The Milwaukee Bucks may roster the single most dominant player in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo but their consistency in away games could be tough to overlook when they visit the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks are 6-6 SU and 5-7 ATS in 12 road games this season and are an ugly 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games away from Milwaukee dating back to last season. The Pistons, on the other hand, have endured their fair share of struggles this year but are coming off a decisive home win over the Celtics to break a six-game losing streak.
The Bucks opened as 3.5-point favorites with a total of 222.5.
- The Bucks lead the NBA in points per game (118.1).
- The Pistons are 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games.
- The UNDER has hit in the Bucks’ last six games (avg. combined score: 206.1).
Bucks’ Offense Near Impossible To Stop
With all five of their starters averaging double figures in scoring and four of them shooting better than 35 percent from three-point range (Giannis is the exception), it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone following the Bucks this season that they lead the NBA in scoring. The Bucks are seventh in field-goal percentage (47.4) and the Greek Freak may not hit a ton of threes but he’s near impossible to stop in the paint. He has a field-goal percentage of 58.3, the type of figure usually reserved for big men in the post, and because he’s such a matchup nightmare, Milwaukee typically puts up a pile of points.
My one issue with the Bucks is they never seem to put it all together consistently when playing on the road. Dating back to last season, they’re an ugly 5-12 ATS in their last 17 away games and only 5-7 ATS in a dozen road games this season. When playing in Detroit, they’ve gone 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS in their last six games.
This is why I may pass on taking the Bucks to win and cover in this game because while I think they have all the talent to beat any team in the NBA on a given night, they’ve been too inconsistent to trust at this stage of the season.
Pistons Coming Back Down To Earth
Although they took down the Celtics at home in their most recent game, there are some troubling signs brewing in Detroit. The Pistons are 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games, with the losses coming by an average of 10.5 points. Detroit’s offense has fallen off a cliff this month, averaging just 103.4 points in eight games while shooting only 30 percent from three-point range.
The Pistons are 10-6 SU in 16 home games and they only average 109.3 points at Little Sportsbook Arena, which ranks 23rd in the NBA. They faced the Bucks just under two weeks ago in Milwaukee and got beat handily by 23 points and shot an ugly 36.8 percent from the field.
I think the Pistons can win this game but only if they’re able to keep the Bucks from hitting 40 percent or more from three-point range as Detroit ranks second in the NBA in limiting opponents to 31.8 percent from deep. If the Pistons handle that part of the game, they could be an enticing wager to win this one.
UNDER Bettors Profiting from Bucks Games Lately
The total opened at 222.5 and trends are pointing to an UNDER tonight. The UNDER has hit in the Bucks’ last six games with an average combined score of 206. The UNDER has also hit in four of the last five games in this matchup with an average combined score of 200.6 points. Isolating the trends just to Pistons games, the UNDER has also hit in seven of their last nine with an average combined score of 212.2.
My Pick Is…
To take the UNDER. Too many trends lead me to believe this will be a tightly contested matchup, and neither team has proven it can win consistently to put big money on their spreads.
