The Milwaukee Bucks have topped the Toronto Raptors twice in two meetings so far this season and will go for the trifecta tonight on home court in Wisconsin. In a rare back-to-back on home court, the Bucks, coming off a dismantling of Atlanta last night, have a quick turnaround as Toronto arrives from an emotional game in San Antonio on Thursday. Milwaukee opened as a six-point favorite.
- Toronto is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games and 0-6 ATS in its last six road games.
- Milwaukee is 15-6-1 ATS on Home Court.
- The Bucks won the first two games vs the Raptors by an average margin of 10 points.
Toronto Has Struggled Without Lowry
Point guard Kyle Lowry has missed nine of the last 10 games and it has been reflected in Toronto’s record. The North is just 5-5 SU and 2-8 ATS without their court general on the floor. The 13-year veteran has played just seven games since the end of November and it’s no coincidence that his team has struggled without him
Nick Nurse is hoping to have Lowry back on the floor tonight but he is listed as doubtful at the time of this preview.
Giannis is a Beast
In a potential trap game with Toronto coming to town 24 hours later, the Bucks proved that they’re mentally tough enough to handle that situation by putting up 43 points in the first quarter (!) and rolling to a 144-112 win against the Hawks.
The freak of an athlete that is Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points in just 19 minutes and got plenty of rest ahead of tonight’s game. He’s averaging a double-double with 26 points per game and 12.5 rebounds and will have a huge advantage under the boards tonight.
Milwaukee scored more than 140 points for the third time this season last night and they lead the NBA in points per game with 117.7.
My Bet for Tonight
Toronto is really missing Jonas Valenciunas and Kyle Lowry. They’ll miss the big man even more tonight as Milwaukee allows the fewest points in the paint at 40.1 per game. That means the Raptors will be relying on their No. 26 three-point percentage to help keep pace – somewhere they could use Lowry.
In addition to keeping points off the board in the defensive paint, the Bucks are third in the NBA with over 54 points per game in the offensive paint. I’m taking the Bucks -6.
