NBA Playoffs: Predictions for Game 7 of Bucks-Nets

Given that the Nets are missing one-third of their Big Three, and another third is severely compromised, I think we can all agree it ain’t surprising that the odds-on-favorite to win the NBA title has been stretched to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semis.

Brooklyn is seriously in danger of getting bounced way earlier than the overwhelming majority of NBA fans would have predicted before the playoffs began for a few reasons, notably injuries to Kyrie Irving (out for Game 7) and James Harden (not even close to 100 percent with a balky hamstring). But the Bucks, despite their egregious effort in the second half of Game 5, deserve credit for taking care of business in Game 6 and forcing a glorious winner-take-all scenario Saturday night at Barclays Center. With the stakes so high, coaches and players on both sides will try to downplay the pressure. Good luck with that.    

“It’s a basketball game. It’s as simple as that,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said following Game 6. “I know it’s lose-or-go-home, but at the same time, it’s just basketball. You’ve got to have fun with it. Those moments are fun, you know, when the game’s on the line.”

So what, precisely, should we expect to see go down in Brooklyn? Honestly, who the hell knows? Making predictions often makes you look foolish, but it kind of comes with the territory in sports so here are four things we feel pretty confident proclaiming less than 24 hours before Game 7 tips with a bold prediction attached at the bottom.