of 14 from the field without a three-pointer in four attempts for 10 points. They made 16 triples despite Holiday’s performance and shot 46 percent from the floor. The Bucks were undone at the free throw line with Antetokounmpo again the butt of jokes. He was 7 of 12 from the stripe and the team shot just 56 percent. They were outscored by 16 points at the line, which proved to be the difference.

Phoenix Suns

After 16 seasons Chris Paul finally got a chance on the game’s biggest stage and he didn’t disappoint. Paul was 12 of 19 shooting overall and 4 of 7 from deep for 32 points, continuing the run he started in the series clinching win over the Clippers in the West finals. The Suns likely benefitted from a few extra days of rest prior to the Finals. The compacted season was a grind and any time off to recover is beneficial. Paul disclosed after the Clippers series that he’s been playing with ligament damage in his shooting hand. It looks like the extra days rest paid off. While Paul has been the guy recently, the team rode the play of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton early when CP3 was bothered by a shoulder injury.

The star trio was nearly unstoppable on Tuesday combining for 81 points. Booker scored 27 and Ayton continued his torrid postseason with 22 points and 19 rebounds. You could argue that Ayton is the team’s playoff MVP and you wouldn’t get laughed at. The big fella hit 8 of 10 shots in Game 1 befuddling defenders along the way. Ayton is averaging a double-double this postseason with 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds. More impressive is his 71.1 field goal percentage, which is better than his 61.1 percent during the regular season. The Suns averaged 124 points in their previous two games while cashing the OVER in their last three.

Bet Bucks at Suns at BookMaker.eu

Having as much success against the Bucks as the Suns have had definitely gives them a jolt of confidence. They’ve won four straight and six of the previous seven meetings while going 6-1 ATS. Most of those games were close and the Bucks have to think they’re on the verge of breaking through as long as they don’t psyche themselves out. Antetokounmpo should feel more comfortable with a game under his belt and the Bucks will figure out how to better defend the pick and roll leading to an upset win for the visitors.

NBA Score Prediction: Bucks 115, Suns 111

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com