Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks NBA Basketball Predictions

Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks
Tuesday, 11/16/10, 8:00 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: Los Angeles -3.5
Current Betting Line: Los Angeles -3
Opening Total: 198
Current Total: 194
Current Moneyline: Los Angeles -160 / Milwaukee +140

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is 21-4 all-time in his career against the Milwaukee Bucks

Los Angeles opened the season with a perfect 8-0 record only to drop consecutive contests to the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. “You hate losing, especially to start a road trip, but it is what it is,” guard Kobe Bryant stated. “They made big shots, a lot of them.” The Lakers swept last season’s series with Milwaukee 2-0 for the second consecutive season. This will be the 120th meeting between the two teams with the Lakers holding a 76-43 all-time series advantage. In 25 career games versus the Bucks, Bryant is averaging 23.9 points. Head coach Phil Jackson has guided them to a 15-5 record in the series. Tonight’s game is the first of back-to-back sets for the Lakers in heading to Detroit tomorrow night. This season, the Lakers are 1-0 in the first game and 1-0 in the second game. Los Angeles is 5-5 ATS on the season and the NBA lines page has them slightly favored on the road.

The Lakers are scoring an NBA-high 112.5 points a game and Bryant is currently third in the league with a 25.2 scoring average. Los Angeles has its own problems on the other end of the floor, allowing the Suns to connect on 22 of 40 three-point attempts in a 121-116 loss at the Staples Center. “It’s tough to shoot that percentage from three,” Bryant said. “They made some tough, contested shots and just shot the lights out.” Offensively, center Pau Gasol continues to be a solid second-option, scoring a team-high 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds versus the Suns.

Milwaukee picked up its third consecutive win by dropping the Golden State Warriors at home, 79-72, by managing to shooting just 33.7 percent from the field. “Very good game and we needed it,” said head coach Scott Skiles. “We only scored 79 points and you don’t often win when you score 79.” The Bucks will need to bring their defensive intensity to have a chance in tonight’s contest, averaging just 92.1 points per game, which is 28th in the league. The team has also lost five straight in the series and has a 4-21 mark against the Lakers when Bryant is involved. Milwaukee is 3-6 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less.

The Bucks are led by point guard Brandon Jennings, who is one of six players to average at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists this year. He was one of the worst-shooting guards in the NBA last season, hitting 37 percent from the field, but has connected on 26 of 59 shots over his last four games. Milwaukee will be playing its fourth straight game versus a top 10 scoring team, holding the previous three opponents to an average of 19.8 points below their season average.