The Cleveland Cavaliers will welcome the Milwaukee Bucks into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight, which way should this game be bet on against the spread?
It’s been a rough stretch for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have lost eight of their last nine games, and a lot of the time they have looked lethargic and disinterested in those losses. Most recently, they lost to a severely undermanned Orlando Magic team to drop their record to 5-13 on the season.
Things don’t get any easier for the Cavaliers tonight as they welcome the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. This will be their second contest with the Bucks, in the first game against them, they were competitive for three quarters before a big Bucks’ run blew the game open.
The Action Network has opened this game up with the Cavaliers being 10-point underdogs. A whopping 81% of the bets have come in on Milwaukee which has caused the line jump a half point and the Cavaliers currently sit at 10.5 home underdogs.
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The Bucks have been playing incredibly well all season, which is expected. They have done so behind the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, of course, has been unstoppable this season.
Per Basketball-Reference, Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per contest. He has even improved his three-point shooting as he is making and attempting the most per game of his career thus far. He is averaging 1.4 makes on 4.7 attempts on the season.
In the last matchup between these two teams, Cavaliers’ center Tristan Thompson made life extremely difficult for Antetokounmpo. Thompson held him to a season-low 14 points on just 5 of 15 shooting.
All-Star small forward Khris Middleton returned to the Bucks lineup on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks after missing seven games so Milwaukee gets a nice boost from having him back. He came off the bench and only played 20 minutes against Atlanta so it will be interesting to see if he gets extended minutes tonight or if Milwaukee will try to limit his playing time still as he gets back into a rhythm.
The bet – Milwaukee Bucks -10.5
Although this game is being played in Cleveland, the Milwaukee Bucks are one of the best teams in the entire NBA and the Cavs’ recent play doesn’t exactly instill confidence.
Antetokounmpo had his worst game of the season in the last matchup and Milwaukee still beat the Cavaliers by 17.
Thompson was incredible in that game, holding Antetokounmpo in check as well as adding 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists according to ESPN’s box score.
Getting Khris Middleton back is a huge boon for the Bucks, not only for their season-long outlook but for this contest against Cleveland. The Cavaliers have struggled to defend talented wings all season. In the first matchup, Middleton was very productive. He hit 9-14 shots and led all scorers with 21 points, he also added 8 rebounds.
Cavs starting small-forward Cedi Osman, who has been playing better as of late, will have to be on his game to limit not only Middleton but Donte DiVincenzo, who has started the last 8 contests for the Bucks.
While 10.5 points is a pretty large spread in the NBA, the Cavaliers’ recently play, combined with the fact that the Bucks are one of the best teams in the NBA makes betting the Bucks a pretty easy decision. Lay the points and bet the Milwaukee Bucks tonight.