NBA Matchups: April 22

MIL @ IND | MEM @ OKC | MIN @ LAL

Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers

Team Totals: Bucks 112.3, Pacers 116.8

Injury Report: Damian Lillard (Q, conditioning)

Bucks projected starters: Damian Lillard, Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

Pacers projected starters: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Offensive Ranks: Bucks 7th, Pacers 10th
Defensive Ranks: Bucks 16th, Pacers 13th

Season Series: 3-1 Bucks

Noteworthy Missed Games: Aaron Nesmith (2), Andrew Nembhard (1), Kyle Kuzma (2, trade)

Doc quotes: Said “our offense was awful” in Game 1, said they have to play downhill more and they know what good offense should look like, said it’s hard to score for Kuzma when he’s not touching the ball, said Haliburton was making a lot of plays. 

Carlisle quotes: Said “Game 2 will be monumentally more difficult,” said Giannis got to the basket too easily, said the Bucks had some really good looks from deep in the second half, said they have to be ready for Lillard to be in there for Game 2, said Mathurin was a big factor on offense, said he’s never worried about Haliburton’s shooting.

Stats and Notes:

*Well, Damian Lillard is questionable to possibly change this series. The Bucks were a disaster on Saturday with their worst offensive performance in a month, which comes on the heels of a fantastic couple of weeks to end the regular season. The Bucks could not get anything going in transition at all, and it was their lowest points+/possession in transition all season. The Pacers crushed them 22-5 in fast-break points and the Pacers beat them by shooting 11-of-23 on wide-open 3PAs to Milwaukee’s 4-of-18. The Pacers just completely controlled the game with the Bucks constantly being late to rotate, especially in the first half. Of course, Dame coming back should inject their offense, but overall the Bucks shouldn’t be this terrible on the offensive end. Additionally, they looked better in the second half with 55 points despite still struggling from deep (7-of-21). It’ll be better regardless. The Pacers crushed in the halfcourt with 114.0 points per 100 thanks to just five turnovers and easy looks all game. The Bucks went to some zone as most teams do against the Pacers, and the Pacers were able to handle it overall. If Dame does play, that could make the Bucks’ defense even more vulnerable.

*Damian Lillard returning would be an extremely quick turnaround from his injury, but Shams Charania of ESPN mentioned it is going to be Game 2 or Game 3. You’d think he is going to be extremely limited, but he is almost certainly going to start. We’ll see if we can get more news on this before the shows today (I won’t be on them).