3 things to watch in Bucks vs. Pacers playoff series

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks open their first-round playoff series Sunday at Fiserv Forum against the Indiana Pacers.

The Bucks lost four out of five regular season meetings to Indiana. This is the Pacers’ first playoff appearance in four seasons and they haven’t won a playoff series in 10 years.

The status of Giannis Antetokounmpo and his injured calf looms over this series. He had a couple of monster games against Indiana in the regular season, scoring a Bucks record 64 points in one meeting and 54 points in another.

Here are three things to watch in the series.

High-octane offenses

This is a matchup of two of the NBA’s best offenses. The Pacers were number one, averaging over 123 points per game. The Bucks were fourth at 119. The downside for Indiana is they allowed 120 points per game, 28th in the league.

Local product

Oshkosh native Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers was very effective against his home state team during the regular season. He averaged 27 points per game against the Bucks in five meetings.

His season average was 20. On the flip side, Damian Lillard of the Bucks shot just 32% and 26% on threes in his four games against Indiana.

Home sweet home

The Bucks have home court advantage in the series and were difficult to beat at Fiserv Forum this season, going 31-11. Games one and two, and if necessary, games five and seven, will be in Milwaukee. The road was a different story, where the Bucks were just 18-22.

These teams haven’t met since early January.

That’s before Doc Rivers became the Bucks’ head coach and the Pacers acquired Pascal Siakam.