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NBA: Milwaukee Bucks vs Philadelphia 76ers Betting Preview



Two of the best of the East meet in Milwaukee as the 1st seeded Milwaukee Bucks host the 3rd seeded Philadelphia 76ers


Milwaukee Bucks


Milwaukee without a doubt have been the best team in the NBA this season with the best record at 52-17 and look to make another step towards securing 1st seed in the East which they currently occupy 3 games above Toronto. The Bucks have been on a roll all season, currently playing great basketball too winning 4 of their last 5 and that is thanks to playing great on both ends all season long. The Bucks are near unbeatable at home at 27-5 and have won 9 of last 10 here with the only loss coming to Orlando where Giannis didn’t play. Bucks haven’t loss a home game where Giannis played since 6th January which is over 2 months! Milwaukee have been great against Easts elites too beating Boston 2-1, Toronto 3-1, Indiana 2-1, Philadelphia 1-0 so far this season.


It hasn’t been just Giannis that had made this happen. The Bucks have fantastic depth from the starting line-up all the way to the bench where they have guys like Mirotic, Connaughton, Ilyasova, Gasol etc. However, the Bucks have been dealt with some seriously bad news as Guard Malcolm Brogdon will be out for about 2 months and will of course be out for this game and the rest of the Regular Season. Brogdon is a huge loss considering he’d give them 15 ppg on 50/40/90 shooting splits while playing solid defence and it’ll be very interesting to see whether Milwaukee’s depth can hold it down and keep them afloat as the 1st seed for the rest of the season. We anticipate to see a drop in Milwaukee’s play after losing Malcolm, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Otherwise the Bucks have all the key guys available bar a couple of role players being out.


Injury Report


Malcolm Brogdon – OUT


Sterling Brown – OUT


Donte DiVincenzo – Questionable


Philadelphia 76ers


The 76ers are currently 3rd seeded at 44-25. The new look Sixers have now been together for a month and are 10-5 in the stretch, however they have had Embiid sidelined for 8 games in which they went 4-4 therefore they’re 6-1 with the new big 4 which shows that the 76ers have shown positive signs with this new squad. Since Embiid returned last week, the Sixers are 3-0. For Philadelphia it’s all about building chemistry right now which they seem to be doing well and to be ready come playoff time while also securing that 3rd seed over Indiana and Boston. One issue with the 76ers this season that has been is their struggles against top teams in their conference. Sixers are 1-3 against Toronto, 0-3 against Boston, 0-1 against Milwaukee only beating Indiana 3-1 in the season series so that’s something the Sixers have to work on. Their road record is another issue at just 16-16, but they have been better on the road lately winning 9 of last 14 so we may just let that slide. Health wise, there are no serious concerns for Philadelphia, other than a couple of bench warmers who don’t normally play anyway, everyone is healthy so expect Brett Brown to have his full rotation available in Milwaukee. This could be a great statement win for Philadelphia if they were to get it.


Injury Report


Furkan Korkmaz – OUT


Shake Milton – OUT


Betting Stats


Totals


Milwaukee Bucks have covered 56.3% of their total point overs at home this season (18-14), however just 3 of last 10 have been overs so they’ve been on a run of Unders the past few weeks at home. The total for this game is 231 points. They’ve not had a 231 point total but have had the closest to it at 230.5 points against Phoenix which resulted with an Under in a 114-116 loss and against Atlanta which ended in an Over in a 144-112 win for Milwaukee.


76ers have covered 46.9% of their total point overs on the road this season (15-17). They have had 4 consecutive unders on the road (7 of last 8) entering this game. They’ve not had a 231 point total, but have had a very close 231.5 point total in their last road game in Houston which ended with an Under as 76ers lost the game 107-91.


 



Handicaps


Milwaukee have one of the best percentages of Handicaps covered at home in the NBA this season at 62.5% (20-12). They’re tipped 6 point favourites for this game. They’ve not had a -6 Handicap at home this season but have had a -5.5 Handicap twice against Boston failing to cover in a 98-97 win and against Toronto also failing to cover in a 116-123 loss.


Sixers are one of the worst Handicap covering teams on the road in the NBA this season at just 40.6% (13-19). Sixers have had a +6 Handicap twice this season before against Toronto twice failing to cover both times losing to them 129-112 and 113-102. Sixers also had a +5.5 Handicap in Utah which they did manage to cover winning 114-97.


Recent H2H in Milwaukee


Bucks have won 10 of last 12 games in Milwaukee against the 76ers and each of the last 3 games at home against them.


The last meeting happened earlier this season in Milwaukee and the Bucks won 123-108. In that game the Bucks covered a -5.5 Handicap and total 228.5 points ended with an over as the teams totalled 231 points in that match up.


 


TIP OFF – 17th March 2019 – 7:30pm UK Time

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