NBA Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks Will Beat Toronto Raptors Or Philadelphia 76ers, Reach 2019 Finals

The Milwaukee Bucks will be watching Game 7 between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, looking to see which team they will play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, it doesn't matter who their opponent is and the No. 1 seed should reach the 2019 NBA Finals.

There is overwhelming evidence that Milwaukee is the best team in the East. It's virtually indisputable through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Bucks led the entire NBA with 60 regular-season wins. They are the only team that has already punched their ticket to the conference finals, cruising past the Detroit Pistons with a first-round sweep and needing just five games to beat the Boston Celtics in the second round.

The metrics certainly indicate that Milwaukee is the best team in basketball. They were the only team with both a top-four offense and defense in the regular season.

Milwaukee ranked first in defensive efficiency through 82 games. They are first, again, in the playoffs, allowing 98.2 points per 100 possessions. The worst offense in the regular season averaged 104 points per 100 possessions.

Toronto and Philadelphia both have stars that can take over games offensively. Their key players have also proven to be unreliable throughout the playoffs.

That conversation excludes Kawhi Leonard, who has been every bit as good as Giannis Antetokounmpo this postseason. Jimmy Butler has performed well on a nightly basis, too, though he hasn't been an otherworldly player.

Everyone else on the Raptors has been hit or miss. Pascal Siakam has had a few very good games and some bad games. Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol have been average at best, playing poorly in Toronto's losses. The bench has contributed almost nothing.

When it comes to the 76ers, you never know what you're going to get. Joel Embiid has looked like the best player in the league at times. An injury or an illness has prevented him from approaching that level on most other nights this postseason. Ben Simmons is almost incapable of performing like an All-Star against a top defense in the playoffs because all of his inability to score outside of the paint.

The best version of the Raptors or 76ers can beat the Bucks. Unfortunately for Toronto and Philadelphia, those teams don't show up often enough.

Milwaukee brings its best just about every night. Their only lackluster performance came in Game 1 against Boston. The Bucks have won seven of their nine playoff games by 12 points or more. Milwaukee’s 123-116 Game 3 victory over the Celtics wasn’t nearly as close as the score might indicate.

Antetokounmpo is in control of each game, bullying his way to the basket and finding open shooters. Khris Middleton is proving to be a reliable second option, averaging 19.1 points per game and hitting 46.7 percent of his three-pointers in the playoffs.

The biggest question surrounding Milwaukee was whether or not their role players could be trusted in big games. The answer has been a resounding “yes.”

That doesn't mean players like Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe and Nikola Mirotic are immune from being ineffective, but the odds are that one or two of them will step up. George Hill, Ersan Ilysova and Patrick Connaughton have been part of the best playoff bench.

Now, Malcolm Brogdon gets added to the mix after missing the first eight games of the playoffs, giving Milwaukee even more depth.

All of that is going to be too much for Toronto or Philadelphia to handle, especially when Milwaukee has home-court advantage.

Leonard can't beat the Bucks by himself. For all of their big names, the 76ers never look like a team with several All-Stars in the starting lineup.

It's all setting up for Milwaukee to reach the NBA Finals, where they’ll have a great chance to defeat whichever team comes out of the West.