Defense wins championships. However, the Indiana Pacers‘ offense has been too good to bet against. As the Milwaukee Bucks end their season with a loss (3rd seed), they are now headed for a first-round matchup against the Pacers (6th seed). But they still face uncertainty over Antetokounmpo’s availability. The center has missed the Bucks’ last 3 suffering a calf strain. Now, as fans demand a Giannis Antetokounmpo sighting for their playoff dreams, and experts advise the Greek Freak to have proper rehab time, Stephen A. Smith comes in with a hot take.

Putting all his chips on Indy, Smith claims, “With or without Giannis, Indiana is winning this series. They’re gonna beat Milwaukee.” The Pacers have also added Pascal Siakam to their lineup, which will make the taxing Indiana games even more challenging. However, given Antetokounmpo’s recent injury, it could be the timing of the playoffs they might dislike, rather than the aligned matchup.

Giannis, even before his calf strain, was going through a tough season, constantly deciding between sitting out or playing through injuries. Currently, there is no timeline for Giannis’ injury. The team claims that the 2021 championship winner is under evaluation and testing daily.

Moreover, there has been uncertainty from head coach Doc Rivers as well. “I’m confident, but I don’t know how much,” Rivers said after the Bucks last regulation game. With that, there is a chance that Giannis could miss game 1 or 2 against the Pacers if not the entire stretch. Moreover, as Stephen A. cites Antetokounmpo’s presence to be unaltering, there’s also a season history that the fans will need to consider.

The Pacers have dominated the Bucks despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s presence

The Bucks have lost 4 of their 5 games to Indiana this season. All of those games had Giannis logging in at least 36 minutes. Moreover, a 54-point performance (76% efficiency) was also not enough, and the Bucks lost 126-124 on November 9. It needed Giannis Antetokounmpo to put up a career-high 64 points before the shot clock slowed down the Pacers. Additionally, all their 5 games came before February, before Pascal Siakam’s induction.

The Bucks are yet to emerge as the dominating squad after Damian Lillard‘s acquisition. Moreover, with the Pacers’ and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game-ball beef, their rivalry has only ignited. Additionally, even though the youngsters in Indiana have little to no playoff experience, they got a taste of it in the In-Season Tournament finale against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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With that, the Bucks now demand Lillard and Doc Rivers to step up. Lillard, through testing the leadership waters the entire season, needs to switch up from his 32% field goal efficiency against Indy. On the other hand, Rivers has to put his championship tactics on display, validating the Bucks’ move to give him a coaching role in the middle of the season.