The Milwaukee Bucks have won eight straight games with Khris Middleton back in the lineup, and they’re looking to keep that streak going against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the Lakers still lost that game. Los Angeles made a major move on Wednesday, getting the trade market going by orchestrating a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Los Angeles re-acquired D’Angelo Russell in the deal, as well as role players Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. Russell Westbrook was moved for Los Angeles, so the team is hoping that it can make this new-look roster work down the stretch of this season.
The Lakers have work to do if they want to make the playoffs, and Milwaukee is a tough matchup, especially with it unlikely that Russell, Beasley or Vanderbilt will be able to play in this game.
Can LeBron and Anthony Davis pull off the upset at home?
Here’s a look at the odds and a pick for this showdown between some of the game’s brightest stars:
Bucks vs. Lakers odds, spread and total
Bucks vs. Lakers prediction and pick
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are now 12-3 when Khris Middleton plays this season, and they’ve been solid as road favorites, going 7-5-2 against the spread.
After watching the Lakers lose to OKC despite a terrific game from LeBron, there’s no way that I can take them to cover the six points against a far better Bucks team.
Since Middleton came back from his knee injury, Milwaukee is No. 7 in offensive rating, No. 2 in defensive rating and No. 2 in net rating. In the team’s last eight road games, it is No. 1 in net rating and offensive rating and No. 7 in defensive rating.
What makes this even more impressive is Milwaukee is 22nd in the NBA in offensive rating this season, showing just how important it is to have Middleton healthy.
The Lakers have a new-look roster, but it would be surprising if any of the players dealt on Wednesday suit up tonight. Even if they do, the Bucks are a much better team than Los Angeles when healthy.
The Lakers have been decent as home dogs, but can we really trust them to hang tight with Giannis and company given how they’ve played this season?
I’m not buying it.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.