Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks NBA Finals betting picks & odds

The Phoenix Suns are going off as favorites to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals, which start this Tuesday night in Arizona. BettingPlanet.com brings you the best bets and top odds for this must-watch series.

Suns vs Bucks NBA Finals betting preview

The Suns (63-25) have had two things going for them throughout this postseason; staying healthy and having opponents that have failed to do so. Phoenix deserves respect for its outstanding play this postseason with a 12-4 (11-5 ATS) record in the playoffs after an impressive 51-21 (42-38-2 ATS) regular season campaign. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that Phoenix faced a Los Angeles Lakers team that was missing Anthony Davis, a Denver Nuggets team that was missing Jamal Murray, and a Los Angeles Clippers team that was missing Kawhi Leonard. And now, they start the finals facing a Bucks team that doesn’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee (58-31) did an excellent job of closing out its Eastern Conference Finals series against the Atlanta Hawks with Antetokounmpo on the sidelines. After losing 110-88 in the game that Antetokounmpo was injured in, the Bucks rebounded with a 123-112 win in Game 5 and a 118-107 win in Game 6 to advance into the NBA Finals. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday have done great work in picking up the slack on offense with the team’s star forward out of action. Like Phoenix, the Bucks got some help from injuries to get to this point too as the Brooklyn Nets were never healthy after taking a 2-0 series lead over Milwaukee and Atlanta lost Trae Young for a few games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2021 NBA Finals predictions & best bets

It’s a shame that this postseason has been marred by injuries. It is cool to see these two teams in the NBA Finals, however. The Suns have never won an NBA Championship in their 53-year franchise history and the Bucks have only won one, all the way back in 1971. One of these teams will be bringing home the championship to a fan base starving for a title, and both deserve it based on how they’ve played during both the regular season and postseason, even if they’ve caught a few injury breaks along the way.

And it’s fitting that a postseason defined by injuries to star players ends with a final that will likely come down to the injury status of an injured star. Chris Paul, Devon Booker and DeAndre Ayton are all healthy and playing great. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks don’t have a clear path to four wins in this series. Antetokounmpo is expected to return in this series, though. The question is when? And how effective will he be when he does?

The safe bet is on the Suns. They are playing like a well-oiled machine and Chris Paul is playing like a man who knows this may be his last realistic shot at an NBA Championship. But with a healthy Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are the better team. And without him this group still has enough offensive firepower to steal a game or two. So for those willing to take a gamble, there is value on Milwaukee here. It might even be worth doubling down if the team loses Game 1 without Antetokounmpo. We’ll roll the dice.