The Milwaukee Bucks will face off with the Charlotte Hornets tonight as part of the Las Vegas summer league schedule. The Bucks are still searching for their first summer league victory, while the Hornets enter with a 1-2 record in Las Vegas.
DraftKings Sportsbook is offering odds for all the summer league matchups, including some player prop and team prop options, depending on your location.
The Hornets enter as 4.5-point favorites with -185 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Bucks are +154 underdogs, with the game total set at 179.5 points.
Bucks vs. Hornets preview, prediction
The Milwaukee Bucks have embraced their young rebuild this offseason, but it has not shown in their early summer league results. They fell to the Heat 119-86 in their opening matchup, with Miami stretching its lead to as many as 36. Milwaukee put up a more respectable fight against the Spurs, but it still fell 90-80. The Spurs led for 93% of the matchup and stretched their lead to as many as 23, despite shooting just 36% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc. Most recently, Milwaukee fell 95-88 to the Phoenix Suns to drop to 0-3 in summer league play. This was a more competitive matchup, with neither side extending a lead beyond nine points, but the Suns closed the game on an 11-1 run to force the Milwaukee loss.
No. 10 overall pick Brayden Burries headlines the production, averaging 22.3 points, four assists and 4.7 rebounds through his first three games of summer league action. B.J. Boston has only suited up for two of the matchups, but he is contributing 11.5 points and has connected on 60% of his three-point attempts. Pete Nance adds 12 points and six rebounds per game, while Cormac Ryan is the lone other player averaging in double figures with 10.3 points and five rebounds per game. Bogoljub Markovic has had some nice flashes while Kasparas Jakucionis and Nate Ament are each trying to find their footing in this summer league setting. Kira Lewis Jr. and Malique Lewis are also names to note.
The Charlotte Hornets enter with a 1-2 record in summer league, which is a bit underwhelming considering the caliber of talent on the roster. They opened their Las Vegas tenure with an 86-74 win over the Orlando Magic. Charlotte shot the ball more efficiently and dominated the rebounding battle, but both teams were able to extend a double-digit lead during this game. In their second matchup, the Hornets fell 95-91 to the Pelicans. Charlotte led for 97% of the match and extended its lead to as many as 18, but New Orleans outscored it 30-15 in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback. In their last game, the Hornets fell 87-75 to the Celtics in a competitive defensive battle. The 25 turnovers tallied by Charlotte ultimately ended up as the biggest reason for the loss.
Last year’s 29th overall pick, Liam McNeeley, headlines the scoring for the Hornets, recording 21.7 points, five rebounds and 3.3 assists. This year’s rookies have also opened some eyes, with 18th overall pick Christian Anderson Jr. recording 10.3 points while 14th overall pick Hannes Steinbach adds 10 points and 6.7 rebounds. Tidjane Salaun, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner each had some impressive flashes with the Hornets last year and have played notable roles on this summer league squad. Kylan Boswell and Michael Ajayi have also had some nice flashes as they look to cement their NBA futures.
Bucks vs. Hornets pick, best bet
While there have been some concerning stretches from this Hornets team, Charlotte has much more NBA experience and top-end ability on its roster. McNeeley, Kalkbrenner, Steinbach, Anderson Jr. and Salaun are each players expected to play rotational roles on the true Hornets roster, not just summer league. Charlotte is further ahead in its developmental arc as an organization, and the leap the franchise took in competing last year looks to have carried over to the summer league.
The Bucks officially turned the page on the Giannis Antetokounmpo era of basketball this summer and have launched their youthful rebuild. But they are still working to establish which players are a part of this future core. Ament and Jakucionis have left plenty to be desired in their early summer league opportunities from a production standpoint. While Burries has been a massive positive, the collective Bucks roster has been lacking in toughness and physicality. They have been pushed around for stretches, and the Hornets are the type of team capable of exploiting this.
Expect Kalkbrenner to be a force on the interior and for the Hornets to physically impose themselves across this matchup. If Burries cannot score at a high rate, it is difficult to see a path to the Bucks scoring at the level of the Hornets, and expect this game to unfold this way. Neither team has the most inspiring record, but the Hornets have faced stiffer competition and largely have not blinked. Most of their issues have been self-inflicted, while the Bucks simply have not looked to have the caliber of talent required to compete. Back the Hornets to clean up their offensive execution and lean on their NBA experience to cruise to a comfortable win tonight.
