How the Philadelphia 76ers stack up against the Central Division

Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks Projected Starting Five:

• Eric Bledsoe
• Wesley Matthews 
• Khris Middleton
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Brook Lopez 
• Other Notable Players — George Hill, Ersan Ilysova, Sterling Brown, D.J. Wilson, Robin Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Donte DiVincenzo

The Milwaukee Bucks are predicted by many to represent the East in the Finals this season.  They notably lost Malcolm Brogdon to the Pacers, and will try to replace him with Wesley Matthews on the wing.  The Bucks also added Robin Lopez to back up his brother, and those two will provide stout interior defense throughout the game.

The Bucks were a very efficient offensive team last season, as they were in the 88th percentile for both shots attempted at the rim and shots attempted from beyond the arc.  Their accuracy on those shots was stellar around the rim, as they shot 66.7 percent at the basket, and middle of the pack from three, with a 35.8 percent hit rate on those attempts. The Sixers will need to play excellent defense to force them into mid-range shots as frequently as possible.

There is also the issue of league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had ample success against the Sixers last season.  That success is one of the leading causes for the Al Horford signing, as the team will hope he can replicate the success he had guarding the Greek Freak in last year’s playoffs.

The Bucks were the number one ranked defense in the league last season, and they achieved that ranking by taking away everything at the rim.  The Sixers feature two players who like to live around the rim in Simmons and Embiid, so how they fare in that regard will be a detail to watch.  The Bucks have a solid combination of 3-and-D players on the wing, even with the loss of Malcolm Brogdon. The Sixers will need to execute in the halfcourt and force turnovers to get out in transition if they want to score efficiently against the Bucks’ defense.

Joel Embiid did put up big numbers in the three games against these Bucks, averaging 35.7 points, 15.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in those contests, per Basketball Reference.  Embiid worked for those numbers though, as he shot 36-86 from the field over those games. Embiid also attempted a heap of threes against the Bucks, including a career-high 13 in the second game of the three.  Joel will need to take, and make, threes against this team for the Sixers to succeed, but that number may be a little more than what the Sixers would like.

The Sixers went 1-2 against the Bucks, although those games tell us little about what to expect for the upcoming season.  The first meeting, a Sixers loss, came with Markelle Fultz still in the starting lineup, and Jimmy Butler still chastising his teammates in Minnesota.  The second game, a Sixers win, saw a particularly off shooting night from Milwaukee and a 52-point outing from Antetokounmpo, which wasn’t enough. The third game came with the Sixers down Jimmy Butler due to scheduled rest, and saw Eric Bledsoe get ejected early in the first quarter as the Bucks went on to win.

Predicting this matchup is a tough task, but I think Al Horford adds the muscle the Sixers needed to slow down the league’s MVP.  I also think the loss of Malcolm Brogdon is a tougher loss than some think for the Bucks, and they will now rely heavily on the services of Eric Bledsoe.

I predict a split in this season series, and if it’s only three games, I’ll say the home team wins out. If these two meet in the playoffs, I’ll say Sixers in six, because I’m a homer.  The one thing I can say for sure is it will be fun to watch.