Central division rivals Milwaukee and Cleveland play each other on Friday at the Quicken Loans Arena.
The Bucks are coming off a 97-113 road loss to the Indiana Pacers in their last game on Wednesday while the Cavaliers are fresh from a 113-106 home win over the Knicks also this past Wednesday.
The Bucks have cooled off after an impressive 13-4 start and are just a mediocre 5-5 in their last five games. Milwaukee saw its two game winning streak ended by the Indiana Pacers on Monday. With the loss, the Bucks now only lead the Central Division by a mere half game over the Pacers.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers 12/14/18
Moneyline Odds: Bucks -525, Cavaliers +475
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 12/14/18
The Cavaliers’ life without LeBron James was off to a very bad start but very recently, the Cavs have shown some signs of improvement. Despite playing without Kevin Love, the Cavs have been able to go 3-3 in their last six games and 5-6 overall in their last 11 games played. Considering they have been playing without Love, this is a good sign for the Cavaliers.
However, the Cavs suffered another blow when Tristan Thompson sprained his foot during their Monday loss to the Bucks. Thompson is the team’s best rebounder and a double digit scorer and he is expected to be out for two weeks to a month. Without Thompson and still without Kevin Love, the Cavaliers will be playing without their top two rebounders.If they don’t get rebounds, they don’t get possessions which lead to attempts. If they don’t get shot attempts, they won’t improve their ranking (27th) in team scoring points.
These teams have played a total of 212 regular season games. The Milwaukee Bucks have won 119 of those games and the Cavs 93. Cleveland has won six out of the last eight meetings but all those wins came when LeBron James was still in the Land.
The Cavs have played better at home this season and the Bucks have struggled as of late. But all things considered, the Bucks certainly have more talent on their roster right now. Milwaukee has cooled off after a hot start but still, they are the better team. Cleveland has won back to back games at home but without Tristan Thompson, the Bucks are the pick here.
We’re picking the Milwaukee Bucks to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on 12/14/18
Milwaukee is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Bucks are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 road games. Cleveland is 14-14 ATS in their 28 games played this season. The Cavs are 7-8 ATS in 15 home games. Head to head, the Cavs are 2-3-1 ATS in their last six games against the Bucks. Cleveland is also 8-14-1 in their last 23 home games against Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers 12/14/18
Spread Odds: Bucks -10 (-109), Cavaliers +10 (-109)
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 12/14/18
The Bucks are 8-2 ATS after an SU loss and also 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against an opponent with a losing home record. Cleveland is 2-6 ATS in their last eight games when playing on one day rest. The Cavs are also 1-5 ATS in their last six games after an SU win. The Cavs are already without Kevin Love. Now they are also without Tristan Thompson right now. I don’t know how they can keep up with the Bucks.
Prediction: Bucks -10
The under is 5-0 in the Bucks last five games played. The total has gone over in 18 out of the last 25 road games played Milwaukee. The over is 4-1 in the last five games of Cleveland. The total has gone over in four out of the last five games between these teams.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers 12/14/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 219 -109, Under 219 -109
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 12/14/18
The over is 16-5 in the Bucks’ last 21 games after an SU loss. The over has also hit in the Cavs’ last four home games and the total has gone over in four out of Cleveland’s last five games played. The Bucks are averaging 118 points per game this season so that means Cleveland will just have to barely cross the century mark to help the score go over.
Prediction: over 219
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