For the fourth and final time, the Milwaukee Bucks (53-21, 41-31-2 ATS), who own the NBA's best record, will take on the Detroit Pistons (16-58, 30-41-3 ATS), who have the worst record in the league. The first three matchups all went in Milwaukee's favor, with two of the wins coming by at least 20 points. On paper this game is lopsided, but there's a reason teams still suit up. Let's see if a massive upset is brewing in Little Caesars Arena on Monday when these divisional foes face off at 7:00 p.m.
A loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday ended a three-game winning streak, but Milwaukee still heads into their final eight games with the best record in the NBA. They're trying to fend off Denver, who they have three games on, and Boston, who they are ahead of by two games. The Bucks are 30-9 since the calendar flipped to 2023, and the surge has them primed for home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
Denver besting them on Saturday was a bump in the road, but there's no shame in losing the second leg of a back-to-back against the Western Conference's top team. Milwaukee held a three-point advantage at halftime, but proceeded to get outscored by 26 in the second half, ultimately falling 126-109. Their defense struggled to force misses, the offense couldn't get shots to fall, and they were outrebounded. Giannis Antetokounmpo still managed to finish with 31 points in only 32 minutes.
This angle of Giannis' lob. ??
Giannis is incredible. ?? pic.twitter.com/S8XZx9qMxW
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 26, 2023
Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.1 points per game on 55.0% shooting, leading the Bucks to 14th in offensive rating. Milwaukee as a team is 10th in offensive rebounding percentage and eighth in shooting percentage at the rim. They don't help themselves at the charity stripe though, only knocking down 74.2% of their attempts which is 28th in the NBA.
There aren't many defenses tougher than the Bucks', which is third in defensive rating and second in adjusted defensive rating. They force the fewest turnovers rate-wise, but make up for it by allowing the lowest effective field goal percentage. The Bucks allow the fewest percentage of shots attempts at the rim and the third-fewest from beyond the arc. They're also top-five at forcing misses at both of those levels.
Milwaukee m ade some additions recently, but they likely won't suit up for this one. Meyers Leonard is questionable for this game, while Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic are out indefinitely right now.
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