The NBA First Round Playoff Games have arrived as Pickswise will be handing out daily winning NBA picks starting on Sunday. With over a decade of combined winning experience, Pickswise is your number one NBA first round playoff resource to win. To kick off the first round playoff games, the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks from the Eastern Conference will go toe to toe. Enjoy these free NBA first round playoff predictions? Give @Pickswise a follow and get a first hand-look on his daily research.
Pistons vs. Bucks First Round Playoff Predictions
Game 1: Pistons vs. Bucks
Line: Bucks -1100
Pickswise Expert Picks: Pistons WIN!
Milwaukee has had a great season but I think they are very vulnerable as the top seed. They take on a Detroit team they beat all four times this season, covering in three, but they are a big banged up. This is the playoffs and things are going to get called a little tighter which means that Giannis might not like it so much to drive the lane with Andre Drummond waiting back there for him.
I am not a big fan of the Pistons, but at +525 they have my attention. I know things are different for the Bucks this season but Pistons coach Dwayne Casey beat these guys in the playoffs last season with Toronto and if they are going to take any game in this series the first might be the best bet. Not saying it is going to be an automatic win, but the first game for the Pistons has great value right now.
Game 2: Pistons vs. Bucks
Line: Bucks -2000
Pickswise Expert Picks: Bucks WIN!
The Bucks jumped all over Detroit in game one, winning the first quarter by 20 points. From there on out it was cruise control against the Pistons who were without their best player, Blake Griffin. Griffin is not expected back this series which now definitely looks like an easy sweep for Milwaukee. No Griffin means that scoring is at even more of a premium for the Pistons. Their backcourt of Wayne Ellington and Reggie Jackson did not play well in the loss and unless Jackson channels his inner Russdiculous there is not a lot of hope for change for game two – it should be a little closer though. Detroit generally plays good defense but that was not the case in the opener. They can tighten it up but not enough to get a win. Milwaukee has to be the play even at -2000. Sure it is a single game but even Detroit at +1150 feels like gambling.
Line: Bucks -400
Pickswise Expert Picks: Bucks WIN!
The Pistons were competitive in the first half of game two at Milwaukee but the Bucks turned it on in the third quarter and won by 21. There was no Blake Griffin in that game and as the series comes to Detroit he is not expected to play. He would bridge some of the gap but I doubt it would be sufficient. The good news for Detroit is that they got some scoring in G2 with three players scoring 18 points.I know they want to play defense but it seems unlikely they are going to win unless they get their point total intro triple digits. Milwaukee is a pretty heavy favorite so backing them to win again on the road is not going to net you a ton – they are -400. Still with their depth and ability to shoot at defend I don’t see the story changing much with the game in Detroit.
Game 4: Pistons vs. Bucks
Line: Bucks -1200
Pickswise Expert Picks: Bucks WIN!
The Pistons welcomed back Blake Griffin for game three and he scored 27 points but it did little to influence the outcome with the Bucks winning easily and taking a 3-0 lead in the series. With that outcome it seems there is nothing the Pistons can really do in this one other than to hope that the Bucks are caught looking ahead. It has been clear about 95% of the time that the Bucks are far better. In the last game they flashed their depth with seven players scoring in double digits including three off the bench. Mighty Giannis scored only 14 points and they still won with ease. At -12 and -1000 there is not going to be a lot of money to be made here but I can’t come up with a compelling advantage that helps Detroit close the gap. Milwaukee gets the win and the expected easy advance to the next round.
