The Milwaukee Bucks pay the New Orleans Pelicans a visit. It’s a clash of two teams looking to return to the win column.
Catch the game tomorrow at 8:00 AM, Manila time.
AWAY: Milwaukee Bucks (46-26, 17-18 AWAY)
Projected starting five:
- CJ McCollum
- Brandon Ingram (out) / Trey Murphy
- Herb Jones
- Zion Williamson
- Jonas Valanciunas
The Bucks are coming off a double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, 128-124. It was a frustrating defeat as they led 94-75 with only 7:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Then again, they may be lucky to go up by that much when Damian Lillard finished just 9-of-29 from the field and collectively shot just 15-of-51 from beyond the arc.
The good counter, however, was their previous win over tomorrow’s opponent, which was a complete opposite of their loss to the Lakers.
They eased past the Pelicans last January 28th, 141-117, with four guys scoring 20 or more points – Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), Damian Lillard (26), Brook Lopez (24), and Bobby Ports (20). The team also shot 56%, including 20-of-44 in threes.
We should see the same guys produce the most for this contest, with Khris Middleton (15.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.2 APG) also joining in.
HOME: New Orleans Pelicans (44-28, 20-14 HOME)
Projected starting five:
- CJ McCollum
- Brandon Ingram
- Herb Jones
- Zion Williamson
- Jonas Valanciunas
The Pelicans are also aiming to bounce back from a loss. They were defeated by the Oklahoma CIty Thunder on Wednesday, 119-112. It’s only their third L in 11 games, averaging 113.9 points and allowing 103.8 in that stretch.
With the aforementioned routing they got from the Bucks, expect a lot of energy from the Pels. It will be a tad tougher with Brandon Ingram out due to a knee injury, but they should have enough.
Zion Williamson (22.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.1 APG) is continuing to have a comeback year, CJ McCollum is still a very capable scorer, and there’s a solid crop of youngsters and vets.
Look for McCollum to be aggressive early as he had a quiet outing vs. MIL last time, going just 2-of-7 for seven points in 23 minutes of action. Trey Murphy, who has 17.9 PPG in his last 14 games, will remain as the filler for Ingram.
PREDICTIONS:
Handicap: The Bucks (-2) cover the spread.
Over/Under: The total goes over 224.5.
