If not for the Orlando Magic waving the white flag at the trade deadline and the Cleveland Cavaliers yet to win 20 games this season, the Los Angeles Lakers would potentially be staring down an ugly six-game losing streak at online sportsbooks heading into Hump Day night’s East/West showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks. Making matters all the more worse heading into this one is that it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo and his mates find themselves in the midst of a three-game losing streak after taking on Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers on this very same hardwood two nights prior. The third strike just so happens to be the fact that the defending champs stormed the Fiserv Forum at the end of January and logged the outright win and cover as short road underdogs to move to 2-0 SU and ATS in the last two meetings. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict Milwaukee being out for blood in this one.
This potential NBA Finals preview is set to go down live on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. We'll have NBA odds available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game on Wednesday’s 10-game slate.
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Odds Analysis
The Bucks only just suffered their first losing streak since the All-Star break after dropping successive matchups against Atlantic Division rivals Boston and New York. The pair of defeats snapped the team’s eight-game win streak that saw it jump back into the mix with the Nets and 76ers for the top seed in the East. That said, the Bucks continued to kill their NBA betting supporter’s in the process by managing just a trio of pointspread covers. For the season, Milwaukee has gone 20-25 ATS with only seven of those pointspread covers logged when in the visitor’s role; to go along with 13 defeats. The Bucks have been favored on the road 10 times dating back to January 30, and they’ve gone 7-3 SU but just 4-6 in those matchups. On the flipside, the Lakers have covered just one of their six played games since LeBron James went down with a high ankle sprain against Atlanta back on March 20.
Milwaukee Bucks
As pedestrian Milwaukee has been on the road, it’s been the exact opposite at home where the team went into Saturday’s home tilt with the Knicks 18-6 SU and 13-11 ATS for the season. Unfortunately it was unable to hold serve versus RJ Barret and company who went on to log the 102-96 win and cover as 2.5-point favorites. Yes, you read that right; favorites! Reason being, Giannis, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Dante DiVincenzo were all forced to miss the game. Be sure to check injury reports to see if they’ll be available for Wednesday’s visit to Staples. As it stands right now, they’re all listed as probable to give it a go.
Los Angeles Lakers
It’s starting to get real scary for the defending champs who are now in jeopardy of missing out on the playoffs altogether should it be unable to stop the bleeding. Once the No. 2 seed in the West behind only the Jazz, LA now owns the fourth best record in the conference with 30 wins accrued. However, it’s likely only a matter of time until Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets supplant them as the No. 4 seed, and that would open the door for teams like the Trail Blazers, Spurs, Mavericks and Grizzlies to also do the same. With its two best players still out, it wouldn’t be shocking in the least if the Lakers were forced to play their way into the postseason as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed.
Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles Prediction
Until “The Brow” and LBJ are back in the starting lineup, I want absolutely nothing to do with the skeleton crew the Lakers are marching onto the hardwood every passing game. That said, I also want nothing to do with the Bucks laying points on the road. With that, I’ll roll the dice and hope the Bucks’ defense brings its “A” game to Tinseltown and look for it to stymy the Lakers right from the opening tip. If forced to make a wager on yet another nationally televised Lakers game, I’d hit the full game under and LA’s team total under the offering as well.
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