With only a handful of games remaining on their respective regular season schedules, the Milwaukee Bucks (37-38) and the Boston Celtics (34-41) each look to strengthen their playoff bids as they square off in TD Garden this coming Friday.
Read on for a detailed breakdown of this game. You can also click here for the preview of Saturday’s Final Four showdown between Kentucky and Wisconsin.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Preview
Where: TD Garden, Boston
When: Friday, April 3, 2015, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee ended a brutal three-game stretch against top title contenders with a 95-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Prior to that game, Milwaukee suffered back-to-back losses to the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks. Milwaukee now heads to Beantown, where it is 3-1 SU and ATS in its last four trips.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Powered by Brandon Knight, who scored 26 points, Milwaukee was able to beat Boston 96-93 on February 7. With Knight no longer playing for the Bucks, though, another point guard in Michael Carter-Williams will have to lead the team in the rematch with Boston.
Carter-Williams hopes to carry the fine form he’s had in the win over the Bulls when the Bucks make their stop in Boston. In the Bulls game, MCW scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, which are way above his season averages of 14.3 points and 5.4 rebounds to go along with 6.8 assists per game.
Carter-Williams, however, is more of a playmaker, so don’t expect him to score as much on a nightly basis. That means the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton must be able to provide ample scoring to keep Milwaukee in the game with Boston. Antetokounmpo and Middleton scored 14 and 11 points in the first meeting with Boston, respectively.
Another player that should have big role next game against Boston is Zaza Pachulia. Pachulia, who didn’t play against Boston in February, has been playing great of late. He has averaged 12.8 points and a team-high 9.9 rebounds over the Bucks’ last 12 games.
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Betting on the Boston Celtics
Boston has no plans of letting up on its plans to make the playoffs. The Celtics made that apparent after beating the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, 100-87, to remain in ninth place of the Eastern Conference, just a half-game back of the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets.
The Celtics were led by a couple of their big men in the Indiana game, as Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk had 19 points apiece. Zeller will likely start again at center position against the Bucks. But expect Olynyk to log in heavy minutes to try to loosen up Milwaukee’s interior defense.
Olynyk is averaging close to one three-pointer a game on 36 percent shooting over a five-game stretch. He went 3-of-4 from the three-point area against the Pacers in 22 minutes of action off the bench.
Do-it-all guard Evan Turner, meanwhile, had another brilliant game as he stuffed the stat sheets with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds to wrest his third triple-double of the season. Evans will once again anchor a unique three-guard setup by Brad Stevens, who likes to put former Ohio State star, Marcus Smart, and Avery Bradley on the floor at the same time.
Speaking of the bench, Boston’s reserves are going to be pressured to meet its season average of 40.4 points per game (third in the league), as Milwaukee also owns a deep bench. Milwaukee’s backups are putting up 37.6 points per game.
The Boston bench is led by trade deadline acquisition Isaiah Thomas. The former Phoenix guard is averaging 17.9 points off the bench since making his way to Boston. But Thomas has seemingly lost his stroke, averaging just 11.8 points in five games after returning from a back injury.
Boston is 3-0 ATS in its last three games against Milwaukee.
Writer’s Prediction
Boston wins, 102-100.
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