NBA Betting – Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers

• Bucks-Lakers game could be Finals preview

• Line alternating between Milwaukee -1 and PICK'EM

• Bucks are 12-2 Straight Up in last 14 games, Lakers are 11-2 in last 13

• Bookmaker believes Lakers have just enough in the tank to win by three points

• Bookmaker offering generous welcome bonus with a maximum of $1000 and reload bonuses as well

We could be witnessing a NBA Finals preview when the top teams in the league square off on Friday night. The Milwaukee Bucks opened up a 9.5 game lead in the Eastern Conference by winning eight of their last nine games. The Los Angeles Lakers maintain their bulge in the West and trail the Bucks by five games for the overall lead after winning nine of their last 10 contests. The teams were the best in the Association when they met in Milwaukee on Dec. 19 with the Bucks getting a 111-104 victory, their sixth straight in the series.

Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers

Date and Time: Friday, March 6, 2020, 10:30 p.m. ET

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Opening NBA Odds: Los Angeles -1, O/U 227

Bucks at Lakers TV Coverage: ESPN

Odds Analysis

The two best teams in the NBA have also been on fairly equal terms at the betting window. The Bucks are 12-2 SU in their last 14 games making supporters very happy with a 10-4 ATS mark in that span. Overall they are 36-26 ATS. The Lakers have been just as gracious going 11-2 SU and 9-4 ATS since the start of February with an overall ATS ledger of 33-26-1. The Bucks and Lakers share the best road record in the NBA at 25-6 meaning Milwaukee may have an edge in this contest. LA extended its steak of home wins to five by taking down the 76ers on Tuesday, covering the 12.5-point spread in their 120-107 victory. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS during their current home winning streak.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks suffered a rare loss Saturday falling to the Heat on the road. Like they’ve done after a setback every time this season, the Bucks won their next outing, 119-100, over Indiana. They still have not dropped consecutive games this season. The schedule evens out over 82 games, but the Bucks are in the middle of a stretch where they play 11 of 16 games on the road. Milwaukee hasn’t hosted consecutive games in over a month.

All the travel hasn’t hurt yet, but the Bucks certainly have to be weary over the number of miles accumulated on their frequent flyer cards. Friday’s game in LA opens a run of three straight on the road before they return home in a week to play four straight and seven of eight at Fiserv Forum. They are 9-2 against Western Conference teams on the road with their only losses to Utah and San Antonio.

Behind a huge game from Giannis Antetokounmpo the Bucks won the first meeting of the season. The MVP dropped 34 on 11 of 19 shooting, including 5 of 8 from behind the arc, with 11 boards and seven assists. As usual, though, it was a balanced offensive effort with five players reaching double figures. George Hill tossed in 21 off the bench. “No matter what team we play we come in with the same mentality to get better that night on both ends of the floor. It just happened to be the Lakers,” Hill said after the first encounter.

Los Angeles Lakers

A few games ago the Lakers beat Philadelphia for the first time since LeBron joined the squad. They’ll get a chance to do the same against Milwaukee. LA was swept last season with James missing one of the contests. He was on the floor in the first meeting amassing a triple double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and it still wasn’t enough to knock of the best team in the league. The Lakers enter on a nice run of nine wins in 10 games taking down playoff teams Denver, Boston, Memphis and Philadelphia in that stretch.

The duo of LeBron and Anthony Davis has been as advertised. James is playing like an MVP at age 35 scoring 25.4 points with 7.8 rebounds and a league-high 10.7 assists per game. A majority of those dimes were delivered to AD, who tops the club with 26.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

The offense has been efficient because of its balance. Sure, LeBron and AD do most of the damage and Kyle Kuzma is the only other player averaging over 10 points per game (12.6). The rest of the roster stays in its lane and helps out when necessary. Eight players average between 5.5 and 9.7 points and the Lakers have a top-10 defense allowing 107.1 points.

Bet Bucks at Lakers at BookMaker.eu

Three former No. 1 overall picks on the floor and the two best squads in the Association are sure to put on a show. The Lakers redeemed a 32-point loss to the Celtics by beating them at Staples Center a few weeks back. They will try and get back at the Bucks while ending a six-game slide to them. LA has several bodies to throw at Giannis, and if they can keep him under wraps they have a great chance of winning this game.

NBA Score Prediction: Los Angeles 111, Milwaukee 108

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com