Dr. Jack's Breakdown: Bucks-Pacers
By Dr. Jack Ramsay
Special to ESPN.com
No. 8 Bucks (42-40) vs. No. 1 Pacers (56-26)
 Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay provides analysis for ESPN on SportsCenter and NBA Today. Here he breaks down the playoffs for ESPN.com. The color analyst for the Heat, Ramsay's impressive résumé includes making the playoffs in 16 of his 20 seasons as coach and winning an NBA title with Portland in 1977.
Throughout the 2000 playoffs, Dr. Jack will break down each series from the backcourts to intanglibles. Look for his analysis from the first round all the way through to the NBA Finals.
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BACKCOURT |
EDGE
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| The Pacers can come at the Bucks with an experienced pair of guards in Mark Jackson and Reggie Miller. Then, they have Travis Best and maybe Chris Mullin or Derrick McKey off the bench. The Pacers are very versatile and deep. Best is a solid defender who can bother Sam Cassell. And Jackson and Miller should score against both Cassell and Ray Allen, who is explosive but hampered by a sprained knee.
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FRONTCOURT
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EDGE
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| The forward matchups clearly favor Indiana. Jalen Rose will match up well with Glenn Robinson. At the big forward Dale Davis has a strong advantage over whomever the Bucks play there, whether it's Scott Williams or Darvin Ham. Davis is a very consistent, experienced player, a strong rebounder who is shooting the ball better. In the middle Rik Smits will play Ervin Johnson. Smits has looked like a more confident player lately. His knee is feeling better, and that's a key for him.
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BENCH
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EDGE
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The Pacers are much deeper, although Tim Thomas has played well off the bench for Milwaukee. Indiana has suitable replacements at every position. Austin Croshere, Sam Perkins, McKey, Mullin and Best have ample playoff experience.
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INTANGIBLES
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EDGE
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The only thing favoring the Bucks is they can enter the series with an everything-to-gain, nothing-to-lose attitude. Teams that rely on their shooting, like Milwaukee does, usually come in looser and shoot better. Indiana's first unit has some soft defenders, like Smits and Jackson. But the Pacers can put a good defensive team on the floor. In addition, the Pacers know this is their last shot. They have a lot of free agents among their veteran players, and Larry Bird is stepping down as coach after this year. There is a great incentive for the Pacers, and they won't let this series get away.
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PREDICTION
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Pacers in three. I think Indiana should sweep the series. This is one of the most one-sided series in either conference. Granted, the Bucks have scorers; Cassell and Robinson and Allen combine for 60 points a game. But Allen's status is undetermined, and Indiana is just too strong and too deep for Milwaukee.
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