• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • NFL
    • Super Bowl Odds and Predictions
  • NBA
  • MLB
  • Soccer/Football
  • NCAAB
  • NHL
  • NCAAF
  • MMA
  • Other Sports
    • Auto racing
    • Esports
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Tennis
  • Sports Betting Systems
    • NFL Betting Systems
    • NBA Betting Systems
    • MLB Betting Systems
    • NCAAB Betting Systems
    • NCAAF Betting Systems
    • EPL Betting Systems
    • NHL Betting Systems
    • CFL Betting Systems
    • WNBA Betting Systems

WagerBop

Sports News, Strategy, Tips, and Results

  • The WagerBop News Team
  • Contact

Bucks Favored Over Visiting Celtics in Eastern Conference Clash

February 20, 2019 By Kurt Boyer Leave a Comment

What’s it like to run full speed into a set of sharp deer antlers?

Just ask the Boston Celtics.

Boston was red-hot heading into the All-Star break, winning 12 of 15 games. The next contest, however, will not be an easy win. The Celtics are going on the road to face the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks in a crucial Eastern Conference showdown.

Milwaukee and Boston split a pair of games late in 2018. Bookmakers are careful to recall the Bucks’ win in December, in which the club went on a 16-0 run early and triumphed 120-107.

The Vegas spread for Thursday night’s 8 PM EST tip-off at Fiserv Forum gives a (-5.5) point nod to the Bucks.

Phi Beta Buckets

Milwaukee has an exceptional offense led by one of brightest young faces of the NBA in Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo.

But it’s also the defense that has ignited the franchise in 2018-19.

1st-year head coach Mike Budenholzer has gotten his charges to crank up the heat on their own end of the floor. The Bucks take pride in never giving up an easy bucket at the rim.

Milwaukee’s smothering unit tops the league in FG % allowed at just 43% (which of course includes dunks, lay-ups, and easy garbage-time jumpers). Fast-break points come at a premium for any opponent. Milwaukee leads the league in points allowed in the first :10 after scoring or otherwise giving-up possession. Teams are posting single-digit transition-game totals against Budenholzer’s club on an average night.

Despite playing excellent defense in the paint, Budenholzer’s squad is susceptible to hot shooting from downtown. The Bucks give up an NBA-worst 12.7 made 3-pointers per game.

In a recent 118-112 defeat to the OKC Thunder, opposing forward Paul George went 8-of-12 from beyond the arc, and Oklahoma City hit half of its 32 trey attempts.

You can’t argue with a 43-14 record, however. It’s a game of “pick your poison,” and the Bucks allow rivals to attempt open 3-pointers and make protecting the glass their focal point. It works over the long run.

New Hope in New England

The Boston Celtics have a solid 2-way game of their own. Brad Stevens has kept the team moored in a style that brought the Celtics within a win of an NBA Finals appearance last season.

Presently in his 6th season with the team, Stevens led the Celtics to the NBA’s best defensive rating last season, helping ring-up a 55-27 record.

Boston displays brilliant court awareness and a high-energy level, qualities missing from lesser lights around the league. Scoring is great, but a versatile and club that hustles will almost always prevail against teams with slump-and-watch defenders (looking at you, James Hardin).

After a rocky start to the season, the Celtics have clawed their way into the thick of the Eastern Conference race. The defense has allowed only 44.3% from the floor. The Celtics’ are also 2nd-best in the league defending the 3-pointer, allowing opponents to shoot just 34% from downtown.

Celtic defenders are prodding teams into costly turnovers. The Green & White rank 3rd in the NBA with 8.8 steals per game. Opponents have averaged only 45.1 points in the paint, which has propelled the Celtics to the top 5 in the NBA in yet another category.

In a crucial win over the Philadelphia 76ers right before the All-Star break, the defense carried the Celtics over the hump with a 112-109 result. The Celtics were precise with the ball, committing only 5 turnovers while shooting 44.8% from 3-point range. A prodigious night from Gordon Hayward off the bench helped rally the Celtics.

Players to Watch in Milwaukee

All eyes will be focused on MVP candidate Antetokounmpo, who is having the most prolific season of his still-developing career.

The Greek Freak is averaging 27.2 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 6 assists. He’s reveling in the best shooting of his life at 58.1% and getting to the foul stripe with ease.

Milwaukee point guard Eric Bledsoe has been everywhere on the court, averaging 5.4 assists and a team-high 1.5 steals to add to his double-figure scoring average.

The Bucks made a colossal splash before the trade deadline by acquiring 3-point specialist Nikola Mirotic from the New Orleans Pelicans in a 3-team deal. The Bucks are already tied for 2nd in the NBA with 13.1 made 3’s per game, and that number should go up thanks to the big man with a long range.

Kyrie Irving has been terrific for Boston upon returning from knee surgery. The 20-year-old PG has averaged 23.6 points and 6.9 assists in 2018-19.

Jayson Tatum has also improved his production in a stellar sophomore campaign. The 20 year-old is the only player to start every game for the Celtics this season and played in the Rising Stars Challenge over the break.

Despite Gordon Hayward’s slow return from an ankle injury, he has posted a string of solid performances in recent games. The 6’8” small forward has been on fire in his last 3 outings with more than 60 points scored.

My Prediction ATS

Wagerbop’s lean is on the Bucks’ smart defense to hold Boston under the team’s scoring average of 113 while producing enough inside buckets to cover a modest (-5.5) spread at home.

Take the Bucks to cover and snag a few bucks at the sportsbook.

Kurt Boyer( Big 3 Sports Staff Writer )

Kurt has authored close to 1000 stories covering football, soccer, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, prize-fighting and the Olympic Games. Kurt posted a 61% win rate on 200+ college and NFL gridiron picks last season. He muses about High School football on social media as The Gridiron Geek.

Twitter: @Shadowgbq
Email: kurt@wagerbop.com

Материалы по теме:

LeBron James ATS
The NBA landscape has undergone a seismic shift, with the move of LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Los Angeles Lakers. With ...
How to place an educated bet
The sports betting industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world and it is offering a huge opportunity for both sportsbooks and bettors. ...
NBA Eastern Conference Futures Preview
The NBA season is less than a month away! I am not trying to kill your football buzz here, but part of being a successful ...
Introduction to Basketball Models and Metrics
Introduction Predicting a basketball game requires, in simple terms, to guess the average number of points that each team will score. Having the average total ...
LA Lakers Aiming For Top 10 Defensive Team
Under the guidance of Luke Walton, the Los Angeles Lakers was 13th in the league terms of defensive efficiency last year.  This was a ...
Share1
Tweet
Share
1 Shares

Filed Under: NBA, Sports Betting Tagged With: Basketball, Boston Celtics, Bucks, Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, National Basketball Association, NBA

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

We Are Social

MLB Daily Double

Sign up

Sign Up

Sign up

Authors For This Section

Georgie L

Georgie has been in the industry for over 11 years, working as a trader and a broker for some of the largest syndicates in the world. Georgie has focused his model development on international soccer leagues.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: georgie@wagerbop.com

Jake Nichols

Jake is a mixed martial arts reporter from Australia. At WagerBop, he merges his appreciation of combat sports and a strong passion for analytics to uncover opportunities for readers.

Twitter: @JakeNicholsMMA
Email: jake@wagerbop.com

Jay Sanin

Jay is a sports writer who has been featured on Deadspin, BetAdvisor. In addition to penning wager previews and features, Jay has broadcasted for MAAC school as well as ESPN Radio's Northeastern Affiliates.

Instagram: @jaysanin
Email: jay@wagerbop.com

Nikola Velickovic

Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.

Twitter:
Email: nikola@wagerbop.com

Kreighton R

Kreighton loves sports, math, writing, and winning -- he combines all of them as a writer for WagerBop. His favorite sports to review are MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAAF, and NCAABB.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: kreighton@wagerbop.com

Kurt Boyer

Kurt has authored close to 1000 stories covering football, soccer, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, prize-fighting and the Olympic Games. Kurt posted a 61% win rate on 200+ college and NFL gridiron picks last season. He muses about High School football on social media as The Gridiron Geek.

Twitter: @Shadowgbq
Email: kurt@wagerbop.com

Shehryar Raza

Shehryar is a professional eSports analyst with a particular affinity for CS:GO, LoL, and DOTA. He covers major eSports events across the world for WagerBop.

Twitter: @raza_shehryar
Email: shehryar@wagerbop.com

Oscar Cantu

Oscar is a rabid sports fan who started to develop his own models when he realized that lots of sports betting "experts" rely too much on their own opinions and publicly available information to provide picks. Oscar focuses on football, basketball, and soccer.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: social@wagerbop.com

derek

WagerBop Authors

Latest

Volkov vs Rozenstruik odds, preview, prediction

Mateusz Gamrot Defeats Arman Tsarukyan in the Main Event of the UFC on ESPN 38

June 26, 2022 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

MLS: Philadelphia Union vs. New York City FC Preview, Odds, Prediction

June 25, 2022 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

MLS: Seattle Sounders vs.Sporting Kansas City Preview, Odds, Prediction

June 23, 2022 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

MLS: LAFC vs. New York Red Bulls Preview, Odds, Prediction

June 23, 2022 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

MLS: FC Cincinnati vs. Orlando City Preview, Odds, Prediction

June 21, 2022 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

Categories

  • Auto racing
  • Boxing
  • College Football
  • College Football
  • Esports
  • FBS
  • FIFA
  • General Strategy
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
  • Men's Ice Hockey
  • MLB
  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NCAAB
  • NCAAF
  • NFL
  • NHL
  • Olympics
  • Soccer/Football
  • Sports Betting
  • Sports News
  • Sportsbook Reviews
  • Tennis
  • US Soccer
  • Women's Ice Hockey

Twitter

Follow

@·
now

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter
Load More...

Footer

About WagerBop

WagerBop is a sports website committed to journalism. We are founded by sports fans — for sports fans — and aim to provide the latest happenings in athletics across the board. We are a team of real, dedicated, eccentric people who aim to deliver the high level of objectivity and quality found throughout our site.

CONTACT DETAILS

Address: 3505 Olsen Blvd
Amarillo, TX 79109
Phone: 806-355-7200
Email Id: admin@wagerbop.com

FREE BETTING STRATEGIES

Free NFL Betting Strategy
Free NCAAF Betting Strategy
Free MLB Betting Strategy
Free NHL Betting Strategy
Free NBA Betting Strategy
Free NCAAB Betting Strategy
Free CFL Betting Strategy
Free EPL Betting Strategy
Free WNBA Betting Strategy

Other Pages

  • Cookie Agreement
  • Editorial Policy
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2022 Wagerbop.com · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website Close