Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans 2/4/20: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Daily Fantasy

Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans Preview

The Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans are set to face off for the second time this year on Tuesday night in Louisiana. The Bucks took the first game back in mid-December 127-112. Since that game, Milwaukee has continued to roll to an NBA leading 42-7 record. They weren’t able to stretch their win streak to double-digits last Friday due to a loss to the Nuggets but rebounded two days later with a dominant victory over the Suns. The Pelicans record wouldn’t show it, but they have looked rejuvenated as of late. This new energy is in large part due to the debut of Zion Williamson. He has brought a much-needed presence to this Pelicans roster. They have gone 3-3 since Zion’s debut with two of those losses coming to top 5 teams in the West.

TV Schedule

Date: 2/4/20
Time: 6:30 PM CST
Arena: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Channel: Fox Sports Wisconsin, Fox Sports New Orleans

Injuries

Bucks: George Hill (Out), Frank Mason (Out)
Pelicans: Darius Miller (Out), Kenrich Williams (Out)

Milwaukee Bucks Starting Lineup

PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Wesley Matthews
SF: Khris Middleton
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Brook Lopez

Bucks Analysis

Milwaukee was able to continue their streak of no back-to-back losses on Sunday with their dominant performance against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns aren’t exactly the toughest test, but the Bucks were able to show why they hold the NBA’s best record.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton carried the load for Milwaukee along with their supporting cast chipping in as we have seen many times this year. Both All-Stars filled up the stat sheet against Phoenix. Giannis was one assist away from his 5^th triple-double year. The Greek Freak put up 30 points and tied his season-high of 19 rebounds to go along with his 9 assists. This was another dominant MVP performance for Giannis even in a game where he turned the ball over 7 times. Middleton’s 25 point, 8 rebound, and 6 assist performance was overshadowed by Giannis’ game. Milwaukee also got some supplemental scoring from Brook Lopez (17) and Donte DiVincenzo (15). Milwaukee was really never in trouble going up 67-52 at the half and scoring 30+ points in each quarter.

The Bucks are the best rebounding team in the NBA but may be challenged on the glass against New Orleans. The Pelicans are a top 5 in offensive rebounds per game and are coming an extremely one-sided rebound battle in their last game. Although, the Bucks may be matched on the boards they should be able to take advantage of a leaky Pelicans defense. New Orleans up the 3^rd most points in the league and should have a very tough time slowing down the fast-paced, uber-efficient Bucks offense.

New Orleans Pelicans Starting Lineup

Pelicans Analysis

As I mentioned before, the debut of Zion Williamson has brought a lot of eyes onto the Pelicans. After being on a minutes restriction the first few games back it seems that NOLA is ready to fully unleash Zion. He has shown why he was the consensus 1^st overall pick through his 6 games and is now joining a nice young core. Zion is currently averaging 19 points, 8 rebounds, and just under 2 assists a game. Obviously, this is a small sample size but it is even more encouraging that he has shot 62% from the field over this stretch.

New Orleans lost a competitive game against the Rockets on Sunday despite good performances by their two budding stars Zion and Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans were able to keep up with Houston’s offense the 1^st three quarters but faltered in the 4^th only putting 16 points. There were multiple performances to build on. Ingram and Zion both had 20-point 10-rebound double-doubles and Lonzo Ball was an assist away from his 4^th  triple-double on the year. New Orleans was able to control the boards as they have all year with 5 different Pelicans notched double-digit rebounds. New Orleans’s fatal flaw was turnovers. They lost the turnover battle 21-7 with all 5 starters having 3+ turnovers.

New Orleans will need to limit their turnovers against a Bucks team that will jump all over them using turnovers to get out in transition. There were a lot of avoidable mishaps/turnovers especially in the 1^st and 4^th quarters on Sunday which is to be expected of a young team.

Key Player Matchup

Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Zion Williamson

This is a matchup that any basketball fan is dying to see. Two generational players with wide skillsets going at it. It will be interesting to see if New Orleans uses Zion on Giannis or tries to limit his workload by playing off Giannis defensively. Either way, this is a can’t miss matchup.

Daily Fantasy

Giannis is an obvious play but his $11,500 price tag makes it kind of tough to fit him into lineups. Middleton ($7,200), Zion ($7,100), and Lonzo Ball ($6,900) have great value and flexibility at that price point. Two sub-$5,000 guys that I think are in line for solid production are Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart.

Bet on Matchup

If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can bet on this matchup. Sports betting is legal in PA. Our top-rated online sportsbook bonus offers can be found in our articles: Fanduel Sportsbook promo code, DraftKings Sportsbook promo code & Pointsbet promo code.