Some of you have wondered why I waited so long to post a prediction about the Milwaukee Bucks. The answer is simple; I had to let that dog walking by the Philadelphia 76ers wash away from my mind. I was disgusted, angry, and disappointed by that performance. It’s almost as if the Bucks didn’t even try. (I’m supposed to be letting it go, so let’s move on.)

Here we are now, game day. Bucks versus Celtics, game 1 of a best-of-seven series, in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs. It’s a new season and hopefully a new Bucks team.

Bucks are healthy for the first time all season. (No, that’s not an exaggeration.) The Celtics are not. (Missing Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart.) Most look at that and say that alone should be the reason the Bucks win. Not so fast.

The Bucks still suffer from an antiquated defensive system that gets them shredded, they still don’t shoot very well from distance, and have been wildly inconsistent all season. (Tape don’t lie.)

The Celtics have a top rated defense, still have guys on this team who can get it done, (Like Brown, Tatum, Horford, Rozier, Morris.) plus they have the far better coach in this scenario in Brad Stevens, who has been through these playoffs battles before with success.

As I said before, the playoffs are a new season. It’s all about getting the job done anyway you can.

With all of that said, I am going with the Milwaukee Bucks to win this series in seven games.

The Bucks boast the best player on the court in Giannis. He’s good for two wins by himself. There will be games in this series the Bucks will be able to run the Celtics into the ground. It is the games in which the Celtics slow it down to a grind the Bucks will find much more difficult. In the end, the best player and the health of the Bucks will be too much for Boston to overcome this season.

It’s a bold pick, but these are bold times. If this is truly a new season, we must have new faith in the Bucks. This season was a lesson, now the Bucks must apply what they’ve learned from those hard lessons in the playoffs. It’s time for the East to truly, Fear The Deer.