The second round of the 2020-21 NBA Playoffs continues with two more matchups slated for Monday night. After winning Game 1 over the weekend, the Brooklyn Nets will look to take the 2-0 series advantage over the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Denver Nuggets will then open their second-round series against the Phoenix Suns on the road at 10:00.
BetOnline has the odds for tonight’s NBA postseason action once again. Continue reading to see who has the best odds to take one step closer to winning a championship.
NBA Odds: Milwaukee Bucks (No. 3) vs Dallas Brooklyn Nets (No. 2) Game 2
Odds via BetOnline as of Monday, June 7
- Series: BKN leads the series 1-0
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Bucks (+101) vs Nets (-121)
- Point Spread: Bucks +1.5 (-108), Nets +1.5 (-112)
- Total: 234.0 — Over (-110), Under (-100)
One thing is for certain: the Bucks didn’t lose Game 1 because of Giannis Antetokounmpo. ‘The Greek Freak’ dropped 34 points and 11 rebounds in the 115-107 loss on Saturday night. If the Bucks want to avoid the same fate in Game 2, Antetokounmpo is going to need some support. Khris Middleton had an extremely underwhelming performance in the opening contest, scoring just 13 points on .261/.000/.500 shooting splits. That was nothing but an uncharacteristic performance from Middleton and there’s no way Milwaukee can afford to see him do that again in the NBA postseason.
James Harden played just 43 seconds for the Nets in Game 1 due to hamstring tightness. Considering how he’ll be out for Game 2, his team will have to find another way to win without him. Fortunately, they still have Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Both men logged over 40 minutes in Game 1, resulting in Irving finishing with 25 points and Durant with 29. One key to the Nets’ victory was that they beat the Bucks at the 3-point line, shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc compared to Milwaukee’s 20.0%. Brooklyn will need a similar performance to get one win closer to the third round of the NBA Playoffs.
Denver Nuggets (No. 3) vs Phoenix Suns (No. 2) Game 1 Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Monday, June 7
- Series: First game of the series
- Time: 10:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Nuggets (+170) vs Suns (-195)
- Point Spread: Nuggets +4.5 (-105), Suns +4.5 (-115)
- Total: 220.0 — Over (-110), Under (-100)
The Nuggets arrive at the second round after eliminating the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. Now, they’ll face the Suns. Whether it’s winning this round or the championship at the end of the NBA postseason, the Nuggets will continue to rely on Nikola Jokic to bring them to victory. To no one’s surprise, he was their best player in Round 1, averaging 33.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. With Jamal Murray being out of the lineup, Michael Porter Jr. stepped up, averaging 18.8/6.7/1.5 to help out Jokic. The Nuggets will need both of them to be at the top of their game to beat the Suns, who have a fairly deep team that’s help them get this far for a reason.
The Suns were 1-2 against the Nuggets in the regular season, which may lead to some believing that Denver may have the advantage in the series. However, two of the games were overtime losses and all three were decided by a single-digit point total. If anything, it shows that the teams are evenly matched. Besides, all three meetings happened within Phoenix’s first 15 games of the season, so a lot has changed since then.
One thing that the Suns do have going for them is their defense. Phoenix held Los Angeles to a postseason-low 97.5 points per game. Things might be tougher in Round 2 with the way that Jokic has been playing, but Deandre Ayton should give him a hard time in the paint. Couple that with the way Devin Booker and Chris Paul have been playing, and the Suns have a decent shot at getting one step closer to the franchise’s first NBA Championship.
