The Golden State Warriors will start their road trip this Friday with a showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks. Each team will look to rebound from a loss and score a massive victory. Which between them will come away with a win this Friday?
Catch this game live on Friday, January 14, at 8:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Golden State Warriors (30-10/12-7 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green (Doubtful)
- C: Kevon Looney
Just when it looked like the Warriors were back on track when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers at home last Monday to end a two-game skid, they followed that up with a 116-108 loss to Ja Morant and the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies to kick off a four-game road trip. The Bucks will be another tough challenge for the Warriors, especially away from the Bay Area, but Golden State has rarely lost back-to-back this season. It’s only happened once, albeit recently when the Warriors suffered consecutive losses to the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this January.
Nevertheless, with Klay Thompson finally running alongside Stephen Curry again and the continued relevance of Andrew Wiggins despite KT’s return, the Warriors are expected to make life hard this Friday for the Bucks, who couldn’t even solve the Charlotte Hornets in their last two games. It would be a huge plus for the Warriors if Draymond Green plays against Milwaukee, but if he can’t go it would mean more playing time for Otto Porter, Jordan Poole, and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who are all very capable auxiliary scorers. The Warriors are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games after a loss.
Home: Milwaukee Bucks (26-17/13-7 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Donte DiVincenzo
- SG: Wesley Matthews
- SF: Khris Middleton
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- C: Bobby Portis
As mentioned above, the Bucks failed their recent tests versus Charlotte, which gave Giannis Antetokounmpo and company losses in their last two outings. It’s high time for Milwaukee to make a huge statement after those setbacks and a 1-4 stretch, and what better time to do than this Friday against a serious title contender in the form of the Warriors. If they are to beat Golden State, the Bucks might have to do it without Jrue Holiday, who is still not expected to play because of ankle soreness.
George Hill is also out due to health and safety protocols, leaving Milwaukee with an extremely shallow point guard depth. In any case, the Bucks have Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton to lead the charge. Without Green, the Warriors might struggle in containing Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. The Bucks are also getting quality play from Jordan Nwora of late. Nwora has put up 14.8 points on 50 FG% and 45.7 3FG% in his last five appearances. The Bucks, who are averaging 111.8 points per outing, are 3-2 against the spread in their last five home games versus Golden State.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Bucks are not a great ATS team at home this season, covering in just seven of 13 games at Fiserv Forum, thus far. With the Warriors coming to town, Milwaukee likely won’t be able to buck the trend. Leaning the Warriors to cover (+2.5).
Over/Under: Both teams can really shoot the ball. The Bucks and the Warriors are inside the top 10 in terms of Effective FG % and 3FG%, but the flow of their offenses could be suboptimal due to the absences of Holiday for the Bucks and Green for the Warriors. An Under (222.5) pick makes sense.
