NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
Does Kevin Durant have an encore performance in store?
He absolutely shined on Tuesday night, recording one of the greatest playoff games in the history of basketball. Brooklyn will remain without Kyrie Irving but they are one win away from clinching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. Does Milwaukee have an answer?
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Nets @ Bucks preview
MIL -5.5, total: 220
I mean, what more can you say about Kevin Durant? The star is coming off one of the best performances in NBA playoff history, scoring 49 points to go along with 17 rebounds and 10 assists. He played all 48 minutes in the game and shot 16 of 23 from the field. It was a dazzling performance from Durant, who scored 22 of his 49 points off pull-up jump shots while shooting 64.3% off the play type. His usage rate was hovering around the 34% mark and with James Harden clearly not 100%, the Nets offense will continue to run through Durant, especially with Kyrie Irving still sidelined. It was mind-boggling to see Giannis not switch onto Durant in the fourth quarter, but it is highly likely that happens in Game 6. Of course, Durant is one of the most unstoppable players in the history of basketball, so it really doesn’t matter all that much. Harden, meanwhile, is a bit of a mystery, as he logged 46 minutes but clearly isn’t at full strength. He shot 1 of 10 from the field in Game 5, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. The ball was still in his hands a ton, as he touched the ball 93 times while possessing the ball for nearly 7.5 minutes. Most importantly, Harden didn’t aggravate his hamstring injury and is bound to have a much better outing in Game 6. And while Durant dominated, Jeff Green kept the Nets in their last game, scoring 27 points, while sinking seven of eight triples. He essentially did what I have been waiting for Joe Harris to do, as 38.9% of the points surrendered by Milwaukee this season have come from beyond the arc, the second-highest rate in the NBA. Green is also going to play plenty of minutes at the center position in this game, giving him some added rebounding potential.
This Milwaukee offense is so frustrating. Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to get his more often than not, but there are so many instances where this offense gets stagnant. In Game 5, we saw too much isolation ball down the stretch. This team is at its best when it is driving with Giannis and kicking the ball out to shooters or letting Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday operate the pick and roll with Giannis rolling to the rim. And we saw more of that back in Game 4 and in the first half of Game 5, which has led to more assists from Holiday. Middleton, meanwhile, is averaging a healthy 21 field goal attempts per game during this series, while his 27.7% usage rate trails only Giannis’ among Bucks players during that stretch (35.1%). Finally, Brook Lopez has provided a solid floor as of late and if he walks into seven or eight rebounds, he will likely smash his price tag. Pat Connaughton also remains a strong value play, as he has played 22 and 32 minutes over the last two games.
