NBA Betting – Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans
TNT is salivating over this matchup featuring the best team in the NBA with the reigning MVP against the madly-hyped No. 1 overall pick from the recent draft. The Milwaukee Bucks have owned the best record in the league since the first week of the season and are on pace to win 70 games thanks in large part to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s second-leading scorer with 30 points per outing. The New Orleans Pelicans waited 44 games to get Zion Williamson in the lineup and they’ve split six encounters since the rookie phenom made his debut. Claim Your Welcome Bonus Here - Maximum $1000
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Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Opening NBA Odds: Milwaukee -6, O/U 245
Bucks at Pelicans TV Coverage: TNT
Odds Analysis
If the current line holds it’ll be the first time in nine games the Bucks aren’t a double-digit favorite. Oh, there still favored, but oddsmakers have taken notice of just how dominant they are. Despite facing steep odds in most games, the Bucks average scoring margin of 12.4 points has allowed them to go 27-22 ATS overall and 13-10 ATS on the road. Interest in the Pelicans, from a fan’s and bettor’s point of view, is at an all-time high now that Zion is on the floor. The Pels are 20-30 overall, 5.0 games behind Memphis for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They had won three in a row before the streak was stopped by the Rockets on Sunday. In six games since Zion took the court the Pels are 3-3 SU and ATS.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have been the absolute best in the NBA since the start of the 2018-19 season going 102-29 in the regular season. They haven’t lost consecutive games this season and did so only once last season. You have to be strong on the road to win that many games and the Bucks have been the best. Their .826 winning percentage away from home this season is tops and their 19 wins are the second-most.
Antetokounmpo gets all the ink for his freakish play. The MVP scores 30 points a game and delivers numerous highlight-reel plays every night. He’s amassed four triple-doubles this season and finished an assist shy of adding to that number in each of his last two outings. In a rare loss he went for 31 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists against Denver. The outcome stopped a nine-game winning streak. Doing what they’ve always done this season, the Bucks snapped back with a 129-108 win over Phoenix behind 30 points, 19 boards and nine dimes from the Freak.
But the Bucks are more than just Antetokounmpo. They are 4-0 SU and ATS in games he’s missed averaging over 125 points per game. Giannis missed the first meeting between the clubs which the Bucks won 127-112 behind 29 points from Eric Bledsoe. With Antetokounmpo on the sideline last week against Washington, Khris Middleton dropped a career-high 51 in a 20-point victory. The most efficient offensive team in the Association averages 120 points per game and has reached triple digits in every outing this season.
New Orleans Pelicans
To say the Pelicans have their hands full is an understatement. But they feel confident now that Williamson is on the floor. The top pick is averaging 19.5 points on 61.5 percent shooting in his first six games. He recorded the second 20-10 game of his young career with 21 points and 10 boards in a loss to the Rockets on Sunday, ending a three-game winning streak. He went close to four minutes in the fourth quarter without touching the basketball and Alvin Gentry wasn’t happy. “You gotta throw him the damn basketball,” the coach said in a Keyshawn Johnson moment.
Scoring the basketball hasn’t been a problem for the Pels, who average 115.1 points per game while shooting better than 37 percent from deep. Six players average double-figures led by Brandon Ingram’s 24.9. As good as they are offensively the Pels are equally bad defending. And that’s not a good sign with the high-flying Bucks coming to town. They’ve yielded at least 108 points in 17 straight games and allow an average of 117.1 to rank near the bottom.
With the collection of young talent on the roster the Pels will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in the second half of the season. They aren’t out of the playoff race by any stretch and as they get accustomed to having an enormous talent on the floor they should excel.
Bet Bucks at Pelicans at BookMaker.eu
The Bucks are methodical in their approach. Everyone knows their role in all situations and they execute flawlessly. New Orleans has the talent but they aren’t at the same level in terms of execution. The matchup between Giannis and Zion will be fun to watch and the Pels better get used to the attention. They’re not there yet however.
NBA Score Prediction: Milwaukee 121, New Orleans 112
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
