Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics
Wednesday, 11/3/10, 8:00 PM EST; TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Boston -6.5
Current Betting Line: Boston -8
Opening Total: 186
Current Total: 186
Milwaukee wasn’t able to handle the lanky interior defense of the Portland Trail Blazers last night and dropped its regular season record to 1-3 with a 90-76 home loss. The Bucks had eight of their shots blocked and were outscored 26-17 in the third quarter. In shooting just 37.5 percent from the field, head coach Scott Skiles is worried. “It’s nowhere near where it needs to be,” Skiles stated. “We still have guys who don’t know what we’re trying to do and our approach isn’t where it needs to be, we keep easing into games.” The team is a work in progress and a long way from replicating its 46-36 record of last year and finishing second in the Central Division. The NBA lines page shows the Bucks as a road underdog in this contest.
The Bucks will need a big game from point guard Brandon Jennings to have an opportunity of pulling off the upset tonight. He made just 2 of 7 shots and finished with eight points on Tuesday night after notching his first career triple-double in a Saturday win over Charlotte. Jennings and Skiles aren’t sure how many minutes he will average this season after playing 32.5 last year. He entered Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers averaging a team-high 38.7 minutes and played 36 last night.
Boston pushed its overall record to 3-1 with an impressive 109-86 win over Detroit on Tuesday and was led by the remarkable play of point guard Rajon Rondo. “He’s unbelievable. He played the perfect floor game,” forward Paul Pierce remarked. “He had 17 assists and no turnovers. You can’t get any better than that.” Through four games, Rondo is averaging 16.8 assists and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 4 to 1. Forward Kevin Garnett also enjoyed a solid game with a game-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting, which can be attributed to the smallish frontcourt of the Pistons. The Celtics split the series 2-2 versus the Bucks last year and both teams won on the other’s home court. Garnett led the team with an average of 19.5 points and Rondo averaged a double-double.
The Celtics are still led by the scoring of Pierce, who comes in averaging a team-high 19.0 points per game. He needs 23 points to become the 36th player in league history to reach the 20,000 mark. Head coach Doc Rivers has had a simple message early in the season of being more selfish. “We’re trying to get the three scorers to be more aggressive offensively,” he said. “Half of our turnovers, we were turning over when we had a layup, but threw the ball to someone else so they could have a layup.” Another player that hopes to contribute on the offensive end is veteran Jermaine O’Neal, who scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in his first start with his new team.
Bettors will be interested in the Bucks 19-7-1 ATS mark in their last 27 road games, while the Celtics are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 with no rest. The underdog is also 5-1-1 ATS in the last seven meetings.
Wednesday night offers a full slate of hardcourt action and the NBA handicappers at Maddux Sports will be producing winners all night long! Currently on a 7-0 run in the NBA, dont miss one winner tonight or the rest of the season.
