ESPN's Stephen A. Smith predicts 'with or without Giannis,' Bucks will lose to Pacers in NBA playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers four times this season across five games.

If that were a best-of-seven playoff series, the Bucks would be eliminated.

Fortunately for the Bucks, the regular season is over. But maybe, unfortunately, they meet the Pacers in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, more than three months since they last played.

And both teams look different. The Bucks have a new coach and the Pacers have All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, who was acquired in a trade. Then there's the uncertainty of whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will play as he recovers from a left soleus strain.

But will the results be any different of the Bucks, who are making their eighth straight appearance in the playoffs?

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Stephen A. Smith says Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury status won't matter in this series, predicts Pacers will beat Bucks

The NBA Countdown crew on ESPN had some thoughts Sunday.

"With or without Giannis, Indiana’s winning this series," Stephen A. Smith said as confident as he always does in his takes. "They’re going to beat Milwaukee. That’s No. 1."

But Smith didn't stop there once he said the Bucks were going to lose.

"No. 2, when that happens, I think the Milwaukee Bucks should take a strong, hard look on using the asset that is Damian Lillard and moving him from Milwaukee to someplace else," Smith said. "I don’t think he wants to be there. I don’t think his play looks like he wants to be there."

Lillard told the Journal Sentinel in an interview for a profile in February that he's "happy" in Milwaukee.

"I am happy," Lillard said. "We win, man. Being a together team and also knowing how to find a way to win games and work through to get where we want to get to, to me that’s encouraging ‘cause of the experience that I’ve had. So I’m happy with that. We win a lot, man. It could be worse. We could be losing and things could be just a lot worse than it is. I’m happy with it."

The Bucks haven't done a lot of winning recently — they entered the playoffs losing eight of 11 games — but did enough to be the third seed and have home-court advantage in the first round. And it's the best team — at least as far as win-loss record — that Lillard has been on in five years. The Bucks finished 49-33.

Smith, of course, is known around these parts for throwingshade toward Milwaukee during the team's 2021 NBA championship season. However, when he arrived here, he warmed up to the city.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury status will determine series, Adrian Wojnarowski predicts

His colleague, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, also offered a bold prediction for the series, though it was tied to the health of Antetokounmpo.

"Without Giannis, we’re talking about Indiana advancing," Wojnarowski predicted. "That’s going to be the biggest factor, is his rehab. Not just play in this series against Indiana but be dominant."

Wojnarowski also highlighted Siakam as a difference-maker who has playoff and "championship experience." Siakam was on the Toronto Raptors team that beat the Bucks in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals on its way to the NBA title.

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Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton could be too much for Bucks in playoffs

And, as Wojnarowski added, the Pacers have Tyrese Haliburton, who has "absolutely destroyed this Milwaukee team." Haliburton has averaged 27 points against the Bucks in the five games, about seven above his season average of 20.1.

"Athletically, they haven’t been able to stay in front of these Pacers," Wojnarowski said.

Michael Wilbon noted that, besides athletic concerns, the Bucks have been carrying a lot of emotional baggage this season that he views is weighing on them.

"This isn’t the team we thought it would be," said Wilbon, a longtime NBA reporter and columnist, while mentioning the coaching change from Adrian Griffin to Doc Rivers.

Pressure is on Doc Rivers to get most out of Bucks vs. Pacers, Kendrick Perkins says

Not everyone was so down on the Bucks.

Kendrick Perkins, another ESPN panelist, said the Bucks have enough talent to defeat the Pacers even if Antetokounmpo can't play.

But he added it's on Rivers to get the most out of the team.

"Doc Rivers, he got to get into his bag. He has to coach," said Perkins, who was coached by Rivers on the 2008 NBA championship Celtics team.

"If I'm the Milwaukee Bucks and it’s no way in hell you should put any pressure on bringing back Giannis Antetokounmpo," Perkins said. "You have enough pieces. You have Damian Lillard, you have money-making (Khris) Middleton, you have Brook Lopez, who have shown us time and time again. And Bobby Portis is a 20 (point) and 10 (rebound) guy when he’s a starter.

"Doc Rivers has to coach his ass off."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Stephen A Smith predicts Bucks will lose to Pacers in NBA playoffs