The Milwaukee Bucks (10-3) will take the court Wednesday looking to bounce back from back-to-back defeats. They will be hosting an ever-improving Cleveland Cavaliers (8-5) team that has also gone through some rough times lately.
As usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to lead the Bucks and bookmaker Bovada has the odds at +275 for him to score the first point of the game. The odds are at +450 for Brook Lopez to get the first basket and at +750 for rising Cleveland star Darius Garland to open the scoring.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 16th, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
The Bucks had a superb start to the season with nine consecutive wins, but they then took a few injury hits and it has currently derailed the team with Milwaukee having dropped three of its last four games. Their only victory during the run came in double overtime versus a rebuilding OKC team so things clearly aren’t going smoothly at present.
But with Giannis on the team, you are nicely set up to get the victory in any game. The two-time MVP is averaging a career-high 31.3 points per game this season and there’s no way to stop him, you can only slow him down.
The Cavs have gone cold as well lately suffering four consecutive defeats. The wheels came off very suddenly as they were previously riding an eight-game winning streak and most of the victories came without Garland, who was forced to nurse an eye injury early in the campaign.
Garland has just had the best night of his career with 51 points in a 129-124 loss to Minnesota. He’s proven himself as a savvy play-maker but can also get buckets with ease if he gets hot. The Bucks likely also have to deal with Donovan Mitchell, who sat out the Minnesota game with a sprained ankle but looks set to return Wednesday.
Mitchell’s work this season includes a 41-point night and he’s actually even ahead of Giannis on the league’s top scorers list, averaging 31.6 points per game. His last outing nearly resulted in a triple-double against Golden State so Milwaukee will face a very dangerous backcourt.
The hosts’ chances would be greatly improved if Jrue Holiday can make it back from an injury layoff. He has missed three games with a sprained ankle and is considered questionable for Wednesday’s game. Holiday is an elite defender who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to disrupt the play of Cleveland’s exciting backcourt duo.
