After suffering a surprising Game 1 loss against the 4th-seeded Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks got back on track with a Game 2 win at home by a 123-102 margin.

Three Bucks players scored 20 or more points to lead the East’s top team in the regular season to an important victory, setting them up to travel to Boston with the series tied at 1 game apiece.

As per usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks on Tuesday night. The MVP candidate scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in only 31 minutes of action. It was a classic Giannis game.

Khris Middleton chipped in 28 for the Bucks, and point guard Eric Bledsoe scored 21 points of his own.

Another key to Milwaukee’s victory was shutting down Kyrie Irving, who had a big game in the first matchup of the series. The Celtics point guard couldn’t even break double-digits, scoring only 9 points in Game 2.

No Celtics player broke the 20-point mark.

Game 3 will shift to the TD Garden in Boston and will take place on Friday night in a crucial game.

The post Bucks Even Up Series vs. Celtics With Game 2 Win appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NBA Playoffs 2018 are finally here. Regular season wrapped up on Wednesday and now we know who made it to the postseason, and who will spend their time planning vacations.

We decided to use this small window between the end of the regular season and start of the first round of the playoffs on April 14th to think hard about everything we have seen in the past 82 games and enter the “predictions business.” We made our picks for the winners of all the NBA Playoffs 2018 first-round series and we shall stick with them until the very end. This time we are predicting Eastern Conference. (You can check out our Western Conference predictions here.)

Although Eastern Conference is often considered weak and not quite interesting as the West, this year’s first round of the playoffs might be something else. Due to various injuries and other factors, we have some big matchups in the first round that no one expected before the season started. So who will make it out?

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards

Prediction:
Toronto Raptors win 4-1

Why:
It’s fairly simple. Toronto Raptors entered the NBA Playoffs 2018 with a second-best record in the league, have a great coach in Dwane Casey, and have an awesome depth on the roster. Washington Wizards, on the other hands, entered this season with great expectations but eventually had a disappointing season so far. That won’t change against the Raptors, especially since we don’t even know how healthy John Wall is. Presume some games will be close, but Raptors will own this series.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks

Prediction:
Milwaukee Bucks win 3-4

Why:
This one was really tough. While Boston Celtics’ roster is destroyed by injuries, Brad Stevens has shown us that he can keep winning just with a couple of promising youngsters and handful of veterans. But, Milwaukee Bucks have too much talent to throw away this opportunity. It will be a close series, but Giannis Antetokounmpo will take over the last game and will the Buck into the second round.

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat

Prediction:
Philadelphia 76ers win 4-2

Why:
Miami Heat will give Philadelphia 76ers run for their money that’s for sure. There will be multiple games that will come down to last possession, where Miami Heat will see the opportunity to use their experience and steal a game they usually wouldn’t win. But the young 76ers team will never lose control over the series and won’t allow an elimination game.

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Prediction:
Cleveland Cavaliers win 4-0

Why:
LeBron James, that’s why. Don’t get us wrong, we respect what Indiana Pacers and Victor Oladipo did this season. After Paul George left Indiana, Oladipo became a new hero and brought hope to a desperate team. But, despite their problems, Cleveland Cavaliers will still have the best player on the planet who will create havoc even with an average supporting cast.

The post Opinion: NBA Playoffs 2018 First Round Predictions – Eastern Conference appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Each of the 32 teams in the NBA has played 82 games as of Wednesday night, and the regular season has officially wrapped up. While we knew most of the participants in the postseason before, yesterday’s games were crucial in determining playoff matchups and who gets the home court advantage in the first round. Now, we have the NBA Playoffs Brackets all locked up.

The biggest thriller without a doubt was the game between Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, where the winner would enter the Western Conference playoffs and the loser would miss out on them. Although the Nuggets forced the overtime, the Timberwolves ended up being more composed and made sure they are going to play in the postseason for the first time since 2014 with a 112-106 win. Jimmy Butler and the co. will now face the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Another interesting game in the wild wild West was the matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Portland Blazers where the winner was set for the thirds seed. Blazers came through with a 102-93 win and will face with the sixth seed New Orleans Pelicans. Jazz, on the other hand, have fallen down to five seed, losing the home court advantage and are now locked to play with Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers has trashed the Milwaukee Bucks 130-95 and secured the third seed. This also worked out in the favor of the Bucks, who will now face the two seeded injury-plagued Boston Celtics in the playoffs. The Washington Wizards suffered a 92-101 loss to Orlando Magic and will have to play against the first seeded Toronto Raptors.

The first NBA Playoff games are scheduled for April 14th. You can check out the full NBA Playoffs Brackets for both conferences below.

Eastern Conference

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

The post NBA Playoffs Brackets Set as the Regular Season Wraps-Ups appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After suffering a surprising Game 1 loss against the 4th-seeded Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks got back on track with a Game 2 win at home by a 123-102 margin.

Three Bucks players scored 20 or more points to lead the East’s top team in the regular season to an important victory, setting them up to travel to Boston with the series tied at 1 game apiece.

As per usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks on Tuesday night. The MVP candidate scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in only 31 minutes of action. It was a classic Giannis game.

Khris Middleton chipped in 28 for the Bucks, and point guard Eric Bledsoe scored 21 points of his own.

Another key to Milwaukee’s victory was shutting down Kyrie Irving, who had a big game in the first matchup of the series. The Celtics point guard couldn’t even break double-digits, scoring only 9 points in Game 2.

No Celtics player broke the 20-point mark.

Game 3 will shift to the TD Garden in Boston and will take place on Friday night in a crucial game.

The post Bucks Even Up Series vs. Celtics With Game 2 Win appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NBA Playoffs 2018 are finally here. Regular season wrapped up on Wednesday and now we know who made it to the postseason, and who will spend their time planning vacations.

We decided to use this small window between the end of the regular season and start of the first round of the playoffs on April 14th to think hard about everything we have seen in the past 82 games and enter the “predictions business.” We made our picks for the winners of all the NBA Playoffs 2018 first-round series and we shall stick with them until the very end. This time we are predicting Eastern Conference. (You can check out our Western Conference predictions here.)

Although Eastern Conference is often considered weak and not quite interesting as the West, this year’s first round of the playoffs might be something else. Due to various injuries and other factors, we have some big matchups in the first round that no one expected before the season started. So who will make it out?

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards

Prediction:
Toronto Raptors win 4-1

Why:
It’s fairly simple. Toronto Raptors entered the NBA Playoffs 2018 with a second-best record in the league, have a great coach in Dwane Casey, and have an awesome depth on the roster. Washington Wizards, on the other hands, entered this season with great expectations but eventually had a disappointing season so far. That won’t change against the Raptors, especially since we don’t even know how healthy John Wall is. Presume some games will be close, but Raptors will own this series.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks

Prediction:
Milwaukee Bucks win 3-4

Why:
This one was really tough. While Boston Celtics’ roster is destroyed by injuries, Brad Stevens has shown us that he can keep winning just with a couple of promising youngsters and handful of veterans. But, Milwaukee Bucks have too much talent to throw away this opportunity. It will be a close series, but Giannis Antetokounmpo will take over the last game and will the Buck into the second round.

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat

Prediction:
Philadelphia 76ers win 4-2

Why:
Miami Heat will give Philadelphia 76ers run for their money that’s for sure. There will be multiple games that will come down to last possession, where Miami Heat will see the opportunity to use their experience and steal a game they usually wouldn’t win. But the young 76ers team will never lose control over the series and won’t allow an elimination game.

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Prediction:
Cleveland Cavaliers win 4-0

Why:
LeBron James, that’s why. Don’t get us wrong, we respect what Indiana Pacers and Victor Oladipo did this season. After Paul George left Indiana, Oladipo became a new hero and brought hope to a desperate team. But, despite their problems, Cleveland Cavaliers will still have the best player on the planet who will create havoc even with an average supporting cast.

The post Opinion: NBA Playoffs 2018 First Round Predictions – Eastern Conference appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Each of the 32 teams in the NBA has played 82 games as of Wednesday night, and the regular season has officially wrapped up. While we knew most of the participants in the postseason before, yesterday’s games were crucial in determining playoff matchups and who gets the home court advantage in the first round. Now, we have the NBA Playoffs Brackets all locked up.

The biggest thriller without a doubt was the game between Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, where the winner would enter the Western Conference playoffs and the loser would miss out on them. Although the Nuggets forced the overtime, the Timberwolves ended up being more composed and made sure they are going to play in the postseason for the first time since 2014 with a 112-106 win. Jimmy Butler and the co. will now face the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Another interesting game in the wild wild West was the matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Portland Blazers where the winner was set for the thirds seed. Blazers came through with a 102-93 win and will face with the sixth seed New Orleans Pelicans. Jazz, on the other hand, have fallen down to five seed, losing the home court advantage and are now locked to play with Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers has trashed the Milwaukee Bucks 130-95 and secured the third seed. This also worked out in the favor of the Bucks, who will now face the two seeded injury-plagued Boston Celtics in the playoffs. The Washington Wizards suffered a 92-101 loss to Orlando Magic and will have to play against the first seeded Toronto Raptors.

The first NBA Playoff games are scheduled for April 14th. You can check out the full NBA Playoffs Brackets for both conferences below.

Eastern Conference

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

The post NBA Playoffs Brackets Set as the Regular Season Wraps-Ups appeared first on SportzBonanza.