The Portland Trail Blazers and the Milwaukee Bucks collide at the Fiserv Forum on Monday night.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been in a real slump as they’ve lost eight of their past 11 games overall, but they will be aiming for a third straight victory after taking down the Knicks in a 112-103 home win on Saturday. Anfernee Simons led the team with 30 points and eight assists, Josh Hart added 23 points, Ben McLemore scored 17 points off the bench while Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 12 points, 20 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 40 from the 3-point line as they struggled for most of the game and trailed by as many as 23 points, before taking over in the fourth quarter where they outscored the Knicks by 35-11 to win easily in the end.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have been in great shape as they’ve won eight of their past 11 games, but they will be eager to bounce back here after getting their four-game win streak halted by the Suns in a 131-107 road loss on Thursday. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday each scored 21 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points with seven rebounds and eight assists while Bobby Portis chipped in with 11 points. As a team, the Bucks shot 45 percent from the field and 10 of 38 from the 3-point line as they allowed the Suns to go on a 20-7 run in the second quarter to fall behind going into halftime, before getting blown out in the second half where the Suns poured in 67 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Trail Blazers are 8-19 ATS in their last 27 road games, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a winning record and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Bucks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against a team with a losing record, 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a loss of more than 10 points and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 5-0 in the last five meetings in Milwaukee, the Trail Blazers are 1-5-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Milwaukee and the Trail Blazers are 4-16-1 ATS in the last 21 meetings overall.
The Trail Blazers are dealing with plenty of new faces in their lineup, but none of them have yet to see the court as Dennis Smith Jr, eric Bledsoe and Joe Ingles are all out. The Bucks are missing a few players themselves as Pat Connaughton and George Hill are both still out, while Giannis Antetokounmpo is currently listed as day to day. The Trail Blazers have looked good in their last two wins, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that success against a red-hot Bucks team coming into this one fresh off a big loss. The Trail Blazers are only 4-16-1 ATS in the last 21 meetings overall, so even though the line is quite hefty, I’m taking the Bucks to bounce back in fine fashion at home.