Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview and Prediction (2/24/23)
Line: Bucks -1.5, Heat +1.5
Total: 220
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks Betting Odds Breakdown
The Miami Heat will be making a trip to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks on Friday.
The Bucks are coming into this game as the favorite at -1.5, and the over/under is sitting at 220 points.
Miami Heat Preview
Miami is sitting at 32-27 coming out of the all star break, which has them in seventh in the eastern conference.
In Miami’s last game, they lost by the score of 116-105. The biggest problem they had throughout the entire game was trying to figure out how to guard Mikal Bridges, who put up 45 points on the board along with eight rebounds and five assists. Other than Giannis Antetokonmpo, there aren’t many other players on the Bucks that have monster nights consistently. And luckily for Miami, Giannis will likely be out with a wrist injury in this game. So, there is a good chance that they have a good night defensively.
Another problem for Miami in this game was their three point shooting. It was very poor for the whole game, with them only shooting about 28 percent from beyond the arc. Their free throw shooting wasn’t very good either, which is unusual, with them leaving eight points at the line against Brooklyn. And for a team that is second in the whole league for free throw percentage, it’s strange to see them leave that many points at the line. But, this should be an easy fix going into this game against the Bucks.
Milwaukee Bucks Preview
Coming out of the all star break, the Milwaukee Bucks are sitting at 41-17, which has them in second in the eastern conference.
Milwaukee got a 12 point victory over the Chicago Bulls in their last time out, and in what was a somewhat unlikely event, Brook Lopez had a monster night and led the Milwaukee Bucks to a victory over the Bulls. Against the Bulls, Lopez put up 33 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Along with him having that performance, Jevon Carter put up 22 points, and Jrue Holiday and AJ Green both had 15 points each. Brook Lopez played especially well, and if he can do it again, a win for Milwaukee seems likely.
Milwaukee has been bested by the Heat in two of the three games they have played against each other this year, but in the two games that they did win, Giannis Antetokounmpo was not playing, and like said above, Giannis will likely be missing another game against Miami. Giannis is the most valuable player to Milwaukee, and it shows based off of the record the Bucks have with and without him. Even though it’s not a large sample size, the Bucks are only 6-5 on the season without Giannis. But when Giannis does play, the Bucks are 35-12. He helps out this team a lot, and Milwaukee will definitely be missing him in this one.
