Brooklyn vs Milwaukee: The Nets can't manage without their two leaders and will lose for the third time in a row

The Bucks won both home games and tied the series with Brooklyn. In the fifth game, however, Mike Budenholzer's team will play on the road. Will the Bucks be able to extend their winning streak and take the lead in the confrontation? Or will the Nets’ superstars remind us of their highest level? Let's choose a few bets for the upcoming meeting.

Much of the series with Milwaukee will depend on whether James Harden returns to the floor. It's entirely possible that the Nets will lose and drop out of the tournament without their primary point guard. The second game in Wisconsin was a reminder of the importance of the point guard. Brooklyn scored only 96 points, showing a very unbalanced game on offense. Kevin Durant scored 28 points while shooting 23 times. Kyrie Irving was second in scoring attempts with 11. Everyone else had less than 10 attempts. Superstars are good, of course, but when the same guys shoot over and over again, it's much easier for the opponent to defend.

Kyrie Irving was also injured, spending only 17 minutes on the court. It's not the best thing for Brooklyn either.

Mike Budenholzer's team seems to have adjusted its defense. The Bucks are still having hard time scoring points offensively, but so it turns out that they have begun to win defensively. In both meetings at Fiserv Forum, the Stags prevented Brooklyn from scoring 100 points, reminding the basketball community that they are one of the best teams in the league in recent years.

In addition, the Nets have a big problem stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek, in his fourth game, again showed the highest level of basketball, scoring 34 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Blake Griffin, of course, is having a great streak, including often being effective on defense. However, it is still difficult for the veteran to maintain his level of defense over the course of the series.

Not only James Harden, but Kyrie Irving as well is questionable for the upcoming game. Clearly, those are incredibly important players for the Nets. But even if they both take the court, it's far from certain that Brooklyn will be able to beat Milwaukee. The Bucks seem to have calmed down and figured out how to beat superstar opponents and are likely to give the Nets a lot of trouble in Game 5 of the series. Prediction - Milwaukee will be close to a third straight win.

• Brooklyn Nets wins at odds of about 2.20;
• Brooklyn's Win + Handicap over 3.5 with an index around 1.875;
• Total match poiints are less than 218.5 for about 3.00.