Bucks Get Chance To Avenge Playoff Loss vs Heat

Milwaukee (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) has had a slow start to the season, including a 20-point loss to the Knicks on Sunday. The Bucks look to snap out of their early funk when they visit Miami (1-1, 1-1) in the first meeting since the Heat burst Milwaukee’s championship bubble in the second round of last summer’s playoffs.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Prior to the final two games of Miami’s upset of Milwaukee in the playoffs, the Bucks had been favored by 4 points or more in nine straight meetings. Miami has thrived in the home underdog role against Milwaukee, earning the outright upset in six of its last seven tries.

Milwaukee News & Notes

It’s early, but the Bucks look more like the team that was upset in last year’s playoffs than the squad that won 53 of its first 65 games during the regular season. Milwaukee fell to 1-2 on the new campaign Sunday with a stunning 130-110 loss to the Knicks, allowing New York to shoot 54 percent from the field and 59 percent from behind the arc.

Poor three-point shooting also contributed to the Bucks’ woes Sunday as Milwaukee missed 31 of its 37 attempts from long distance, although Khris Middleton was far more concerned about the defense.

“We had a lot of great shots – they didn’t fall,” the forward told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I don’t think tonight was about our offense. Defensively, it was just terrible.”

Middleton has been the least of Milwaukee’s problems so far this season, leading the team with an average of 26.7 points per game on 52.8 percent shooting. However, big man Brook Lopez has yet to find his form behind the three-point line, hitting just one of his first seven attempts and averaging just seven points per contest.

Miami News & Notes

As of Monday night, five-time all-star Jimmy Butler was considered doubtful to suit up against the Bucks after missing the second half of Miami’s Christmas Day win over the Pelicans with a sprained ankle. The small forward was pivotal in the Heat’s upset of the Bucks, scoring 40 points in the opener and adding 30 in Game 3.

If Butler can’t play, the Heat have a more than capable replacement in Goran Dragic, who has averaged 19 points off the bench in Miami’s first two games. However, if Dragic moves into the starting lineup at guard, it’ll hurt a second unit that is one of the best in the NBA.

Miami will also have to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo differently than it did in the playoffs following the free-agent departure of Jae Crowder, who drew the primary defender assignment against Giannis in the summer. Expect Bam Adebayo to get the call to guard the Greek Freak on Tuesday.

Betting Pick: Heat +5.5

Motivation won’t be an issue in this spot for Milwaukee, but it’s hard to lay this many points on the road with the struggling favorite. With or without Butler, Miami matches up well with the Bucks, going 12-5 SU and ATS in the last 17 meetings.