Things are looking up for the Brooklyn Nets entering the second half of the NBA season. They rid themselves of a guy who didn't want to play in Brooklyn in a trade that brought them former No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons. A potential change to COVID mandates in New York could also allow Kyrie Irving to play home games. And just recently they won a bidding war on free agent Goran Dragic. Oh, and there's the return of Kevin Durant on the horizon giving the Nets plenty of reasons for optimism heading into the second half. A national television audience will get to see the new-look Nets battle the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in primetime on Saturday.
Saturday's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks will air live on ABC with tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
Brooklyn Nets +8 Milwaukee Bucks -8 Total -108
Odds Analysis
Even if the Nets don't have any of the players mentioned above they should feel good about the direction of the team. They were a rudderless ship before the break losing 11 straight games at one point. They finally snapped out of that skid with a home win over Sacramento and a huge comeback to take the Knicks. Things looked bleak with both James Harden and Durant sidelined with injuries and Irving only playing on the road. Still, the Nets closed the pre-break portion of their schedule three games over .500 at 31-28. And though they recently had three straight payouts, be cautions when wagering on the Nets. Prior to beating New York last week they had dropped eight straight on the road going 2-5-1 ATS. Overall they are 23-34-2 ATS.
With so much unknown about their opponent right now you can expect the Bucks to be a heavy favorite when the line surfaces. It's been a bumpy ride for Milwaukee this season with winning streaks and losing streaks. Fortunately for them the winning runs have been longer leaving them right in the thick of the race for the top seed in the congested Eastern Conference. Tue to form in recent weeks the Bucks won the first three games of a recent four-game road trip extending their winning streak to four games. They were crushed by Phoenix in a Finals rematch to conclude the trip and returned home to a 15-point thrashing by Portland. They dropped three of four ahead of the All-Star break, but we've seen plenty of offense. The Bucks cashed the OVER in seven straight games and nine of 10 before the break.
Brooklyn Nets
We're not quite sure what we're going to see from the Nets once play resumes. According to reports Simmons is a few weeks away from game action and Durant is days away. We could see KD on Saturday, which would be a huge boost. With this being a road game Irving is certainly ready to go. Kyrie has played in just 14 games but he's scored at least 27 points in the last three and averages 24.1 points.
Despite losing 12 of 14 games before the break the Nets are still positioned as one of the favorites to win the East. Their odds got even better with the signing of Dragic, giving them a veteran leader with recent postseason success on his resume. This Nets club will look much different than the one that lost two earlier games to Milwaukee by an average of 17.5 points.
Milwaukee Bucks
The defending champs know the regular season is a marathon and not a sprint. They will take their lumps in some games knowing they have to be all in come playoff time. And every so often you have to make tweaks to your roster to make sure the final product is what you want on the floor during the postseason. There's no denying Milwaukee has one of if not the best player in the game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is again putting up MVP numbers averaging the second-most points in the NBA with 29.4 per game. And he's been pretty good against the Nets scoring 32 points with 14 rebounds in a 127-104 win on opening night. He hit 11 of 17 field goals for 31 points in a 121-109 road win in early January leading the Bucks to a pair of payouts while cashing the UNDER in both games.
Nets at Bucks NBA Odds Pick
With the Nets likely shorthanded for this matchup the total will be adjusted. It won't be in the 230s like it was for those earlier matchups and I believe there is enough offense to overcome leaky defenses giving value to the OVER. I also like the Bucks to get the victory since their slumps rarely last long.
NBA Odds Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks / OVER
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