Two of the best teams in the NBA face off in Milwaukee as Bucks host the Rockets in a much anticipated match up between two top MVP candidates in Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden!
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee continue to hold the best record in the NBA and are all but certain of securing 1st seed if they don’t drop a crazy number of games to finish the year. Bucks are currently 55-19 and have a 4 game advantage over the 2nd seeded Toronto in the East. Milwaukee have been a little banged up recently with Brogdon and Mirotic mainly being out which has slightly dropped their level of play, but despite that the Bucks still have been able to win games at a consistent rate just not as consistent as they maybe did in February and prior to that (7-5 in last 12). Bucks have been exceptional at home, only dropped 3 home games in 2019 and have overall the tied best home record at 30-6 this season so it definitely is one of the toughest places to win on the road which is an advantage for them entering this game. Expect Giannis Antetokounmpo to have a massive game, in the past few he’s put up 35/11/7 with couple of key players out and considering he’s going up against Harden, Giannis will likely have a huge game. Although a little depleted, the Bucks are still a very dangerous team.
Injury Report
Tony Snell – OUT
Nikola Mirotic – OUT
Pau Gasol – OUT
Malcolm Brogdon – OUT
Donte DiVincenzo – Questionable
Houston Rockets
Rockets are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now led by James Harden. Rockets have gone 20 games above .500 for the first time at 47-27 and are currently 3rd seeded looking to potentially move up even more although unlikely. Rockets have been red hot ever since the all-star break from which they’ve came back with a 14-3 record and have beaten some elite teams like the 76ers, Raptors, Warriors, Spurs and Celtics. Rockets have looked like the team of last year and that’s mainly due to the fact that they’ve finally gotten healthy. Their overall performances have improved drastically compared to a couple months ago, they have looked far better on the road (7 wins from last 8). Rockets will miss a couple of key role players in Faried and Green for this game, but everyone else should go ever Eric Gordon who is upgraded to probable so the only problem for Houston could be lack of bench production with Faried and Green out for this game. Just like Giannis, expect James Harden to have a HUGE game as he’s been making a serious MVP with some ridiculous performances. This week alone he had a 57 and a 61 pt game so Harden is HOT.
Injury Report
Kenneth Faried – OUT
Gerald Green – OUT
Eric Gordon – Probable to Play
Betting Stats
Totals
Milwaukee have covered 55.5% of their total point overs at home this season (20-16). The total for this game is 224.5 points and that’s a total that the Bucks have had twice this season at home against the Nuggets which ended with an Under as Bucks won 104-98 and against the Raptors which ended with an Over in a 116-123 loss for Milwaukee.
Rockets have only covered 37.8% of their total point overs on the road this season which is one of the worst percentages in the NBA (14-2-21). Rockets have had a 224.5 point total on the road once before against the Bulls which resulted with an Under in a 96-88 win for the Rockets.
Handicaps
The Bucks have covered 63.9% of their Handicaps at home this season which is one of the best percentages in the NBA this season (23-13). They’re given a -3.5 Handicap for this game which is a Handicap that the Bucks have had once before at home this season and covered it against the Pacers in a 118-101 win.
Rockets have covered 43.2% of their Handicaps on the road this season (16-2-19). Rockets have had a +3.5 road Handicap twice before against Philadelphia which they failed to cover in a 121-93 loss and against Toronto which they did cover in a 95-107 win. Although overall the Rockets have a poor percentage of road Handicaps covered, they did cover 5 of their last 6 on the road.
Recent H2H in Milwaukee
Rockets have won in 4 of their last 6 visits in Milwaukee and have won in the most recent visit there last season when they beat the Bucks 110-99. Rockets covered a -5.5 Handicap and total 214.5 points ended with an Under as the teams totalled 209 points.
TIP OFF – 27th March 2019 – 12am UK Time
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