No team understands just how long an NBA season is more than the Milwaukee Bucks. Going through the rigors of a regular season then dealing with four playoff rounds to win the title last season, the Bucks know you can’t always be at your best. So, their recent skid isn’t overly troubling, but should there be reason for concern? Following a sweep at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets, the Bucks dropped four of their last five games and visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday in rematch of the Eastern Conference final. The teams have met once already this season with the Hawks earning a 120-100 payout victory in November.
The contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks takes place at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, January 17, 2022, from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Monday NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
It’s hard to consistently win in any sport and the Hawks are finding that out the hard way. They had a magical run to the East final last season but have struggled to find success. The Hawks lost at home to Miami on Wednesday, their third in a row SU and ATS. They have dropped seven of their last nine games going 2-7 ATS and defense continues to be an issue. They’ve allowed at least 115 points in six of those nine outings. Atlanta is currently outside a playoff spot at 12th in the East with a record of 17-23 SU and 15-25 ATS.
The Bucks are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference but they’ve been inconsistent all season. They had a slow start going 6-8 through the first 14 games before winning eight in a row. They had a six-game winning streak recently until that was ended by Detroit, the worst team in the league. That started a stretch where the Bucks lost four of five with a pair of setbacks in Charlotte. They were 1-4 ATS in that span. Scoring the basketball has become a chore. The Bucks were held to less than 100 points in Monday’s loss with the UNDER cashing in three straight and four of the last five games.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks will be fine. If last season taught us anything it’s that this is a resilient group and they’re all about playing their best basketball when it matters most. You might remember the Bucks had the best record in the East in two straight seasons only to get bounced before reaching the Finals. Last season, they finished third in the conference and won the whole thing, so they understand what it takes. They also realize that the rest of the league is out to get them. Winning a title put a huge target on their back and they will get everyone’s best regardless of how Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton feel.
Their recent funk coincided with the absence of Jrue Holiday leaving a hole in the backcourt. Holiday is the team’s third leading scorer and averages 6.7 assists while playing the most minutes of anyone. To beat the Bucks you have to slow down Giannis. The Freak scores over 28 points per game and picked up the slack in Holdiay’s absence with the number at nearly 33 points per game in the last eight outings.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are finding out how difficult the road back to the playoffs can be. And when things are going bad they sometimes get worse. Monday’s tilt will be the third in four nights for the Hawks, who have a chance to make up some ground with a stretch of home games on the docket. The only problem is that winning at home has been a huge problem. Their 115-91 setback to the Heat on Wednesday was their ninth straight at home and they are 0-10 ATS in their previous 10 home tilts.
In a move to shake up the roster the Hawks swung a deal with the Knicks. Atlanta sent Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill and a second-round pick in exchange for Kevin Knox and a 2022 first round pick. Atlanta has been among the worst defensive teams in the NBA this season allowing opponents to score nearly 112 points while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. During their nine-game home losing streak the Hawks are allowing over 117 points per game.
NBA Odds Pick
The Hawks are hoping a visit from the defending champs can turn their season around. When the teams met in mid-November Atlanta was riding a six-game losing streak and was just 4-9. They got 42 points from Trae Young in a 120-100 victory that started a run of seven straight wins. There’s still time for the Hawks to turn things around but they may have tossed in the towel with the Reddish trade. And when the Bucks get on a roll they’re hard to stop.
NBA Odds Prediction: Bucks 118, Hawks 107
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