Milwaukee Bucks vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction, Odds and Picks

After splitting their mini 2-game series with the Knicks and losing on Christmas Day, the Bucks take the short trip to Brooklyn to face the Nets for the 2nd time this season. The first meeting of the year went Milwaukee’s way 129-125, and with the way they’ve been playing lately I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a similar scoring output by the two teams tonight as well. Milwaukee is averaging 132 points per game in their last 11 outings, but defensively they rank only 20th with a 120.5 defensive rating. The Bucks are also just 5-6 ATS as favorites in away games this season, so even if the Nets are playing on a 2nd night of a back-to-back here, I am hesitant to pick Milwaukee to cover.

The Nets have had a tough couple of weeks losing 5 games in a row, but a slightly easier schedule has them back in the mix for a Playoff spot in the East. Last night they beat the Detroit Pistons for the 2nd game in a row, however they failed to cover the spread as 6.5 point favorites. In the 2 wins they managed to score just 10 and 9 threes, that will have to go up to at least 15 if they want to hang with the high scoring Bucks here. In 2nd nights of a back-to-back the Nets have a 2-2 record this season, however both of their wins vs Chicago and Detroit were at home, so maybe that’s a sign of optimism heading into tonight’s game. This team has also been very consistent in covering the spread at Barclays Center, going 10-4 ATS in 14 outing so far this season.

Although Milwaukee is the favorite on paper here, I’d much rather back the points than any team to cover here. These two have cashed on the over 35 times in 59 games combined this season, plus the 3 most recent meetings have averaged 235.6 points per game. For the Bucks the Over is 10-3 in their last 13 games overall and 14-4 in their last 18 on the road. Don’t expect to see (m)any stops in this one. Take the over.

Over 240.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.