If the Milwaukee Bucks are to make up any ground on the Philadelphia 76ers in hopes of overtaking the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, Mike Budenholzer’s squad is going to need to sweep this upcoming two-game set. Their initial crack to do as such will occur in the first leg of TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader when the teams collide for the first time since squaring off in the middle of March. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his mates logged the 109-105 win and non-cover in overtime as 6-point road favorites in a game the Sixers were forced to play without the services of Joel Embiid. That won’t be the case this time around so NBA bettors will get the pleasure of watching these two MVP hopefuls square off against one another for the first time in 2021. The Bucks have been the recent side to back at online sportsbooks with the team going 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS in the last three meetings.
This Eastern Conference heavyweight bout is set to go down live on Thursday, April 22, 2021. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET from the Fiserv Forum with the game broadcast live on TNT. We'll have NBA odds available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game on the NBA slate.
NBA Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
While the Sixers went into Wednesday night’s home clash with the Phoenix Suns winners in four of their last five games, the final scores didn’t sit well with those that backed them on the pointspread. After dropping a 107-96 decision to the Golden State Warriors as 4.5-point home favorites on Monday night, Philly fell to 0-3 ATS in its last three games; all as favorites. Its recent results in the underdog role haven’t been much to write home about either with the 76ers just 4-6 SU and 5-4-1 ATS the last 10 times. The ATS results for the Bucks haven’t been impressive overall or of late either. Milwaukee just dropped a tough 128-127 decision to the Suns on Monday as short 3-point dogs. In doing so, the team fell to 25-32 ATS for the season as well as 3-6 ATS in its last nine games. The defeat also saw them fall to 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS the last four times they laid points at home.
Philadelphia 76ers
Yikes! Philly went into Monday night’s tilt with the Dubs winners of four straight which included three straight triumphs over the Mavericks, Nets and Clippers. Then it went out and allowed Steph Curry to go HAM. A whopping 49 points later, the Sixers found themselves on the wrong end of an embarrassing 107-96 final against a team currently on the outside looking into the playoff picture. Philadelphia’s top-10 ranked 3-point defense was simply no match for Curry who shredded it for 10 made shots on 17 attempts to hand the 76ers only their sixth loss of the regular season. Tobias Harris missed the game due to an injured knee, while Ben Simmons also sat the game out due to an illness. Check injury reports to see if they’re available for this one.
Milwaukee Bucks
After sweeping a three-game roady in Orlando, Minnesota and Atlanta, the Bucks returned home for four games looking to continue rising up the Eastern Conference totem pole. Unfortunately, the win streak came to a screeching halt in the homestand’s opener versus Memphis after Grayson Allen went HAM from deep and lit Milwaukee’s perimeter defense up to the tune of 26 points and seven made 3-point shots. The Bucks horrendous long range defense reared its ugly head once again on Monday night after allowing the Suns to knock 17 of a whopping 42 attempts down. The 1-point defeat dropped Milwaukee to 18-10 SU and 13-15 ATS as a host. It also saw them drop a fifth straight on their own hardwood as well as a sixth straight against the spread.
Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee Prediction
There’s just something about the 2020-21 Bucks that leads me to believe the window of opportunity is slowly but surely starting to close. As great “The Greek Freak” is, he simply can’t do it alone. Even in a game where Milwaukee got 26 points from Khris Middleton and 25 from Jru Holiday, it proved to not be enough and it had everything to do with a defense that’s faltered dramatically over the course of the regular season. So long as Philly is close to full strength for this rematch, I’ll have no issue backing them and taking the points linemakers are likely to offer up. The 76ers own winning SU and ATS marks as a visitor, and they’ll be seeking same season revenge. If it ends up dropping the series opener, I’d be all-in on Philadelphia not getting swept a few nights later. Either way, I’m not a believer in what the Bucks are trying to sell, so I’ll be looking to fade them in both matchups against the current Eastern Conference leaders.
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