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Bucks open as favorites in NBA playoff series odds vs. Pacers

Milwaukee is a heavy favorite in its first-round playoff series against No. 6 Indiana. 

By Shelby Dermer

Apr 7, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) drives against the Knicks.
Apr 7, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) drives against the Knicks. / Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
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No team was under more scrutiny down the stretch of the NBA’s regular season than the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Milwaukee, which named Doc Rivers as interim head coach after 43 games despite a 30-13 record under Adrian Griffin, went just 3-8 in its last 11 games. On top of that, Milwaukee lost star Giannis Antetokounmpo to a left calf strain for the final three games of the regular season. 

The late-season struggle caused Milwaukee to cough up the No. 2 seed to the New York Knicks and fall to the No. 3 spot. Still, the Bucks are favored in their first-round matchup with the No. 6 Pacers despite Antetokounmpo’s status still up in the air.

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Bucks open as favorites in NBA playoff series odds vs. Pacers

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Milwaukee is a -172 favorite ($100 bet wins $58.14) against the Indiana Pacers. Those odds carry an implied probability of 63.24% that Milwaukee will advance to the second round. 

Milwaukee is a distant second favorite on the FanDuel odds board to win the Eastern Conference for the second time in four seasons at +700. The top-seeded Boston Celtics are the favorites at -190. 

Milwaukee is tied with the LA Clippers, per FanDuel, as the third favorite to win the NBA Finals at +1400. 

How has Milwaukee fared against Indiana this season? 

Milwaukee is the betting favorite to win its first-round series despite facing an Indiana team they struggled with this season. In five matchups, the Bucks were 1-4 straight up and 1-4 ATS overall against the Pacers. Milwaukee’s only win over Indiana was a 140-126 victory on Dec. 13 as a 6.5-point favorite. 

All five matchups were before Rivers took over on the Milwaukee bench, with the last meeting coming on Jan. 3. Worth noting, each meeting with Indiana was also before the Pacers traded for power forward Pascal Siakam in mid-January. The two-time All-Star has averaged 21.3 points over 41 games for the Pacers.

Game odds update periodically and are subject to change. 

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