Atlanta at Milwaukee Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Thursday,March 23, 2017 10:10, EDT in

NBA News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Important game in the Eastern Conference on Friday night as Atlanta and Milwaukee square off in Beer Town. Both would be in the playoffs as things stand right now, but just barely for the Bucks and the Hawks are slumping and starting to slide into jeopardy. Milwaukee will be a home NBA lines favorite.

Atlanta at Milwaukee Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

When: Friday, March 24, 8 PM ET
Where: Bradley Center, Milwaukee
TV: NBA TV
Stream: NBA.tv
Radio: Atlanta / Milwaukee
NBA Odds: Bucks favored by TBA

Why Bet on Atlanta?

The Hawks entered Wednesday’s game at Washington having lost four in a row and it was likely to be five with the Hawks missing starters Kent Bazemore and All-Star forward Paul Millsap. You won’t see Millsap here, either, as he’s dealing with a bone bruise.

The original hope was Millsap would return for this game, but head coach Mike Budenholzer would not commit to Millsap only needing three games off to rest up his left knee but did describe the injury as a “short term” issue. Ersan Ilyasova will remain one of the primary beneficiaries with Millsap on the shelf.

Atlanta is fourth in the NBA in spg (8.4), while ranking third in forcing turnovers as foes are committing 15.5 miscues per game (leading to 16.4 points). The Hawks are also tied for eighth in the league in bpg (5.1) and sixth in opponent FG% (.448).

In his first season as a starter, Dennis Schröder is averaging 17.7 ppg, 6.2 apg (t16th in the NBA) and 3.0 rpg in 31.0 mpg, while shooting .453 FG%, .333 3FG% and .844 FT% (39th). He has scored in double-figures 61 times (career-long streak of 17 consecutive games from 2/4-3/16), including 27 20-point efforts (four 30-point games) and has recorded a single season career-best 10 double-doubles.

Atlanta is shooting .455 FG%, while scoring at a 103.4 ppg clip. The Hawks are also averaging 42.8 points in the paint, 13.5 second chance points (tied for ninth in the NBA) and 12.2 fast break points per game. The Hawks have a 33-9 record when scoring at least 100 points.

Why Bet on Milwaukee?

The Bucks return from a six-game Western Conference road trip here. By knocking off the Clippers (3/15) and Lakers (3/17) in back-to- back games at the Staples Center, the Bucks earned their first road sweep of the Los Angeles teams since the 1987-88 season. Milwaukee’s win at Portland on Tuesday ended a three-game road losing streak to the Trail Blazers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied his team-high 47th game of the season with 20 or more points as scored 22 points with eight rebounds at Portland. Antetokounmpo currently has the third-most games with 20+ points for a player under the age of 23 in franchise history (K. Abdul-Jabbar, 73; G. Robinson, 54).

After holding the Trail Blazers to 90 points in Tuesday’s win, the Bucks have now won their last 15 games when they’ve held their opponent to under 100 points, a streak that dates back to 12/15/16. Milwaukee has won or tied the turnover battle in nine of its last 12 games. The Bucks rank first in the Eastern Conference (third overall) in points off turnovers per game this month, as they’re averaging 19.8 points per game off their opponents turnovers in March.

This will matter to Milwaukee to avoid a four-game season sweep. The Hawks moved to 3-0 in the season series against the Bucks with a 111-98 win in Atlanta on Jan. 15 Bazemore scored a team-high 24 points for Atlanta while Dwight Howard had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with a game-high 33 points.

Bucks rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon attended high school in the Atlanta area at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Ga., and won two state titles there.