The Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers meet for the third and last time this regular season. Will the Bucks sweep Philly? Or, will the Sixers finally get a win at the expense of Milwaukee?
Catch this game live on Sunday, April 25, at 3:30 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Milwaukee Bucks (36-22, 19-10 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Jrue Holiday
- SG: Donte DiVincenzo
- SF: Khris Middleton
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- C: Brook Lopez
The Bucks recovered from back-to-back losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns by defeating the Sixers last Friday, 124-117. Not only did they break a two-game skid but also managed to go up 2-0 straight up against Philadelphia this season.
Even though the Sixers didn’t have Simmons, it showed how well Milwaukee matches up against Philly. Rebounding has been a big key for the Bucks against the Sixers this season. Milwaukee has outrebounded Philly in the first two meetings, thanks in large part to their size and versatility. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a matchup problem for the Sixers, as the Greek Freak has averaged 29.5 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games against Philadelphia this season.
With guys like Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday, and Donte DiVincenzo spreading the floor, Antetokounmpo is finding it easy to find his way to the bucket. That’s a formula the Bucks will keep on using against the Sixers, who just allowed Milwaukee to go 20 of 40 from deep on Friday.
The Bucks are 3-0 against the spread in the last three visits of the Sixers to Milwaukee.
ROAD TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers (39-20, 17-13 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: George Hill
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid
The Sixers are looking for a way out of a dark tunnel, as they have lost all of their last three games. They have not suffered more losses in a row this season, so they will have extra motivation to beat Milwaukee this Sunday. Joel Embiid doesn’t need any more motivation to push himself against the Bucks, though.
He had 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting in Friday’s loss, but he obviously has to get more help from his teammates, especially with Ben Simmons ruled out for the game. With Simmons out, the trio of Seth Curry, Shake Milton, and George Hill will all share the load in covering the void temporarily left by the former Rookie of the Year.
That includes playing great perimeter defense against the Bucks, who just burned them with a bunch of long shots in the previous meeting. Or, the Sixers can fight fire with fire. They’re still shooting the ball well from deep of late, having knocked down 44% of their threes over their last three games.
Philly has covered the spread in two of its last three road games.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread:
The Sixers are not going to get shut out by the Bucks this season. Take the Sixers to at least, cover the spread. (+7.5)
Over/Under: The Bucks will not drain 20 threes two games in a row, but both teams will still shoot the lights out from the field (both shot 50FG%+). Take the Over (230.5)
