NBA: Milwaukee Bucks vs New York Knicks Preview, Odds, Prediction

After a successful stop in Philly, the Milwaukee Bucks face the New York Knicks at Madison on Wednesday night. It seems that the champions recovered a little bit after a stretch of poor performances. Meanwhile, the Knicks had a strong start, yet slowed down after a while. They, too, are coming into this matchup following a victory. This is a potential playoff meeting, and like any big game in New York, it arouses the fans. That is why we decided to cover tonight’s event.

Preview

Milwaukee Bucks (5-6, +125) defeated the injured Philadelphia 76ers, which was what they needed after four losses in five matches. Regardless of the fact that the 76ers missed their best players, winning at Wells Fargo Arena is something that can’t be diminished.

Giannis was up to the task, with 31 points and 16 boards, playing like an MVP contender, and solving pretty much all the one-on-one situations. Grayson Allen used the current circumstances in the Bucks’ team to impose himself as a reliable scoring option. He had 25 buckets last night, shooting 5-for-9 from three-point territory.

Bobby Portis added another double-double since becoming a starter, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The strong center too put the spotlight on himself. Many believed that he couldn’t replace Brook Lopez, but he did, especially with a three-point shooting. Portis had four long-distance hits last night.

New York Knicks (7-4, -150) also defeated Philly in the previous event. However, they didn’t post a victory in the past two games at home, which is somewhat frustrating for their fans.

Tom Thibodeau has five players with 10+poins per night, with the most efficient being Julius Randle, with 22.5 buckets and 11 boards each night. Derrick Rose’s role is very important. The former MVP is coming off the bench to keep the pressure as the leader of the second unit.

Rose averages 12.5 points, and opens up many options in the attack, because he can play either as a point guard or as a shooter, which gives Thibodeau possibilities to mix things up in his offense.

Head to Head Games

The Knicks defeated the Bucks a few days ago, back in Wisconsin, 113-98. Even though the hosts opened this match furiously, winning the first period, 38-19, the Knicks bounced back to erase the minus and, in the end, win pretty confidently.

Randle had 32 points with 12 boards, while Barrett added 20. Rose scored 23 off the bench with eight boards and four assists. On the other side, Giannis dropped 25, and Allen added 22. At that point, the Bucks didn’t have three of their starters available.

Prediction

The spread on the Bucks is +3, and we wouldn’t go into picking the winner of this event. Simply, it can go either way. Instead, our pick would be Under, with the current line for the total points at 215.5. The first match ended under that, and our opinion is that this one will too, because Knicks play hard at home and because Bucks have Jrue Holiday back, who is one of the best defensive guards in the league. Choosing this pick sounds more logical than betting on the winner.

Pick: Under 212.5 points

Here is the preview for the match between the Mavericks and the Bulls.