The Milwaukee Bucks visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday afternoon in a game that can be seen on ABC. The Bucks have the best record in the Eastern Conference, while the 76ers are battling for second place in the conference. This will be the first meeting between the teams this season and a chance for the 76ers to prove they can beat the top team in the conference. Let’s look at the matchup for Wednesday and NBA picks.
This NBA regular season game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers will be held at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 25, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.
76ers Playing Scared
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid said his team is “playing scared.” He said after a recent loss to Dallas that the team isn’t doing what they should be doing. "I feel like, especially tonight, we were playing scared," Embiid said to the media, "Basketball is easy. You just shoot it, pass it, move it. If you don't got a shot just pass it. The 76ers are struggling because opposing teams are starting to play zone defense.
Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown said the zone defense is causing the team to play scared. "I think that the influence that our inability lately, to, like, be put on our back heels against the zone has crept into our defense, our psyche, our spirit," Brown said to the media, "And I can't stand it. This is not who we are. It's not who we are. ... I love coaching these guys, because I respect them. And I feel like our competitive spirit has taken a dent because of our inability to score, and I think that any time you get into a mood swing that affects your defense because your offense is doing something, it needs to be addressed."
Team Notes
The Bucks last played on Sunday as they hosted Indiana. The Bucks are 12-2 on the road this season. They are averaging about 121 points per game and giving up 108 points per contest.
The 76ers last played on Monday as they were in Detroit. Philadelphia is averaging about 109 points per game and giving up 105 per contest.
Key Numbers
The Bucks have won six of the last ten in this series, with the last five going over the total. It has been a bit of a road team series, as the Bucks have won seven of the last ten in Philadelphia, with seven of the last ten going over the total.
NBA Pick
The Bucks get an extra day to prepare for this game, as they played on Sunday, while the 76ers were in Detroit. Milwaukee has been playing at a very high level and they have one of the best players in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it should be noted that the Bucks are without guard Eric Bledsoe due to injury. This will be just their second road game without Bledsoe and the first one was against a rotten Knicks team. This road test will be much tougher, as the 76ers have been excellent at home. The Bucks are getting a lot of attention and they are starting to turn into a bit of a public team. I expect the public to bet the Bucks in this Wednesday contest, so the value should be on the 76ers. I will take Philadelphia and also play the game to go under the total.
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