Despite the prospect of facing the team with the best record in the NBA, the Miami Heat are the pick by seven of 18 ESPN NBA experts to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in their upcoming playoff series.
Five of the experts picking the Heat are expecting the best-of-seven series to go the distance, while two others foresee the Heat winning in six games.
Jerry Bembry: Bucks in 7
Nick DePaula: Heat in 6
Nick Friedell: Heat in 6
Kirk Goldsberry: Bucks in 7
Andrew Han: Heat in 7
Chris Herring: Bucks in 6
Andrew Lopez: Bucks in 6
Zach Lowe: Bucks in 7
Tim MacMahon: Bucks in 6
Bobby Marks: Heat in 7
Dave McMenamin: Heat in 7
Kevin Pelton: Bucks in 6
Jorge Sedano: Heat in 7
Ramona Shelburne: Heat in 7
Andre’ Snellings: Bucks in 5
Eric Woodyard: Bucks in 7
Royce Young: Bucks in 6
Ohm Youngmisuk: Bucks in 7
The Heat are coming off a sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the postseason and will face a Bucks team that ran off four straight wins against the Orlando Magic. That surge by Milwaukee came after being upset in the opening game of the series.
During the regular season, the Bucks won a league-high 56 games against 17 losses, while the Heat ended their season with a 44-29 mark.
Ordinarily, those numbers would dictate that the Bucks have home-court advantage for the series. However, the bubble format has negated any such advantage for the Bucks, which could benefit the Heat.
The series between the Heat and Bucks gets underway on Monday, with a potential Game 7 set for Saturday, Sep. 12.