The first game of the weekend will pit the Miami Heat against the dominant Milwaukee Bucks. Today’s matchup is pretty uneven despite both teams having an identical record. The Heat are young and upcoming while Milwaukee is lined with veterans that know how to ball. Miami will certainly fear the deer without having their seasoned star forward to help lighten the load.
Miami Heat (1-0) @ Milwaukee Bucks (1-0)
Miami
The Heat had a very promising first game, showcasing that you can get excellent production from rookies and veteran players alike. Jimmy Butler will miss yet another game, which makes it difficult for the team to get real game action with their full roster. Facing one of the best teams in the league, they’ll need to focus on defense and limiting turnovers to give them a shot on the road today.
- Miami won their first game of the season against Memphis 120-101.
- Offseason star acquisition Jimmy Butler will mess yet another game. James Johnson and Dion Waiters will also miss Saturday’s game.
- Guard play was excellent for the Heat in their first game, with Goran Dragic and two rookies, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, combining for 57 points on 20-41 (48.8%)
- Undrafted rookie Kendrick Nunn from the 2018 draft class had a phenomenal NBA debut, tallying 24 points and 2 steals on 10-18 (55.6%)
- This season might be the one for Justise Winslow, as he finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in the Heat’s win.
- A strong point for Miami was their rebounding. They won that matchup 51-40 last game.
- A clear weakness was their 21 turnovers in the first game of the season.
Milwaukee
The Bucks are a great candidate for being one of the best betting picks all season long. They will cruise through the regular season, likely to finish with the 1st or 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. With excellent defense and a bonafide superstar entering his prime, there isn’t much that can really slow them down. Especially if Middleton regains his shooting touch, the combination of offense and defense will make the Bucks a near-impossible outing every single night.
- Milwaukee overcame a double-digit deficit to beat Houston 117-111 in their season opener.
- Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to try for a repeat this year, as he finished with a triple double of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists on 11-17 (64.7%) shooting before fouling out midway through the 4th quarter.
- Scoring was well distributed across the rest of the starting lineup, as all 4 players not named Giannis finished with double digit scoring.
- Giannis’ sidekick, Khris Middleton, had a rough shooting night against Houston, going just 4-16 (25%) from the field to collect his 11
- A major success for the Bucks was their ball movement. Of their 46 field goals, 31 of them were assisted (67.4%).
- If there’s anything to look at for improvement, it was the 39 free throw attempts they allowed compared to 18 of their own.
Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -10.0
The line for tonight’s game is overwhelmingly in favor of the Bucks and this should come as no surprise. Milwaukee plays fantastic defense and they will surely suffocate an undermanned Miami squad missing their star. Nobody can stop Giannis and he has plenty of shooting around him to lighten the load. The Heat may be a serious playoff team once Jimmy Buckets returns, but for now they will be hard-pressed to beat the surging Bucks. This is why you should bet with the spread and take the Milwaukee Bucks to win tonight’s game
