J-Ross’ Eastern Conference Finals Prediction

“Milwaukee it’s nice to see you here again, but who is this with you?”

“Hi were the Atlanta Hawks and we are here to play for a trip to the NBA Finals.”

“Ok, if you would please sign in for me.”

And scene!!!!!

Raise your hand if you had the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks for a chance to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. If you had been reading my previous previews, I had the Hawks losing to the Knicks and then as well to the 76ers.

Atlanta should feel great about where they are. They should be proud of their accomplishment but should also still be locked in thinking we are 8 wins away from a title. What they have done on the road in this postseason has been tremendous. They have five road wins including three in Philadelphia.

They won game 7 in a hostile environment and have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA postseason in recent memory.

When the season ended the path for Milwaukee looked about as brutal as it possibly could get. An opening round series against nemesis Miami. The Heat are never easy to play against. They compete, they take a lot of you, and they certainly don’t feel like a first-round opponent. If they got through that, they were most likely going to take on the SUPER TEAM that is the Brooklyn Nets. What? KD, Kyrie and Harden waiting for you in round two. If they made it through that, then a likely appearance against top seed Philadelphia with the last two series being on the road.

That was partially Milwaukee’s path. They took care of Miami and made it look surprisingly easy. The second round started with an (0-2) deficit including a game in which they were down by almost 50 points. They rallied and won 4 of the next 5 including game 7 on the road in overtime. With that the Bucks moved on and now find themselves with home court and the odds on favorite to make it to the Finals. Quite a turn of events for a team that looked dead. They looked like an offseason overhaul was going to happen and now their season can still end with a parade.

As far as the series goes, sorry Atlanta but I am picking against you again.

You have impressed me but you are not the better team in this one. Milwaukee has the best player and has 3 of the 4 best players in the series. Holiday’s defense on Trae Young will be critical but really the Bucks team defense has been very instrumental in why they are here. They exorcised some demons, they are great at home and it really feels like Giannis and company broke down a huge wall with that game 7 win.

Hawks will compete because that is what they do, but I am going with Bucks in 5.

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