Max Kellerman believes Bucks have greatest chance to dethrone Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are the favorite to win the Finals, and First Take’s Max Kellerman believes the Bucks have the East’s best chance to dethrone them.

Who can dethrone the Golden State Warriors?

It’s the toughest questions surrounding the NBA world right now. While parity has come back to the league with teams closing the gap, there still isn’t one team that’s the top threat to Golden State.

Houston, who just dropped their first game to Utah (now up 3-1 in the series), is the team most fans consider the top threat to Golden State. But, assume the Warriors get past the Rockets and get all the way to their fifth straight NBA Finals.

Who would give them a run for their money in the 2019 NBA Finals?

Max Kellerman, the popular host of ESPN’s First Take, believes it’s the Milwaukee Bucks, not the Boston Celtics. That said, the Bucks will have to go through either the Irving-led Celtics or the Leonard-led Raptors who are up 3-1 in their series with the Orlando Magic.

Here’s the explanation Kellerman take, which is actually not an unfathomable one.

Kellerman’s take is actually a pretty common one. However, it’s difficult for the common NBA folk to back the Bucks. Just like the Denver Nuggets, the Bucks could prove to be a regular season team. Can they get a bucket when it matters will be the real question.

That said, they are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will, according to Basketball-Reference’s MVP tracker, be the league’s MVP. This postseason, his dominance has continued, though the Bucks first-round matchup is the Detroit Pistons, the worst Eastern Conference team to make the playoffs.

The Bucks will only go as far as Giannis takes them. The same can be said as the Raptors with Leonard and Celtics with Irving. While the role players will matter, what star will step up when it matters, and if it’s my call, I’m not going to be betting against Kyrie Irving’s Celtics.

But, at the end of the day, every team that’ll be in the Eastern Conference semifinals will have a decent chance to make it all the way and contest the Warriors.

Who has the best chance to defeat the Warriors was the question. The answer? For Kellerman, it’s the Bucks. For most, it’s the Celtics. For Canada, it’s the Raptors. In reality, it could be any of the three and even possibly the Sixers.