Update: Holiday and Hauser are out for the Celtics, but Brown is going to suit up. Boston is the 11-point favorite and the total is 226. I’ll still take the Bucks to cover in this one and the over on the total.
Update: Antetokounmpo has been ruled out for the Bucks. Brown and Holiday are still questionable for Boston. The spread remains 10.5 and the total is 225.5. I’ll wait on final statuses for Brown and Holiday before making updated projections.
The Milwaukee Bucks (44-24) face the Boston Celtics (54-14) in a matchup of two Eastern Conference title contenders playing some of their best basketball. The Bucks have won their last two and seven of their last 10, while the Celtics have come out on top in their last six games. This is third meeting between these sides, with each team winning one matchup.
The big injury news will be centered around Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the team’s last game with a hamstring injury. He’s listed as questionable, while MarJon Beauchamp is probable. For Boston, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser are listed as questionable.
The Celtics are 10.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 223.5. Boston is -520 on the moneyline while Milwaukee is +390.
Bucks vs. Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Bucks +10.5
This line will close quickly if Antetokounmpo suits up, which feels likely given he was a late scratch Sunday and had an extra day to rest up. Milwaukee covered this line in both previous meetings against the Celtics, who are a whopping 31-3 at home this season. However, Boston is just 20-14 ATS as the home team due to its spreads being much larger than most favorites.
Assuming every player on the injury report does suit up, I’ll take Milwaukee to cover as the underdog in this game.
Over/Under: Over 223.5
The Bucks and Celtics both trend slightly to the under on the season. Boston is 16-18-1 to the over as the home team while Milwaukee is 13-20-1 to the over as the road team. And yet, both previous matchups went well over this number. Even though I believe both teams have figured things out defensively, I think the over hits in tonight’s matchup.
