The Milwaukee Bucks (8-13) play the visiting Portland Trail Blazers (9-12) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 7 and will air on FWi and CNW.
The Bucks were victorious over the Knicks 106-91 on Saturday. Greg Monroe played a key role, recording 18 points and 14 rebounds to notch his 10th double-double this season. The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off a 109-103 win over the Timberwolves on Saturday. C.J. McCollum played well, recording 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 198 points. The Bucks look to improve upon their records of 8-13 Straight Up (SU) and 9-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Something to watch out for is if Milwaukee can force its opponents into turnovers and convert them into baskets. They’ve done an excellent job of that all year with an average of 19.3 points off turnovers per game.
Across the court, the Trail Blazers head into the game with records of 11-10 ATS and 9-12 SU. The Trail Blazers are an excellent long-range shooting team with 203 three-point shots made (9.0 per game), ranking fifth in the NBA.
The Bucks and the Trail Blazers will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Bucks were winners, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. However, with a 7-3 record, the Bucks have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Por, ATS Winner – Por, O/U – Under
Notes
Milwaukee is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Milwaukee’s last 13 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5 games at home.
Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5 games when playing Portland.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5 games when playing at home against Portland.
Milwaukee is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Portland.
Portland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee.
Milwaukee scores an average of 95.8 points per game (ranked 28th), while Portland gives up 102.2 points per game (ranked 19th).
Milwaukee and Portland are well matched, ranking 17th in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Milwaukee puts up an average of 101.1 points per home game, while Portland allows 101.5 points per away game on average.
Milwaukee has a 7-3 record when opponents score fewer than 100 points. Portland has yet to win a game in which it puts up fewer than 100 (0-6).
At 1-10, the Milwaukee Bucks have a subpar record when their opponents score at least 100 points. The Portland Trail Blazers are 9-6 when they put up triple digits.
The Trail Blazers have a defensive rating of 104.2 (ranked 23rd). The Bucks rank 21st for their offensive rating of 100.3.
Portland beats Milwaukee in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Trail Blazers average 98.5 possessions and 1.037 points per possession, while the Bucks average 95.5 possessions with 1.003 points per possession.
The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking eighth in the league with an EFF% of 50.5%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Milwaukee Bucks are winless with a 0-8 record.
On average, the Milwaukee Bucks make 23.0 assists per game and the Portland Trail Blazers make 20.6. Milwaukee is ranked sixth, while Portland is ranked 19th.
The Milwaukee Bucks average 5.0 blocks per game for a rank of 14th. The Portland Trail Blazers rank lower (21st), earning 4.4 blocks each game.
Milwaukee is ranked 21st when it comes to offensive rebounding. Portland ranks 10th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Milwaukee makes 7.6 steals per game. Portland is a poor 4-8 when it gives up at least 7 steals.
