Two Eastern Conference powerhouses in NBA the Boston Celtics (5-6) and the Milwaukee Bucks (6-6) go head to head for the first time this season on Friday with both teams looking to kick into gear.
Bookmaker Bovada has the Bucks as two-point favorites for the contest while the over/under is set at 214 points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 11th, 4:30 P.M. (EST)
Both sides have stumbled out of the gate at the start of the season, but the Bucks are carrying some momentum ahead of the big clash. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s crew have won back-to-back tough road games at Philadelphia and New York.
Antetokounmpo tallied his third consecutive double-double in a 112-110 win over the Knicks on Wednesday and almost grabbed his first triple-double of the season with 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. The two-time MVP had a poor 5-for-15 shooting night, but it’s almost impossible to keep him quiet and his good all-around performance kept Milwaukee on the right track.
Only a few can slow Giannis down and the Celtics were among those teams last season as they limited the Greek Freak to 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. These would be very good numbers for most players in the league but Antetokounmpo is capable of a lot more, and he could have a chip on his shoulder Friday night.
The Celtics had a very poor start to the campaign, especially defensively, but they have improved their play at the back and it’s led to three wins in four games. Last week, Boston even kept opponents to under 80 points in back-to-back games. Ime Udoka’s men put in an impressive defensive performance in their last game as well beating Toronto 104-88.
Both teams have been affected by injuries early in the season. Jrue Holiday has missed some time for the Bucks and they are currently without Khris Middleton while the Celtics have played the last two games without Jaylen Brown.
Brown has formed a great one-two punch with Jayson Tatum in Beantown, but Tatum now needs to do a lot more heavy-lifting on the offensive end. The 23-year-old superstar didn’t have a great night against the Raptors going for 22 points on only 33.3 percent shooting, and Boston needs him to perform a lot better against the Bucks.
Tatum relished the challenge of facing Giannis last season averaging 27.3 points per game with seven rebounds and 4.7 assists in three meetings in the matchup. If he can get close to the same numbers on Friday with the team continuing to be stingy on defense then the Celtics should have a great shot at victory.
