Bucks (6) vs. Raptors (3)

Reasons I’m excited for this series:

• GIANNIS!
• Will the Raptors finally break through?
• Jason Kidd wizardry

Giannis Antetokounmpo (I actually spelled it correctly without checking lol) is a legend in the making. Most people are aware of him from highlights of him dunking from just inside the free throw line or on multiple defenders in traffic but playing in Milwaukee means he doesn’t get the prime-time spotlight just yet. Every year I scout the incoming draft picks and I recall seeing Giannis’ footage and immediately knowing I was looking at a special player. (It took me a solid 20 minutes to find these tweets. Also, his name being misspelled is Draft Express’ fault.)

4 years later Giannis has lived up to my expectations (he still needs to work on his shot) and because I know he wants to be great he’s going to ball out in this series. While I can’t feel good about calling them to win this series if Giannis goes off as expected I could see them getting to at least 6. If all I get from this series is that people realize Giannis isn’t just that guy with the crazy dunks on the highlight reels I’ll take it.

The reason I can’t pick the Bucks to win is because the Raptors have to feel like they have unfinished business. After losing in the conference finals last year the Raptors come back this year with some new pieces that should help plug the holes they had last year. They added a second defender in PJ Tucker to help give Lebron trouble and they added Serge Ibaka as a 3rd scorer and someone who can defend Kevin Love on the perimeter or in the paint. Injuries held them back from finishing with a top two seed but they are healthy now and the talent is there to make a run at the Finals. Derozan has been a killer all year and with the new pieces there is no reason this team shouldn’t be able to take care of the young Bucks. However, this also puts all of the pressure on them which is why I think the Bucks will steal 2 games. We will see how it all plays out.