How to Bet Bucks vs Nets Game 5 Based on the Trends – Brooklyn 7-1 When Durant Plays Without Irving & Harden

• Despite being a 3.5 point underdog, the Brooklyn Nets have a strong trend on their side in Game 5 against Milwaukee on Tuesday night
• The Nets are 7-1 this season when Kevin Durant plays without Kyrie Irving and James Harden
• How can bettors make this profitable? Wagering strategy explained in article below

All is lost for the Brooklyn Nets before they even play Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, correct? They have zero chance of winning without James Harden and Kyrie Irving, eh?

Well, not so fast.

This is not the first time the Nets have been in this situation. It is the ninth. And their record when playing without those particular two superstars is a healthy 7-1. But there is a caveat.

Bucks vs Nets Game 5 Odds

Odds as of June 15th

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What Happened When Durant Played Without Harden and Irving?

The Nets’ 7-1 record referenced above includes a bunch of victories that came before Harden was acquired from the Houston Rockets on June 14.

Excluding those game, here is the body of work we have to look at:

• April 13: With Harden out with a hamstring strain and Irving out for personal reasons, Durant scored 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his most productive performance in 2.5 months, as the Brooklyn Nets blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-97. The 30-point victory came as 7.5-point favorites.
• April 29: Harden’s hamstring remained bad, and Irving had a groin injury. But Durant scored 22 points in the third quarter and finished with 42 points in a 130-113 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Not much, eh? But the common denominator was that the Nets had lopsided victories in both games, albeit against inferior competition than what they will be facing at Barclays Center tonight. And Durant rose to the occasion offensively.

The Brooklyn Nets will start Head Coach Steve Nash at PG tomorrow night vs. Milwaukee, per @wojespn.

Nash is set to make history as the first Head Coach to participate in a playoff game since LeBron James in 2017-18 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. pic.twitter.com/UDlJ2YkfjV

— Jake (@JakeAndHoops) June 14, 2021

That was a good tweet, summing up a situation that looks bleak for Brooklyn.

But Nash, like every NBA coach, has told all of his players to remain ready. Who will replace Irving in the starting five is not yet known, but Mike James is the most likely candidate. He logged fairly heavy minutes in the final four games of the regular season, and scored 12 points in 30 minutes of Game 1 against the Bucks. It also could be Tyler Johnson or Chris Chiozza.

But Brooklyn will lean heavily on Durant for offense.

Kevin Durant’s Game 5 mentality: ‘It’s just about going out there and hooping’ https://t.co/QzSyhEKgDw pic.twitter.com/Gx4sClscFg

— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) June 15, 2021

Should the Bucks Be Considered a Lock?

There is never a lock in the NBA. Just ask Sixers fans who watched their team fall into a 2-2 tie with the Atlanta Hawks last night after looking so dominant in Game 3 and the first half of Game 4.

Milwaukee had a 20-16 road record, tied with Brooklyn and Philly for best in the East. But the Bucks were only 16-20-0 ATS as a road favorite, so keep that in mind in trying to figure out whether Milwaukee will win and/or cover when contemplating the Bucks vs Nets Game 5 odds.

The Bucks are 35-39-0 ATS as a favorite and 24-27-0 ATS after a win. Those stats do not exactly inspire confidence.

What Is the Play?

Look, teams have to face adversity in the postseason. What happened one night will not necessarily carry over to the next game. What happens in a first half will not necessarily carry over to the second half, as we saw last night in Atlanta as the Hawks outscored the Sixers by 16 in the third and fourth quarters to even the series at two games apiece.

The Nets are 4.5 point underdogs, which is probably too high of a line. Milwaukee has not exactly been killing it. Khris Middleton is shooting south of 39 percent in this series. Jrue Holiday is at 47 percent from the field and less than 33 percent from 3-point range. Donte DiVincenzo is out. Giannis Antetokounmpo is shooting 13 percent from 3-point range and 51.6 percent from the line.

Those numbers do not exactly inspire confidence, so what we have here is one team battling two major injuries and another team that cannot hit the broad side of a barn.

"To me this is the defining moment of this Bucks team."

Chuck gives his expectations for Milwaukee in the rest of their series against Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/l2Ivc3BgTy

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 15, 2021

In a 2-2 series, the pressure is higher and the defense usually gets tighter. It would appear that the line on this game is too high, and given the low point totals we have been seeing (169 in Game 3 and 203 in Game 4), it would appear that the over/under of 217 is too high. Remember, “sharp” bettors often take the under because it is the only wager where a gambler is winning before the game even begins.

Milwaukee was the highest scoring team in the regular season, but the regular season ended a long time ago. Brooklyn is missing two of its top three scorers. The under has hit in all four games of this series. So the wise play here seems pretty clear: Nets and the points along with the under.