NBA: Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Washington Wizards and the Milwaukee Bucks square off at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday night. Things haven’t been well for the guests from DC, who experienced five defeats in a row, one of them the already legendary against the Clippers. Meanwhile, the champions were humiliated at home versus Denver Nuggets, who obliterated Giannis and the crew, beating them by a 36-point margin. They need to avoid such meltdowns, not only due to a team’s morale but also because of the record, which isn’t as convincing as many expected to be at this stage of the campaign.

Preview

Washington Wizards (23-26, TBA) have lost five in a row, four of them at home, which is a big blow to their ambitions to reach the playoffs. Needless to say, the Wizards were supposed to provide the majority of their victories at home, and this negative stretch is a big minus for them.

During this period, the Wizards’ defense was a major problem, whose best performance in that aspect of the game came against the Raptors, who scored 109 points. We again need to mention the loss against the Clippers, who stuffed a couple of threes in the match’s closing moments. That one is a serious morale-killer.

That is why the Memphis Grizzlies had no problems trashing the Wizs, 115-95. Everything was decided in the first period, once the Grizzlies gained a 30-15 advantage. Kuzma had 30 points and eight boards, KCP scored 15, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 10. Beal had only nine but delivered 12 assists.

Milwaukee Bucks (31-21, TBA) were big favorites against the Nuggets. In the end, Nikola Jokic and his crew left Fiserv with a 136-100 win. We are more than sure that nobody expected this to happen, not even those die-hard Nuggets fans.

This was the second loss for the Bucks in the previous three games. Denver’s unreal shooting percentages were the main reason for this, as the guests made 60.2% FG attempts, and 53.5% from downtown. Also, the Bucks had miserable 33 rebounds.

Giannis reached 29 points with nine rebounds, and he was the only one defying the Nuggets’ grip. Jrue Holiday had 14 points with eight assists, while Bobby Portis and Grayson Allen delivered 11 each. Khris Middleton didn’t have his night, ending the event with only nine points in 27 minutes.

Head to Head Games

Washington Wizards hosted the Bucks on November 7, and defeated them 101-94. Beal was excellent with 30 points, Kuzma and Harrell had 15. On the other side, Giannis had a monstrous double-double with 29 points and 18 rebounds, plus five assists and three steals. Allen helped with 19 buckets, but that wasn’t enough.

Prediction

The Wizards are in serious trouble, and we believe that they might fall apart right now. Even if that doesn’t happen, the Bucks will have an easy task against them. Milwaukee will come out with a sense of urgency following a big loss against the Nuggets, and we all know Giannis when he goes mad. Therefore, we would suggest betting on the home side to defeat the Wizards, and not only that but to beat them by at least 12-point margin.

Pick: Bucks -11.5 -110

Here is the preview for the Nets vs. Suns game