Bucks vs. Celtics Game 6 Preview: Can Milwaukee Close Things Out?

Buckle up, folks. Following their dramatic victory in Game 5 on the road in Boston, the Milwaukee Bucks are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. Fiserv Forum will be rocking. The Deer District will also be rocking, as it should be around 70 degrees at tip-off. Let’s do this.

Where We’re At

We’re coming off a thrilling Game 5 victory in Boston. It looked like the Bucks were dead in the water numerous times, especially after a 35 year-old Al Horford, who has dominated Milwaukee this series, slammed home a put-back dunk to put the Celtics up six late.

Instead, the Bucks were able to hit timely shots late, then turned water into wine with two insanely incredible steals from Jrue Holiday. They ended up stealing a victory at TD Garden, setting the scene for a chance to close the series out tonight at Fiserv Forum.

How does Boston react? In their postgame availability after Game 5, they all seemed pretty dejected and knew that they missed a huge opportunity. Do they roll over and let the Bucks trounce them? Personally, I think it will still be close, but we all know how well the Bucks have played in close-out games in recent memory, and the Fiserv Forum crowd will surely be behind them.

Player to Watch

I’m going to go with Jrue Holiday for him. It’s going to be imperative for him to step up on the offensive end and make sound contributions. When he’s been non-existent in that area, the Bucks have really struggled. Take a look at the beginning portions of Game 5. He was missing shots. He was turning the basketball over. He clearly was out of rhythm and not his typical self. However, he did make up for it with the two huge steals on Marcus Smart late. Regardless, Milwaukee will need him to become a source of offense in a series where his shot hasn’t been falling, as Khris Middleton as already been ruled out by Milwaukee. Keep your eyes on Jrue as we head into this one.

Betting Odds

Per DraftKings, the Bucks are -1.5 on the spread as well as -125 on the ML.

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