Doc Rivers’ legacy isn’t on the line in this coming Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the temperature of his seat probably is. Will the Milwaukee Bucks come out of the break invigorated and beat the T’wolves? Or, will Minnesota add to the embarrassment of Rivers’ tenure in Cream City?

Catch this game live on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 11 AM, Manila time

Away: Milwaukee Bucks (35-21/12-14 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Damian Lillard
  • Malik Beasley
  • Jae Crowder
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo
  • Brook Lopez

It’s back to business for the Bucks after a long break, and they are about to find out whether all that rest is enough to treat their malaise. Before the break, Doc Rivers’ Milwaukee legacy got dinged with consecutive losses to teams his team had no business losing to; first, the Bucks lost to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat (123-97) on Valentine’s Day then they got preyed on by whatever was left of the Memphis Grizzlies (113-110) on Feb. 16. 

The Bucks are just 3-7 straight up under Rivers, and one of their losses in that stretch was the 129-105 home loss to the Timberwolves on Feb. 9. But what’s encouraging for the Bucks heading into the rematch against Minnesota is the fact that they are 4-1 SU and 4-1 versus the spread in their last five visits to the Twin Cities, dating back to 2018.

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Home: Minnesota Timberwolves (39-16/19-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Mike Conley
  • Anthony Edwards
  • Jaden McDaniels
  • Karl-Anthony Towns
  • Rudy Gobert

The Timberwolves will look to pick up where they left off before the break. Minnesota has continued to prove that they’re more contenders than pretenders, as it has won all of the team’s last four games – all away from home. This time, it’s back to Target Center, where the Timberwolves are 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games there. 

Anthony Edwards led the crew in the first meeting with Milwaukee, as he went off for 26 points, while Rudy Gobert had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. But it’s the 3-point shooting for the T’wolves as a whole that really hurt Milwaukee, as they went 21/41 from deep. On the season, the Timberwolves are third in the league overall with a 39.3 percent success rate on shots from behind the arc. And over their last four outings, they hit 40.6 percent of their 3-point attempts.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Bucks (+5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (225.0) hits the Over.

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