The Bucks have struggled to regain their dominant regular-season form since the restart, dropping three of their five contests so far in Orlando. They may get a better sense of where their game stands when they face a Toronto squad that eliminated them from the playoffs last spring. Milwaukee has won both meetings this year by double digits.
- Date/Time: August 10, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Arena: HP Field House
- TV Coverage: ESPN, Sportsnet
- Sportsbook Odds: Bucks -5.5 | O/U 226 (Line History)
- Raptors vs Bucks Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
It’s not often you see the Raptors open as underdogs in this price range. Toronto hasn’t been an underdog of more than 5 points since a January 2 visit to Miami when the Raptors dropped an eight-point decision. Milwaukee was also a 5.5-point favorite in the teams’ regular-season meeting in Wisconsin last November.
Toronto News & Notes
In two years under head coach Nick Nurse, the Raptors have been a great bet when playing the second leg of a back-to-back, going 15-7 ATS in that situation. But it remains to be seen how Nurse doles out the minutes after Toronto locked up the East’s second seed with a 108-99 victory over the Grizzlies on Sunday. The Raps exploded for 40 second-quarter points and held Memphis to 41 percent shooting from the field, atoning for an embarrassing 122-100 loss to the Celtics on Friday.
Toronto is 4-0-1 to the UNDER in the bubble, with each of those UNDERs coming by at least 11.5 points. The Raptors have also held four of their last six opponents under the century mark. As of this writing, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka are all questionable to play.
Milwaukee News & Notes
Giannis Anteokounmpo has been ruled for tonight's game with the Raptors and he'll be missed because the Bucks’ inconsistent play has been on full display in the bubble. On Saturday, Milwaukee fell 136-132 in overtime to the Mavericks and Dallas closed regulation time with a 7-0 run, then opened the OT session with nine more consecutive points to spoil a season-high scoring performance by the Bucks’ Brook Lopez. The big man drained 34 points, including six from behind the arc, and is now shooting 43.5 percent from downtown since the season resumed.
Milwaukee’s final two seeding games will be against the Wizards and Grizzlies, making this contest the last true test for the Bucks before the postseason begins. Although the Bucks have lost three of their five games so far in Orlando — and six of eight dating back to last March — Lopez doesn’t seem concerned about finishing the seeding round strong.
“I think we feel like we’re ready for the playoffs,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel following Saturday’s contest.
Betting Pick: Bucks -5.5
Milwaukee has yet to prove it can beat the Raptors when it really counts, and I think this game means much more to the rested Bucks.
- Toronto is 4-0-1 to the UNDER in the bubble.
- The Bucks are 2-3 ATS in 5 bubble games.
- The Bucks are 1-4 ATS for 1Q spreads.
