The Milwaukee Bucks team that was so impressive in the first three games of their series against the Toronto Raptors has vanished. It needs to reappear in Game 6 of this Eastern Conference matchup or else they will be going home for the rest of the summer.
Toronto has won two straight games to take a 3-2 series lead and would love to close out the pesky Bucks on the road. However, this series has been competitive and Milwaukee will feel confident about its ability to extend this one to seven games.
This has been a seesaw affair throughout and both teams will assuredly be giving it their all in this critical matchup.
This war on the floor will go down Thursday, April 27, 2017 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The game will be televised live.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Thursday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Raptors were six-point favorites in Game 4 and easily covered as they rolled to a 118-93 win. The scoring total was set at 193.5 and the “over” easily covered because of Toronto’s offensive explosion.
The Raptors are 54-33 straight up and 46-39-2 against the spread on the season. They have done well against the spread on the road this year with a record of 24-18-1. Toronto is 30-29-1 against the spread as the favorite and 12-9-1 as the underdog on the season. The Raptors could either be slight favorites or underdogs in this one.
Milwaukee is 44-43 straight up and 39-48 against the spread. The Bucks have covered in 20 of 43 home games this season and need to play well in this one to keep their season alive. Milwaukee is 17-24 against the spread as the favorite and has gone 20-23 trying to cover as the underdog.
Last Time Out
Norm Powell scored 25 points to lead the way for Toronto, which shot 57 percent as a team from the field. The Raptors also held a 40-23 rebounding edge as they built up an early lead in the first quarter and then extended it in the second half to cruise to the win.
Kyle Lowry struggled early in this series but had 16 points, 10 assists and three steals in this one to help his team to the blowout win. Giannis Antetokounmpo did what he could for the Bucks, finishing the game with 30 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
However, he got very little help otherwise as the Bucks couldn’t play quality defense nor could they score efficiently enough on the offensive end.
Key Stat
24-19. That’s the record of Milwaukee at home on the season as well as the record of the Raptors on the road, including the playoffs. Even though Toronto has the 3-2 lead, is the higher seed and has the better team, the home court advantage for Milwaukee should make this one very interesting.
When the game is on the Bucks’ home floor, it really evens out the advantage. The Bucks won their first home game of this series in a rout to take a 2-1 lead, and an upset started dancing in their heads. However, Toronto got even in the next game in Milwaukee before heading home for the Game 5 win to take their first series lead.
If the spread is more than a couple points in either direction, than it is probably too large as this one could really go either way.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Milwaukee fans should be jazzed up as they try to keep their team’s spirits up as they push for a Game 7 in Toronto. If the Bucks can get it to that point, they will still be the underdogs, but anything can happen in one game.
The Bucks need a more balanced effort in this one, because Lowry is playing well again and DeMar Derozan could be in line for a big game if his shooting stroke is there. Milwaukee will be able to hang around and this one should come down to the end, but Toronto has more experience in big games and has the better backcourt.
Take the Raptors to close out this series in six games on the road.
NBA Odds: Raptors 97, Bucks 95
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