Giannis and company head to Portland salivating for another win. Can the Blazers somehow score an upset?
HOME TEAM: Portland Trail Blazers (16-23, 8-14 at home)
The Portland Trail Blazers are carrying a trio of ugly trends heading into tomorrow’s contest. They have lost three-straight at home, seven of their last nine overall, and six of their last seven games against teams with winning records.
Portland also lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in their meeting back in late November, 137-129, despite 37 points from CJ McCollum and six total Blazers scoring in double figures.
There will be added dose of confidence for tomorrow, though, as Damian Lillard and Hassan Whiteside will be available. The two missed that previous match-up due to injuries.
Lillard is seventh in the league in scoring and assists, averaging 26.8 points and 7.6 assists, while Whiteside is a double-double machine at 15.1 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.
ROAD TEAM: Milwaukee Bucks (34-6, 16-4 on the road)
The Bucks have won seven of their last nine games and will be looking to closeout a four-game road trip with another win. On Saturday, they visited the Sacramento Kings and earned an easy 127-106 victory. Giannis Antetounkmpo took a step back as Khris Middleton (27 points, 9-for-12 shooting) and Eric Bledsoe (24 points, five assists) led the way.
As the main weapons of the team with the best record in the league, however, always expect big from the trio. Giannis tallied a triple-double in that win over the Blazers months back (24 pts, 19 rebs, 15 asst), while Eric Bledsoe had scored a team-high 30 points on 52.4%-shooting.
Middleton sat out that meeting because of an injury but he too should be able to deliver solid damage. He’s averaging 21.6 points in his last nine games.
PREDICTION:
The Bucks are on the second night of a back-to-back but they should get the job done. They are top three in points (119 PPG), offensive efficiency, and defensive efficiency.
Look for Giannis to make up for his quiet game yesterday and lead the Bucks to a 118-108 win.
