- The Milwaukee Bucks won Game 6 of their series against the Brooklyn Nets.
- With the series tied 3-3, the matchup is dead even - a pick’ em - in Game 7.
- The Nets still have +200 odds to win the NBA Championship, the shortest odds in the league.
LAS VEGAS - The series between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks hangs on a knife’s edge.
The Bucks evened the series in Game 6 behind a monstrous 38-point performance from Khris Middleton.
Now, Game 7 could go either way - the online sportsbooks seem utterly unable to handicap it.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets Game 7 Odds
- Milwaukee Bucks +0.0 (-110)
- Brooklyn Nets -0.0 (-110)
Around the world, the line for this game opened at Brooklyn -1.5 or Brooklyn -1.0, depending on which sportsbook one was looking at. However, it seems to have moved to the same place at most if not all online sportsbooks, at the time of writing - a pick ‘em.
It seems as though the online sports betting markets have moved in the direction of the Bucks - or at least in the direction of uncertainty.
The Bucks were 5.5 point favorites in Game 6, which was in Milwaukee, while Game 7 will be in Brooklyn.
However, the Bucks dominated the game, as Khris Middleton had perhaps his best game of the playoffs, and Giannis Antetokounmpo put up an excellent 30 points and 17 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo was in attack mode all night, which was a welcome change, but it was Middleton who made the difference, answering the Nets point for point whenever it looked like a run was possible. Indeed, multiple times the Nets got within 5 points of the Bucks, and multiple times Middleton took the game into his hands and scored on the next possession to increase the Bucks’ lead.
2021 NBA Championship Odds
- Brooklyn Nets +200
- Phoenix Suns +250
- Milwaukee Bucks +450
- Utah Jazz +600
- L.A. Clippers +900
- Philadelphia 76ers +1200
- Atlanta Hawks +2000
The Nets are still expected to be the NBA Champion, which is intriguing considering they’re a game away from elimination.
It’s worth noting the gap between the Nets and the Bucks on the futures odds boards - it seems as though the sportsbooks assume that the Nets will have a better shot than the Bucks if they get out of this series.
That’s not a hard assumption to make. The Nets have been missing either James Harden or Kyrie Irving all series, and while Harden is back, he’s not 100%. With time, it’s likely that the Nets could improve in the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, as their players become more healthy.
The Bucks, on the other hand, are already operating at close to 100% capacity, and they’re being given all they can handle by this banged up Nets team.
On the other side of the bracket in the East, neither the Philadelphia 76ers nor the Atlanta Hawks seem to be a legitimately good team, and neither are considerations for the NBA championship at the moment.
This game could end up determining the NBA champion - in the second round of the playoffs!
Game 7 between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks starts at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.