The Utah Jazz and the Milwaukee Bucks are set to get together on Monday in the National Basketball Association. The Utah Jazz come into the game with a 17-20 record on the season. The Jazz are 12th in the Western Conference. Utah is coming off a big time win on the road at Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Milwaukee Bucks are 25-11 on the season. The Bucks lost in Houston on Saturday. Despite the loss, Milwaukee is still second in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee is a big favorite in this game at home. When you check the betting odds, you will find the Milwaukee Bucks -11.5 over the Utah Jazz
Freak Performance Not Enough
Despite 48 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were not able to come from down 16 heading into the fourth quarter to win the game. The Bucks played poorly in the first half, going to the locker room down 19 points. The Greek Freak did not get a ton of help, as Damain Lillard had just 18 points, while Kris Middleton settled at 10.
It was the third loss in four games for the Milwaukee Bucks. In back to back losses at the Pacers, the Bucks allowed 132 points per game. THat defense is not going to get the job done in the postseason. Offensively, the Bucks are scoring 124.3 points per game, which is one of the best in the league. Antetokounmpo is at 31.6 per game.
Milwaukee will host the Boston Celtics on Thursday, and then the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The home stand will come to an end January 14th, before road games at the Cavaliers and Pistons twice.
Jazz Looking to be Road Warriors
The Utah Jazz come into this game with just six wins on the road this season. But, Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton did not care about that, as they both recorded double doubles in the win over the 76ers. Philadelphia was without their top scorer in Joel Embiid for the game.
Markkanen is scoring 23.6 points per game, and also averaging nearly 9 rebounds per game. The Jazz are scoring 114.6 points per game. Overall, they have six guys scoring double digits per game. Jordan Clarkson is second with 17.2 per game, while Sexton is third, at just shy of 16 per game.
Utah will come home for six straight home games. The Jazz home to get comfortable, as they will not play another road game until January 29th in Houston. The Nuggets, Raptors, Lakers, Pacers, Warriors and Thunder all come to town.
Milwaukee Wins at Home
The Milwaukee Bucks are going to win this game. The question is – will the Bucks cover the spread? Milwaukee is a big favorite in this game. There is no doubt they are going to want to pick up their game after the Saturday loss. Can Utah play well enough to compete for the second straight game on the road? We think they will. The Jazz compete, but the Bucks win. Take Utah +11.5 over Milwaukee.
