The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks face off in a highly-anticipated showdown on Thursday. Boston and Milwaukee are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference and they meet at Fiserv Forum in the national spotlight. The Celtics are 52-24 overall and 24-15 on the road this season. The Bucks are 30-7 in home games, and Milwaukee has an uncertain injury report on the second night of a back-to-back set. Robert Williams III (knee), Grant Williams (illness), and Payton Pritchard (heel) are listed as questionable for Boston.
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET in Milwaukee. Caesars Sportsbook lists Milwaukee as the 3-point home favorite, while the over/under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 236.5 in the latest Celtics vs. Bucks odds. Before making any Bucks vs. Celtics picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model enters Week 24 of the 2022-23 NBA season a stunning 70-36 on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,900. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Celtics vs. Bucks and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the NBA lines and trends for Bucks vs. Celtics:
Featured Game | Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics
Boston has the best net rating in the NBA this season, out-scoring opponents by more than six points per 100 possessions. The Celtics have star power at the top of the roster, and Boston is elite on both ends of the floor. Boston is in the top five of the league in defensive rating, giving up fewer than 1.11 points per possession, and the Celtics lead the league with a 74.9% defensive rebound rate. Boston is also in the top five of the league in second-chance points allowed, assists allowed, free throw attempts allowed and field goal percentage allowed on the defensive end.
On offense, the Celtics score 1.17 points per possession with top-five shooting efficiency. That includes 37.6% on 3-point attempts, 56.6% on 2-point attempts, and 81.5% on free throw attempts in 2022-23, with Boston generating 26.5 assists per game. The Celtics average 1.98 assists for every turnover while giving the ball away on only 13.2% of offensive possessions. Milwaukee is dead-last in the NBA in turnover creation, and Boston generates an assist on 62.8% of field goals.
Milwaukee is excellent at home and excellent on defense. The Bucks are out-scoring opponents by 7.8 points per 100 possessions at Fiserv Forum this season, and Milwaukee is 30-7 in home games. Milwaukee is also in the top three of the league in defensive efficiency, yielding only 1.10 points per possession. The Bucks are in the top three of the league in field goal percentage allowed (45%) with the No. 1 mark in the league in 2-point percentage allowed (51%).
Milwaukee gives up fewer than 22 free throw attempts per game, and the Bucks are in the top five in assist prevention and defensive rebound rate. Opponents score fewer than 13 fast break points per game against Milwaukee and, on the other end, the Bucks put pressure on opponents from long distance. The Bucks are in the top five of the NBA in 3-pointers, making more than 14 per game, and Milwaukee also has above-average marks in offensive rebound rate and second-chance points.
The model is leaing Over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 238 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Celtics vs. Bucks? And which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
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