After a brutal start to the season the Milwaukee Bucks have turned things around winning six games in a row to get over .500. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. look to continue their surge with a visit to the champion Boston Celtics on Friday in the first game of an ESPN doubleheader. Losers of six straight following a season-opening win over Philadelphia, the Bucks matched that run on the positive side beating Washington 124-114 behind a triple-double from Giannis. Boston has showed no signs of a championship hangover winning 17 of their first 21 games and following each loss with a multiple game winning streak. But the Celtics have had trouble at the Bitcoin sportsbook with just four payouts in their last 13 games.
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Bucks at Celtics Same Game Parlay
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Milwaukee Bucks Team Overview
We didn’t expect the Bucks to go the entire season playing as poorly as they did in the first few weeks of the campaign. But as the losses continued to mount some started hinting that a championship run wasn’t in the cards. The biggest difference has been the defense. When they won the NBA title a few years ago the Bucks were one of most efficient defensive teams. They seemed to distance themselves from that part of the game until recently getting back to lock down mode. Since the start of November they’ve been among the top 10 in defensive efficiency.
With players like Giannis and Damian Lillard offense isn’t going to be an issue. During their six-game winning streak they topped the 120-point mark four times. They did that just three times in their first 11 games when they went 3-8. It also helps having Giannis in the lineup. Back on the floor after missing a 106-103 win over Miami, Giannis tallied 42 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 124-114 win over the Wizards, Milwaukee’s sixth straight. It was the third triple-double in the last six games he’s played. Antetokounmpo leads the NBA averaging 32.9 points and is fifth with 11.9 rebounds. He and Nikola Jokic are the only players among the top 5 in both categories.
Aided by Giannis shooting better than 60 percent from the floor, the Bucks shoot at better than 48 percent while averaging 113.4 points. Lillard is averaging 25.9 points but the scoring drops off significantly after those two. The Bucks will need more complementary scoring from guys like Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis until Khris Middleton is ready to return. Middleton has yet to play this season as he recovers, but according to Doc Rivers he’s getting close. And the Bucks could be more dangerous when he does.
Boston Celtics Team Overview
With Kristaps Porzingis back in the lineup the Celtics are the scariest team in the NBA. It doesn’t matter that they enter the week trailing Cleveland for the top spot in the East and that they just suffered a loss to the Cavs last week. In the second intense matchup between East elite, the Celtics blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead as they lost for the fourth time this season. The Celtics played without starters Jaylen Brown and Derrick White yet they were still hanging with the best team on the road until the end.
And that brings me back to the team being the scariest. With plenty of depth the Celtics go eight deep when healthy, and there’s little drop off when starters take a blow. Payton Pritchard is making an early case for Sixth Man of the Year averaging 16.4 points and 3.0 assists in 21 games. Six players average more than 11 points and their net rating of +10.4 is the best in the Association.
The duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum is what makes the team work, though. Tatum is off to another sizzling start averaging 28.4 points and 8.6 rebounds while Brown chips in 25.0 points. And the Cs are dropping threes like nobody’s business. They lead the NBA averaging nearly 51 triples a game and 19 makes. The sheer volume has made up for a 37.5 percentage, which isn’t bad at seventh in the league.
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