In the second game on TNT Thursday night, we have the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at 9:30 p.m. ET. These two teams last played each other on Jan. 30, where the Pelicans mounted a furious second-half and won 131-126.
The Pelicans are coming into contest on the second game of a back-to-back after they defeated the Detroit Pistons 128-118 on Wednesday. New Orleans has won two-straight games and are 5-5 in their last 10. The Bucks have won three-straight contests and are looking for their fourth consecutive win at Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-112 on Tuesday night. Can Giannis and the Bucks avenge their first loss to the Pels? Or will Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram led New Orleans to their third-straight win? We’ll go over some ideal picks on DraftKings Sportsbook centered around the game here.
Pelicans vs. Bucks, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Pick ATS: Bucks -9
The line for Thursday night’s game is currently set at nine points, with the Bucks favored at home. Despite their ups and downs, the Bucks have played well at home this season with a record of 12-4. They’ve also continued that trend against the spread at 10-4. However, they have not fared well against teams from the west with a record of 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games.
The positive side of that is they’ve faced three teams from the west recently and covered all three games by double-digits. But one of those teams are the Pelicans, who have two dynamic and talented players in Williamson and Ingram. New Orleans will need that duo to shine tonight as they are only 2-6 ATS in their last eight games. Additionally, the Pels are 1-4 ATS in the second game of a back-to-back.
The Bucks will hope to have Bobby Portis, who is listed as probable, and Jrue Holiday, who is listed as doubtful (health and safety protocols). But even if Holiday doesn’t play, I think the Bucks can hold it down with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton leading the way.
Player Prop: Khris Middleton O6.5 rebounds (+110)
This is a player prop that you need to jump on quickly, before the masses put money on it and switch it to even money. Middelton is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game this season, which is just below his prop total for Thursday night’s contest. But he has gone over 6.5 rebounds in 15 out of 32 games, which might not inspire a ton of confident.
However, in the Bucks’ last five games, the veteran forward is averaging 7.6 rebounds and has gone 6.5 boards in each contest. When the Bucks played NO last time, Middleton had eight rebounds.
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