The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics will meet for the second time in a week on Sunday night, this time in Milwaukee. When these teams met on Wednesday, the Celtics prevailed 109-102, failing to cover the -12.5 spread at home and keeping the game under 222.5. They shot just 41% from two-point range in that contest, but they buoyed that performance by shooting 41% from deep. The Bucks had similar splits, but they gave up 19 offensive rebounds and committed 15 turnovers.
The Bucks have lost five straight and eight of their nine games this year. All but two of those losses were by double digits. This is a pretty bad offensive team that shot well over their heads when these teams met in Boston earlier this week. The Celtics, on the other hand, are a more prolific three-point shooting team and can consistently carry over those 40% performances from deep.
Milwaukee ranks bottom five in the Associate in both offensive and defensive rating, and they play with a ton of pace, so when shots aren't falling, their opponents tend to pour it on. That's what I'm expecting here, especially after Boston left a bit of meat on the bone after these teams met at TD Garden. Boston or pass, but there are better spots on the board.
Celtics vs Bucks prediction: Boston Celtics -12.5 (-110) at the time of publishing. Playable to -14.
