The New York Knicks are heading to Wisconsin to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. New York broke a five-game losing streak with a win in its last outing over Miami.
Milwaukee has won eight of its last 10 games and is currently riding a three-game win streak. With one of the best offenses in the NBA, the Bucks will look to extend their win streak to four.
Currently, Milwaukee is favored by 16.5 points, a large spread, but considering who the Bucks are playing, I’m not surprised. Let’s look at both teams and see if we can iron out who to choose in this one.
Looking To Bring The Heat
The Knicks are coming off a surprising upset after taking down the Miami Heat on Sunday. In a game that most didn’t think would even be close, the Knicks ended up winning 124-121, mostly due to Julius Randle’s 26 points and eight rebounds.
Besides that victory, however, the Knicks have been struggling recently, winning only four of their last 12 games. Before their win against the Heat, the Knicks were on a five-game losing streak.
Even worse is the Knicks have been horrible when on the road, with a record of 5-16 overall and 11-10 against the spread.
If their record on the road wasn’t enough to deter you, the Knicks could be down four players in this game, most importantly Reggie Bullock, who remains as probable with a thigh injury. With some key players potentially being out, it’ll be hard for the Knicks to stay in contention with Milwaukee.
Against the spread, the Knicks have been mediocre at best, with an overall ATS record of 20-20. The Knicks are also 1-4 against the spread in their last five games against the Bucks, so take that into consideration when betting.
Going For Four Straight
The Bucks, without question, are the best in the Eastern Conference. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who leads the team in both points and assists per game, the Bucks have their eyes on one thing, an NBA championship.
Coming off a victory against the Trail Blazers, Giannis and the Bucks look to make it four straight wins by taking down the Knicks. Good news for the Bucks, there isn’t one person listed on the injury report for Milwaukee, so they’ll be hosting the Knicks at full strength.
With the league’s second-ranked offense, the Bucks should have no problem decimating the Knicks’ injured team.
Against the spread, the Bucks have been on par with the Knicks, going 2-4 in their last six games. An interesting trend to note is that the Bucks are 6-1 in their last seven games against an opponent in the Eastern Conference.
Pick and Prediction
Coming off a huge win against the Heat has boosted the Knicks’ confidence going into this game. Unfortunately, I doubt that boost in confidence is going to help them with all the injuries.
Even without the injuries plaguing the Knicks, I probably would still bet against them; a full-strength Knicks team would still have a serious problem competing with a team like Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, however, is coming off a big win against the Trail Blazers, a game in which Giannis put up a double-double, finishing the game with 32 points and 17 rebounds.
The Bucks are coming into this game at full strength after throttling the Trail Blazers and have every reason in the world to continue their win streak.
Both teams don’t have great records against the spread recently, and usually, a 16.5-point spread would cause some worry, but the Bucks are ready to deal another heavy loss to the Knicks. I’ll take the favorite in this one in the Bucks -16.5.
