Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks 12/7/18: Starting Lineups, Matchup Breakdown, Odds, Daily Fantasy, Betting
Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview
The Milwaukee Bucks (16-7) host the Golden State Warriors (17-9) tonight in what should be a classic East-West showdown, featuring two of the league’s best teams. The last time the teams met, the Bucks announced their arrival as one of the league’s elite teams with a blowout win over the Warriors 134-111.
Aside from getting to see two of the league’s best faceoff, the nationally-televised game will also provide an intriguing matchup between All-Stars Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Durant carried the Warriors while Stephen Curry was injured for 11 games, and Giannis is having quite a season on both sides of the floor.
In terms of metrics, both teams seem very even with similar records, and offensive and defensive ratings. Milwaukee does corral about five more rebounds per game, but the loss of Draymond Green for the Warriors likely has plenty to do with that.
The Bucks will be looking to complete the season sweep of the Warriors at home, and the Warriors hope to extend their winning streak to three games by exacting some revenge as they end their road trip.
TV Schedule
Date: 12/7/18
Time: 9:30pm ET
Arena: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Channel: ESPN
Golden State Warriors Starting Lineup
Position | Starter |
---|---|
PG | Stephen Curry |
SG | Klay Thompson |
SF | Kevin Durant |
PF | Draymond Green |
C | DeMarcus Cousins |
Warriors Analysis
While Kevin Durant did his best, with several impressive performances during the time Stephen Curry was out, there was clearly something not right with the team. They seem to have righted the ship since Curry’s return, winning their last two on the road.
Curry has showed very few signs of rust and is averaging a whopping 33 points, 5.7 rebounds and four assists since his return, including a near triple-double against the Cavs on Wednesday, as he finished with 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Some may even say he is looking the best he has all season, and his efficiency ratings go a long way in backing that up.
As long as the Warriors have Durant, Curry and Thompson they should be over their initial struggles, as most teams would, but they have also been bitten by the injury bug. Green remains out and they lost Damian Jones for the season. Golden State has turned to Kevon Looney to fill in, but they are a little thin on interior defenders currently.
Warriors Quick Links: Warriors Starting Lineup, Warriors Roster, Warriors Depth Chart, Warriors Injuries, Warriors News, Warriors Schedule
Milwaukee Bucks Starting Lineup
Position | Starter |
---|---|
PG | Eric Bledsoe |
SG | Malcolm Brogdon |
SF | Khris Middleton |
PF | Giannis Antetokounmpo |
C | Brook Lopez |
Contents
Bucks Analysis
In case you had not noticed, the Bucks are no longer an up-and-comer. They have arrived, and the mantra of “Fear the Deer” couldn’t be more appropriate. The Bucks are tied for the second best winning percentage in the NBA behind the Toronto Raptors, and they have also done very well against the league’s top teams this year, as was evidenced by the shellacking they gave the Warriors in their first meeting.
As usual, Giannis is doing Giannis things and is leading the Bucks in every statistical category except blocks, which is being led by new addition Broook Lopez, but he’s not far behind with 1.3 per game. The only real weakness in his game is three-point shooting. That can become magnified by a team that lives and dies by the three so much.
Aside from Giannis, the Bucks’ backcourt tandem of Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon has been a key reason why this team has done so well. Together, they are responsible for over 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Pairing those types of numbers from your backcourt along with leading scorers Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton has been the right mix for Milwaukee, and it has taken some of the pressure off of Lopez that he has had at his other NBA stops to be a leading scorer, and instead focus on the defensive end.
Bucks Quick Links: Bucks Starting Lineup, Bucks Roster, Bucks Depth Chart, Bucks Injuries, Bucks News, Bucks Schedule
Warriors vs. Bucks Betting Odds
This should be a very tight game that could swing either way with two evenly matched teams, so don’t expect another Bucks blowout. The Warriors are a -1 favorite.
The Warriors are 7-13-6 against the spread and 0-13-0 on the road, while the Bucks are 9-9-5 and 9-0-5 at home. The Warriors have a win percentage on the road of 71.3 percent, and 81.3 percent as the favorite. The Bucks only have a 61% win percentage at home and 33.8% as the underdog.
Odds & Line Movement Links: Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks, Vegas Odds (All NBA Games Today)
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DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Picks
Antetokounmpo and Curry are my stud picks for this matchup. While it would be very easy to choose Durant instead of Curry, Chef Curry has been on fire lately, especially from deep and is getting it done in multiple categories.
Curry’s salary on FanDuel is $9,900 and he has a projection of 52.29 points ($10,000-54.76 points on DraftKings). Antetokounmpo’s salary is 12,200 with a projection of 54.74 points on FanDuel, which should be no surprise, considering he is a multi-category beast. His salary on DraftKings is 11,100 with a projection of 54.28 points.
With so many injuries for Golden State, and with several players outside of the main three not doing anything jumping off the page, there really isn’t a value pick outside of Curry. For the Bucks, Bledsoe would be my choice. With a Fan Duel salary of $7,700, he is projected for 35.49 points. Bledsoe’s salary is $7,200 on DraftKings with just a minor projection change in 35.71 points.
Find all of our Fanduel and Draftkings projections here: https://www.lineups.com/nba/nba-fantasy-basketball-projections