Milwaukee Bucks AT Golden State Warriors
Feb 3, 2011 at 10:30 PM EST
Opening Line: GS -7
Current Line: GS -7
Opening Total: 201.5
Current Total: 201.5
Opening Moneyline: GS -290 / Mil +240
Current Moneyline: GS -300 / Mil +240
For every problem there exists a remedy, and the remedy to the Bucks losing streak just might be the Warriors, even on the road. Milwaukee has won 4 straight over the Warriors over the last couple seasons and they are primed to stop their 3 game Western conference road trip losing streak.
Milwaukee, however, is sorely missing the presence of Andrew Bogut and consequently they are struggling to score enough. Backup diminutive point guard Earl Boykins commented, “We just haven’t been a good shooting team in the league the entire season…We shoot 31 percent, how do you win a basketball game shooting that way?” Corey Maggette has picked up some of the slack. The veteran is averaging 18.7 points per game in his last ten games, since he stepped in as a starter.
Some betting trends:
Milwaukee is 3-8 SU in their last 11 games on the road. Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against Golden State. They are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 against Golden State and they aer 8-4 SU in their last 12 road games against the Warriors. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 5 games against the Warriors.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Golden State’s last 10 games and they are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games. Golden State is 8-4 SU In their last 12 home games but 2-4 ATS In their last 6 at home. The total has gone OVER in 12 of Golden State’s last 13 at home and Golden State is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Bucks. Golden State is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games at home against the Bucks and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of Golden State’s last 5 games against Milwaukee. Golden State is 4-8 SU In their last 12 home games against Milwaukee.
Key Matchups:
Corey Maggette vs. Dorell Wright
Wright has gone from 6 years of obscurity to a relative spotlight this year as he is performing well and far above of what anyone expected from him going into this season. He’s averaging 16.7 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and shooting 41.3% from three where he hits an average of 2.5 per night. Maggette is a 12th year veteran now, and he’s only recently reverted to the form that made him a premier scorer throughout his career. As mentioned in the intro, he is averaging 18.7 points per game over his last 10 games, which is 2.3 points higher than his career average. His average for the season is still his lowest since his 4th year in the league, but if he continues to start that will probably not hold true. Maggette draws a lot of fouls on big men and gets to the line a lot, which is a nice thing because it gets everyone else more free throws by getting teams into the penalty. Both players should have good games tonight.
Brandon Jennings vs. Stephen Curry
Two of the rich crop of point guards in the 2009 NBA draft will square off tonight. Both are explosive scorers and shoot the ball well from outside (Curry more so than Jennings). Curry has improved his numbers across the board (except in rebounding for some strange reason) and he’s doing it in less minutes than he did last year when he averaged nearly 37 minutes a night and played 40+ minutes for a long stretch towards the end of the season. Jennings will start tonight but is expected to be capped at 24 minutes since it is only his 2nd game back after having foot surgery. When he’s not on the court, expect either Earl Boykins or Keyon Dooling to man the point guard duties. Both are very different players, both in style of play and stature, and each bring something unique to the table. Boykins is a dynamic scorer and is only 5’5″ Dooling is a tough defender and good ball handler and is 6’3″ Curry will probably have the best game of any of the point guards tonight simply for the fact he is the best player…HOWEVER, it was against Golden State last season that Brandon Jennings dropped a double nickel, 55 points.
