NBA: San Antonio Spurs vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Milwaukee Bucks are back home, where they meet the San Antonio Spurs, who are some sort of a limbo at the moment. The franchise from Texas is playing solid and is in the playoff zone, yet they are shopping their two players, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Currently, they are playing very well, having three wins in a row, all on the road, but the clash with the Bucks is going to be a true test for Gregg Popovich’s boys. On the other side, Popovich’s student, Mike Budenholzer, and his Milwaukee slowly shift into a higher gear. The Bucks have five consecutive triumphs, with a very favorable schedule ahead of them.

Preview

San Antonio Spurs (+425, 22-16) posted wins in Detroit, Chicago, and the latest one in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, 116-100. Now, here is one interesting data. Did you know that the Spurs had six different players as their best scorers? That is the biggest strength of this site, because the opponents can’t prepare their gameplan and be sure that it will work.

What is the problem for the team from San Antonio is the lack of points from the low-post positions. When saying that, we mean that they don’t have a good center who could make their offense more diversified. Even when Aldridge played, his stats were mediocre.

Keldon Johnson exploded against the Cavs with 23 points and 21 rebounds, while Dejounte Murray added 22 buckers. DeRozan scored 20.

Milwaukee Bucks (26-14, -600) got back home following a stretch that saw them playing on the road four of their previous five games. During that time, they defeated Memphis, Knicks, Wizards twice, and the 76ers. That last match was very intense, with Giannis hitting some clutch buckets before infuriating the hosts’ players with his celebration. Eventually, Milwaukee triumphed 109-105.

Antetokounmpo had 32 points with 15 boards in 43 minutes. Donte DiVincenzo added 20 with 8 boards, and Jrue Holiday ended the game with 19 and 6 boards and assists as well. Holiday is slowly getting back into the rhythm, and his presence in the playoff will be one of the most important factors for the Bucks’ performances.

Overall, the Bucks were shooting very badly, 40.6% from the field, making just nine of 39 shots from downtown. But they would increase the tempo in the final period, outscoring the 76ers 28-19, and using the fact that Joel Embiid didn’t play. That was something that allowed them to be much more aggressive defensively in those last 12 minutes.

Head to Head Games

Tonight’s match is the first one this season between the Spurs and the Bucks. Last season both sides defended their respective courts, splitting a win each.

Prediction

There’s no need to explain why we want to back up the Bucks here. They are in excellent shape, and for the moment, Giannis and the boys are probably playing the best basketball in the league. The profits on their win are way too low, and we would advise you to be brave and go with the hosts covering a 10-point spread because the majority of their wins at Fiserv Forum came by a double-digit margin.