The Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers meet for the second-straight game. The Bucks hope to avenge Sunday’s tough loss, where Donovan Mitchell hit a go-ahead shot with only 0.3 left.
Catch the game tomorrow, November 5th, at 8 AM, Manila time.
AWAY: Milwaukee Bucks (1-5 AWAY)
Projected starting five:
- Damain Lillard
- Gary Trent Jr.
- Taurean Prince
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Brook Lopez
Concerns are continuing to grow around this Bucks team as they have remained in an uninspiring path from last season. They have lost five in a row and only 18-23 since hiring Doc Rivers last January – they were 30-13 in the 43 games prior with ex-head coach Adrian Griffin.
The Bucks are scoring 111.3 points per game while allowing 118.7 on the other end, which equates into a -7.3 net rating that ranks 26th in the league. You can clearly sense the frustration in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he put it best: they just have no identity.
In any case, Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and the rest of the Bucks should come in at tomorrow’s matchup with a lot of focus. They blew a 16-point lead in Sunday’s 114-113 loss to the Cavaliers, and were victimized by an off-balanced game-winning shot.
Hopefully, though, Antetokounmpo (31.0 PPG) and Lillard (26.2 PPG) can get more guys involved. Beyond their prolific scoring, the only other double-digit scorers are Bobby Portis (11.0 PPG) and Brook Lopez (10.5 PPG, 2.5 BPG).
HOME: Cleveland Cavaliers (7-0 HOME)
Projected starting five:
- Darius Garland
- Donovan Mitchell
- Isaac Okoro
- Evan Mobley
- Jarrett Allen
The Cavs extended their scorching start in awesome fashion on Sunday. They not only crawled their way back from a considerable deficit, they also topped it off with clutch play, most notably by their All-Star, Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell leads the team in scoring as always with 24.4 PPG on 50% shooting. He had 30 in their win vs. MIL, and will continue having that confidence. Backcourt mate Darius Garland (10 pts, 11 ast) and one-half of the team’s rim protectors Jarrett Allen (15 pts, 12 rebs) could be eyed for another good outing too as both recorded a double-double on Sunday. The other big man, Evan Mobley (17.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG), who’s having a versatile start to the season, is in that mix as well.
Cleveland is putting up 123.1 PPG with an average winning margin of 14.6 points. It wasn’t on full display last time, though, especially since the defense surrendered 41 points to Lillard, so the guys ought to be more careful.
PICKS:
Spread: Bucks (+7)
Over/Under: Over (230)