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The Milwaukee Bucks head back to the Motor City to play the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, which is one of nine games on the NBA schedule. The Bucks led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, have been one of the best teams in the league at 7-4. Milwaukee is currently on a two-game winning streak, and recently defeated the Detroit Pistons last week in back-to-back games.
As for the Pistons, they are coming off a 96-86 loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Now sitting at 2-8, Detroit has lost four out of their last five games. Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, and Josh Jackson have been the lone brights on a Pistons team that will likely be one of the worst in the NBA.
We are going to take a look at Wednesday’s free-to-play pool on DraftKings Sportsbook and give some advice for each category.
Who will cover the spread?
The Bucks are favored by 9.5 points, but it wouldn’t be surprised to see the spread jump to digits. As previously mentioned, these two teams just played last week, where Milwaukee won by 15 and 10 points.
The Bucks just blew out the undermanned Orlando Magic by 22 points on Tuesday night and have frequently dominated many teams throughout this season. Meanwhile, the Pistons have lost three games by 10 points or more in the last five games. This season, Milwaukee has a record of 4-2 against the spread in their last six games.
Bucks vs. Pistons: Total Points
The point total for this Wednesday night contest between two central division opponents is set at 224.5. That is not high considering the last time these two teams played, the point totals were 245 and 240. This season, the Bucks are averaging an impressive 121.9 points per game, while the Pistons are averaging 108.8. Therefore, if you take those two averages and add them together, you get over the point total. I like over for this game.
Which will be the higher scoring half?
If I had to take a wild guess on which half will be the highest scoring, I’d lean towards the first half. This season, the Bucks are averaging 62.5 points per game in the first half and the Pistons are averaging 52.9 points per game in the first half. Both numbers for each team drop off by 3.1 points (Bucks) and .5 (Pistons) in the remaining two quarters.
Blake Griffin Points
This season, the veteran forward has been average, with Jerami Grant taking over as the predominant scoring option for Detroit. Griffin is only averaging 13.9 points per game, which close to what his prop for this game — 13.5. The last time these two teams played each other Griffin only had nine points. That being said, I’d lean towards taking the under for veteran big man.
Jerami Grant Points
With Christian Wood in Houston, Jerami Grant has now become the team’s best offensive player. This season, the former second-round pick is averaging 25.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game. In regards to Wednesday night, Grant’s points prop is set at 24.5.
Through 10 games this season, Grant has scored over 24.5 points six times. In fact, the last time the Pistons played the Bucks, the 6-foot-8 forward had 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range. Since we are taking the under on Griffin points, might as well take the over on Grant who is having an All-star season.
Svi Mykhailiuk 3-Pointers Made
Svi Mykhailiuk is a professional shooter and will have many opportunities to throw up a bunch of three-pointers on Wednesday. This season, the former Kansas Jayhawk is averaging 7.9 points per game and shooting a disappointing 29.5 percent from behind the arc on 6.1 attempts per game.
Nevertheless, his prop bet against the Bucks is O/U 2.5 three-pointers made. In the Pistons’ last three games, Mykhailiuk has made more than two three-points. The last time he made more than 2.5 happened last week in the first game against Bucks, where Mykhailiuk made 3-of-5 shots from distance. However, I’d lean towards the under for tomorrow night
Who will have the more points and assists?
The two options for this prop bet is Khris Middleton/Donte DiVincenzo and Jerami Grant/Blake Griffin. In both pairing, we have two guys in Middleton and Grant, who can get their own offense. Grant is averaging 25.1 points, while Middleton is averaging 22.5 points per game.
Then when you look at Griffin versus DiVincenzo, the veteran forward is averaging 13.9 points per game and DiVincenzo is only 11 points. Despite Grant and Griffin having the points edge, I like the duo of Middleton and DiVincenzo to win the overall prop.
Who will have the most rebounds?
Looking at the options we have on the board, the best and no-brainer choice is Giannis Antetokounmpo. This season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game and has had five games of 10 or more rebounds. But if you do not like the choice of Giannis, then you can always go with Jerami Grant or Blake Griffin. However, those guys could end up splitting rebounding total between each of them.
Who will score the most points?
Give me Antetokounmpo for this prop bet as well. In Milwaukee’s last two games against Detroit, the two-time MVP scored 43 points and 25 points. Grant could make a run at the most points scored on Wednesday night, especially if the Pistons are down by a significant amount.
Which team will have more turnovers?
Even though the Pistons have the worst record, they’ve done a good job of taking care of the basketball. Detroit is only averaging 13.5 turnovers per game, which is best fifth mark in the NBA. However, the Bucks have struggled with taking care of the ball. They are averaging 15.3 turnovers per game, which ranks them 20th. For this prop bet, you should take the Bucks.
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