The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs this season and it is a series that has the potential to be very dramatic. Milwaukee faced Indiana five times during the regular season and the Bucks lost to the Pacers 4-1.
Both of these teams are different this time around compared to the last time they met. Milwaukee does not have Adrian Griffin Jr. coaching them anymore and Doc Rivers is coaching the team now. Indiana’s head coach is Rick Carlisle.
The Milwaukee Bucks finished as the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record and the Indiana Pacers finished as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record. Heading into this series, the health of Giannis Antetokounmpo will no doubt be a factor.
His status for Game 1 with the calf injury is in question. Some of the names for the Bucks to watch for in this series are Damian Lillard, Patrick Beverley, and Bobby Portis Jr. Who are some of the names to watch for on the Pacers in this series?
The Main Player On the Indiana Pacers To Watch For In This Series Against the Milwaukee Bucks is Tyrese Haliburton
The top player on the Pacers during the season was point guard Tyrese Haliburton. In 69 games this season for Indiana, he averaged 20.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 10.7 APG. Haliburton led the league in assists per game during the regular season. He is going to be tough to guard for the Bucks’ defense, but Patrick Beverley might be the player to slow him down.
In the five games this season against Milwaukee, he averaged 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 11.0 APG. Haliburton also shot 36.4% from three-point land against the Bucks during the five matchups this season.
Center Myles Turner
Myles Turner was the starting center for Indiana this season and played in 77 games. He averaged 17.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.9 BPG this season for the Pacers. Turner is a good rim protector for this basketball team.
In the five games against the Bucks this season, he averaged 19.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. Those blocks against the rim in this series will be huge because both teams will be looking to score the basketball at an elite pace.
Power Forward Pascal Siakam
Pascal Siakam was acquired in a trade near the NBA Trade Deadline for the Indiana Pacers from the Toronto Raptors. Siakam has had some playoff experience before with Toronto. He won an NBA Championship in 2019 when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Pascal Siakam this season in 80 games overall with Toronto and Indiana averaged 21.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 4.3 APG. In only two games played against the Milwaukee Bucks this season, Siakam averaged 18.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 6.0 APG. These are three players who are normally in the Pacers starting lineup and they will be some of the players to watch for in this best-of-seven series against the Bucks.
