Game: Washington Wizards @ Milwaukee Bucks
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Odds: Wizards +11.5, Bucks -11.5
Total: 225.5
The Wizards have dropped five straight and it doesn’t get any easier tonight as they head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks (31-21). In addition to losing five straight, the Wizards are 0-5 ATS in those five games and they haven’t been good against the number all season. Washington is 19-29-1 ATS for the season and 7-16-1 ATS on the road. To make matters worse, Washington has only beaten Milwaukee twice in the last ten meetings.
Actually, it does get even worse as the Wizards will play without their best player, Bradley Beal, tonight. In a 115-95 loss to Memphis on Saturday, Beal had just nine points and 12 assists and he injured a wrist in the process. That injury will keep him out tonight. Beal is averaging 23.2 points per game this season.
The Bucks, while they have the better overall record, are also not that great against the spread this season. Milwaukee has only covered three of its last ten games and the Bucks are 22-30 ATS for the season. At home, Milwaukee is 10-17 ATS. The Bucks are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall and they are just 2-4 ATS in their last six games against the Wizards at home at the FiServ Forum.
The Wizards haven’t been all that great defensively giving up 110.1 points per game for the season. That ranks 19th in the NBA. During their five-game losing streak, Washington’s defense has been even worse allowing 115 points per game. The only positive during the losing streak is that the Wizards have kept three of the games close. They lost one by four points and two others by one.
Milwaukee was blown out in its last game. Denver beat the Bucks 136-100, which gave the defending NBA champs a 7-8 record for the month of January. As bad as that may seem, there were some very good wins and former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had an outstanding month. He scored 31.5 points and averaged 10.8 rebounds per game leading the Bucks to wins over Golden State, Chicago, and Memphis. The problem for the Bucks is their lackluster performance in losses to teams like Atlanta and Detroit.
Without Beal, the Wizards will turn to Kyle Kuzma who had a rather strong January himself. Kuzma scored 22.5 points and had 11.1 rebounds per game in the first month of the new year. It will be difficult to beat the Bucks at home where they are 18-9 this season. Washington will be without Beal and the Bucks will have their big three of Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday.
Milwaukee has gone Over in five of its last seven games while the Wizards have seen four of the last six totals go Under. When the two teams played in November, the total went way Under. Washington has only seen a total this high (225.5) twice in its last 10 games. The most recent was against Memphis and the total went Under.