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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a crucial win to help keep their playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately, tonight they draw the task of facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the surging Milwaukee Bucks, winners of six straight games. George Hill and DiVincenzo are both out for the Bucks while the Lakers will be missing Lance Stephenson and Lonzo Ball.
The Bucks have cruised since hitting a slight road bump towards the end of November. 18-2 over their last 20 games, the Bucks are showing how dangerous Giannis can be when surrounded with quality shooters. With nearly everyone in the rotation able to consistently knock down the deep ball, opposing teams have to choose between giving Giannis easy looks at the rim or allowing one of the Bucks sharpshooters a wide open look.
The Bucks are built like an old LeBron James team whereas the Lakers, LeBron’s actual team, don’t resemble anything of the sort. Lacking outside shooting, the Lakers instead rely on having multiple ball-handling playmakers who attack the rim. At times, the interior can get crowded, but the Lakers are talented enough offensively to put up big numbers regardless. Defensively has been another matter altogether. While the Lakers grade out okay based on NBA.com’s defensive rating statistic, 13th overall, the statistic is not indicative of their performance on that side of the ball. Routinely unable to make stops late, the Lakers make far too many mental mistakes leading to easy looks.
Milwuakee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers Betting Line & Over/Under
(Betting Line and Total courtesy of Oddsshark.com)
- Milwaukee Bucks (47-14) vs Los Angeles Lakers (30-31)
- Friday, March 1st at 10:30 pm ET
- Point Spread: Milwaukee Bucks (-4.5)
- Point Total: 237
Milwuakee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers Betting Prediction
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LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who figures to play a prominent role in the betting matchup, reacts after a made basket against the New Orleans Pelicans.
In what will be the first meeting between the Lakers and Bucks on the season, we can safely expect a ton of points to be scored. 4.5 points feels like a trap either way and we won’t be looking at the spread in this matchup.
Despite the fact that both teams are above average, both happen to have generational basketball talents capable of carrying an offense on their own. Giannis and the Bucks are simply the better team and despite being on the road, should be able to beat the Lakers.
However, the Lakers are a team with their back up against the wall and they need to regain ground quickly. LeBron hasn’t missed the playoffs since his sophomore season and understands that the Lakers cannot afford to be losing games anymore. Although this won’t likely be enough to put the Lakers over the top, they should at least be expected to keep the game competitive at home.
Barring a full turnaround from the Laker defensive unit, we can likely expect the Bucks to go out and put up north of 120 points (they’ve broken the 140 mark in two of their last three games). Assuming the Lakers can hold their own and keep the game within a reasonable range, they should be able to clear the point total.
Pick: OVER 237
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