Catch this game live on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 11 AM, Manila time

The surging Milwaukee Bucks will put their win streak on the line this Thursday when they square off against the Golden State Warriors. Will the Bucks leave the Bay Area with another victory? Or, will the Warriors stop Milwaukee?

Away: Milwaukee Bucks (41-21/16-14 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Damian Lillard
• Malik Beasley
• Jae Crowder
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (Questionable)
• Brook Lopez

Something happened during the NBA All-Star break. No one outside the Bucks knows exactly what it was, but what’s certain is that the Bucks are playing like a much different animal after the break than during the team’s several games before it. The Bucks are undefeated in six games so far after the festivities down in Indianapolis and they will look to keep that going this Thursday against the Warriors. 

Milwaukee, which is coming off a 113-106 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at home last Tuesday despite playing without Giannis Antetokoumpo, also beat the Warriors in Cream City last January, 129-118. Speaking of the Greek Freak, he is labeled questionable with an Achilles tendinitis for the Warriors game at the time of this writing. With or without Giannis, Damian Lillard will be a man to watch out for, as he’s coming off a 41-point explosion against the Clippers. The Bucks are also 6-0 against the spread in their last six outings.

Home: Golden State Warriors (32-28/16-15 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Brandin Podziemski
• Andrew Wiggins
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Draymond Green

The Warriors got a brutal reality check in their last game in the form of a 140-88 beatdown at the hands of the red-hot Boston Celtics at TD Garden. That’s one loss Golden State surely would like to get scrubbed off from their memory. The first step to do that is by winning the next game against the Bucks, who could be due for a loss. San Francisco seems like a place where the Bucks’ momentum could die since Milwaukee is just 3-7 straight-up in it last 10 road games against the Warriors, dating back to 2014.

In addition to that, the Bucks have not covered the spread in any of the last four times they visited the Dubs. The loss to the Celtics might have also served as an important eye-opener for the Warriors, a reminder that it’s no longer 2016 when they were at the heights of their powers. In this rematch against the Bucks, the Warriors will have Stephen Curry suiting up unlike in the teams’ first meeting this season in which Golden State opted to rest the two-time MVP.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Warriors (-4.0) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (226.5) hits the Over.