Milwaukee at Boston
Time: 7 PM CT (TNT)
Spread: EVEN
Total: 221
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Milwaukee Bucks are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the 2017-18 season at 7-0 and it will travel to face the Boston Celtics at 7 PM CT on ESPN. The odds are set EVEN and the over/under is listed at 221 points for the game.
MIL
The Bucks will have Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup tonight. He sat with a pectoral strain but is expected to be ready for tonight’s game. It is a major addition to the lineup to return the Greek Freak to it. He is averaging a team-best 25.0 points, 14.2 rebounds and a second-best 5.7 assists per game. Antetokounmpo can do it all, on both ends of the court, also evidenced by his defensive playmaking where he averages 2.34 steals/blocks per game.
But he has not done it all alone, at all.
Swingman Khris Middleton is making an All-Star bid with his 20.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and Brook Lopez round out the starters, and all of them average double figures.
The Bucks have better depth than most credit it for, though. Ersan Ilyasova is excellent in the pick and roll and has good shooting range. Donte DiVicenzo is having a solid rookie season thus far, though not making a huge impact statistically. Tony Snell has lost his starting role and now only plays 16 minutes per game, but he and Thon Maker help round out the ten-man rotation.
Former UNC Tar Heel John Henson is used situationally as a defender, and he averages 2.05 blocks/steals in just 16 minutes a night, as well. The Bucks rank No. 4 in team defense, allowing just 104.1 points per game while it scores 120.0 itself. Milwaukee also moves the ball well as a team, and it is the strongest rebounding team in the league at 55.6 boards per game. Its 26.9 assists rank No. 4. There is just a lot to like about this deep and talented team, outside of the obvious electric play of Giannis.
BOS
The Boston Celtics are 5-2 and 2-1 at home where its lone loss came to the lowly Orlando Magic. The Celtics seem to still be in the process of establishing its identity since Gordon Hayward got injured on opening night a season ago and Kyrie Irving was out for the entire 2018 playoffs. Reintegrating those talents has been a challenge, with several role players having to accept diminished roles in the wake of their respective returns.
One of those players has been Jaylen Brown. Brown was a key performer in the postseason, but this year he is seeing under 30 minutes a game. Jayson Tatum has assumed the role of team leader, but Irving is still rounding himself into shape after missing so much time. Both average 16 points per game, and Boston as a team totals just 102.4 points per night.
Boston’s offense ranks second-to-last, but it sports the best defense in the entire league. Boston surrenders just 97.6 points per game, and it also ties for No. 5 in team rebounding (49.6 per game). The Celtics should still be a contending team, and there is no sense decrying the 5-2 start. It is solid enough with the challenges this team still has in developing offensive chemistry.
