The San Antonio Spurs have a tough challenge in front of them, as they will be playing the best team in the East without their best player. Will the Spurs pull off an earth-shaking upset win in enemy territory this Wednesday? Or, will the Milwaukee Bucks pummel their visitors?

Catch this game live on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 9 AM, Manila time

Away: San Antonio Spurs (4-21/2-9 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Malaki Branham
• Devin Vassell
• Keldon Johnson
• Jeremy Sochan
• Zach Collins

After snapping an 18-game losing skid by taming the Los Angeles Lakers at home last Saturday (129-115), Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs hit a rough patch again, as they got dominated by the New Orleans Pelicans in a 146-110 loss on Monday. Speaking of the super rookie, the Spurs can be expected to have a tougher night on the floor against the Bucks, as Wembanyama has already been ruled out of that contest with right ankle soreness. 

Wembanyama is the Spurs’ leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker so far in the 2023-24 NBA season. He also leads the team with 1.3 steals. As much as it sounds like this is going to be a gimme game for the Bucks, recent history of the Spurs in Milwaukee doesn’t seem to agree with that assumption, at least from a betting perspective. San Antonio has covered the spread in four of its last five games in Bucks country, dating back to 2008. Also, the Spurs are a solid 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 meetings with the Bucks overall.

Home: Milwaukee Bucks (19-7/14-2 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Damian Lillard
• Malik Beasley (Probable)
• Khris Middleton
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Brook Lopez

The scary thing about the Bucks is that Damian Lillard is only starting to get the feel of being in Milwaukee. The Bucks are already the No. 1 team in the East right now with a 19-7 record and are on a four-game win streak, but they have yet to hit their true ceiling. In their most recent outing, Lillard caught fire and popped for 39 points on 11/19 shooting from the floor with 11 assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes.

 Lillard and the Bucks can erupt anew offensively versus the Spurs, with or without Wembanyama on the floor. San Antonio is just 27th in the league with 122.2 points allowed per game, but the Spurs should be worse without the rookie unicorn. There is nearly a 9.0 drop in defensive rating for the Spurs when Wembanyama is off the floor. Defensively, Milwaukee will not have to worry much either, as the Spurs are just 29th in the NBA with an adjusted defensive rating of 109.5.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Bucks (-16.) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (248.0) hits the Under.