The Washington Wizards are starting a five-game road trip on Wednesday and they are starting at Fiserv Forum to match up against the Milwaukee Bucks. With that said, it’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Wizards-Bucks prediction and pick.
The Wizards have been playing fantastic basketball to close out the season as they have won eight of their last ten games en route to a record of 30-35 and a spot in the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks are also playing very great basketball as they are currently riding a three-game winning streak, two of which are against the Brooklyn Nets, for a record of 41-24 and 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Wizards-Bucks odds.
NBA Odds: Wizards-Bucks Odds
Washington Wizards +4 (-105)
Milwaukee Bucks -4 (-115)
Over 243 Points (-105)
Under 243 Points(-115)
Why The Wizards Could Cover The Spread
Injury Report: Rui Hachimura (out), Deni Avdija (out), Thomas Bryant (out)
Despite being ranked as the 11th worse offensive and defensive team in the entire league, Coach Scott Brooks and the Wizards are playing fantastically and currently hold a spot in the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference.
Bradley Beal is the primary offensive weapon for the Wizards and has been having an incredible season so far. He has been averaging 30.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting almost 50 percent from the field.
The Wizards also have Russell Westbrook who is averaging a triple-double with 21.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.
The talented backcourt for the Wizards allows them to compete with any team offensively. The issue for Coach Brooks this entire season has been finding production off the bench and getting his team to commit defensively.
This Washing team was once the worse defensive rated team in the association but have made improvements. Still, the key for the Wizards on Wednesday against the Bucks will be on the defensive end of the floor and building a wall against Giannis Antetokoumpo who had 49 points and 36 points in the Bucks' last two games.
Why The Bucks Could Cover The Spread
Injury Report: Jeff Teague (day-to-day), Axel Toupane (out)
Coach Mike Budenholzer's team is nearly completely healthy as the team currently ranks as the 6th best offensive and the 7th best defensive team in the association.
Offensively this team is being led by their Big Three of Giannis Antetokoumpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton. These three players for the Bucks are averaging a combined 65.9 points, 21.7 rebounds, and 17.3 assists per game while all shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.
This Big Three has been very productive for Coach Budenholzer but the issue for the Bucks has been with the depth of their roster and injuries. The recent additions of Jeff Teague and P.J. Tucker should help with this as they are great individual defensive players and help spread the floor offensively.
In addition, the Bucks have both Giannis and Brook Lopez anchoring the paint on the defensive end of the floor and they are averaging 1.3 and 1.5 blocks per game respectively. This Milwaukee team also has very great individual defenders in their backcourt with Holiday and Middleton.
To cover the spread on Wednesday, the Bucks will need to force tough shots from Westbrook and Beal or try to force the ball out of their hands as they are the only offense for the Wizards.
Final Wizards-Bucks Prediction & Pick
The Bucks are rated as a better offensive team than the Wizards by a lot but the dynamic duo of Westbrook and Beal is very difficult to stop offensively. The Bucks have a better chance to cover the spread though because of the great individual and team defense of the Bucks as opposed to the terrible defense of the Wizards. That said, this Milwaukee team will likely pick up their fourth consecutive win as the Wizards drop their first game on their five-game road trip.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION & PICK FOR WIZARDS-BUCKS: WAS 116, MIL 124 (MIL -4)
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