NBA: Toronto Raptors VS Milwaukee Bucks Pick and Predictions 01/17/2023

Game: 7:30 PM ET,  Tuesday, January 17th, 2023

Venue: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TV:  TNT

Raptors: 19-24, 11th place Eastern Conference

Bucks: 27-16, 3rd place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Bucks -4.5, O/U 223.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Bucks -4.5, O/U 224

Fanduel: Point Spread: Bucks -4.5, O/U 224

Raptors: PF OG Anunoby, SF Scottie Barnes, C Pascal Siakam, PG Fred Van Vleet, SG Gary Trent JR

Bucks: PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF Pat Connaughton, C Brook Lopez, SG Grayson nAllen, PG Jrue Holiday

An NBA Eastern Conference battle between two teams that were supposed to be real contenders.  They were supposed to go head to head all season for a top spot in the conference and a deep shot at the postseason.  They were supposed to…. They were supposed to… BUT The Toronto Raptors are much better on paper than they are on the court.  The crux of their problem is that they didn’t have a true center on the roster last season and they didn’t fix that this last offseason.  So while they have 5 really wonderful players in their starting five?… They are playing 3 of them out of their natural position… This stress of almost everyone being a “fish out of water” causes silly losses to lesser teams.  The team has a plethora of Power Forwards waiting in the wings… like Precious Anchiuwa, Chris Boucher, and Juancho Hernangomez… but have opted to use their best Power Forward Pascal Siakam at Center… Their best small forward at OG Anunoby at power forward… and their best guard (yeah I said it) Scottie Barnes at small forward/Power Forward… It is very strange that they did not and still have not solved this persistent problem… They should be swinging for the fences in the trade market with names like Deandre Ayton and Myles Turner available for a good offer.  The Milwaukee Bucks do not have 5 wonderful starters on their roster…. What they do have is PF Giannis Antetokounmpo… He is one of the 3 best basketball players in the world.  As he goes they usually go.  Like in Dallas with Luka and Denver with the Joker… it’s hard to even measure how good or bad some of these guys are because Giannis is carrying them so often.  The great betting opportunity here will be found in Giannis’s health and whether or not he plays for his 3rd place team?

The Toronto Raptors have only won 4 of their last 10 games.  One of the 6 teams that beat them recently was the Milwaukee Bucks with a final score of 104-101 in overtime.  It was a loss ATS for the Raptors as they were favored because they were the home teams and Buck’s PG Jrue Holiday was out with injury.  They did not win.  They lost their last game 114-103 to the Atlanta Hawks.  Young sensation, positionless Scottie Barnes had 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists… PG Fred Van Vleet was overmatched all game by Hawks’ Dejounte Murray and ended with 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.  One of the obvious answers to the Raptors problems is Fred should be moved and an actual true center should be coming back in… That way Scottie could run the point, Pascal could play the 4 where he is best…. And the new big man could operate the 5.  Simple stuff really.

The Milwaukee Bucks have won 5 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 2-game losing streak to the Miami Heat of all teams!  But Giannis did not play in those two games against Miami… completely nullifying the Bucks effectiveness.  Both losses to the heat were losses ATS… they lost the last one 111-95. Six Bucks players scored in double figures, but no Buck broke 15 points… Also no Buck got double digit rebounds… They sorely missed Giannis’s 30 pts and 15 rebounds a game.  It would be nice if the Bucks started Giannis’s brother Thanasis whenever Giannis missed a game… I know Thanasis isn’t very good, but when Giannis misses the Bucks will lose anyway.  For the matchup  against the Raptors Giannis is listed as Probable and expected to play.

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The Raptors are 24th in scoring with 111.8 points per game, 22nd in rebounds with 42.4 per game, 2nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.9, and 10th in blocks with 5.0 per game.

The Bucks are 23rd in scoring with 111.8 points per game, 2nd in rebounds with 48.8 per game, 24th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6, and 8th in blocks with 5.2 per game.

Our prediction for Tuesday, January 17th is…. Raptors 110 - Bucks 108

The Raptors will win this game.  It will be close so maybe the spread will cause you to break the other way.  With Giannis in his first game back the Bucks coach will play him with kid gloves and possibly a minutes limitation to ensure his health going forward… But even more important is that while Giannis was gone his teammates were exposed twice against a BAD Eastern Conference team.  That sort of thing lingers and will need multiple BIG GIannis games in a row before the other Bucks can slink back into hiding/support roles.

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(will update)

Raptors: SF/PG/PF  Scottie Barnes.  Wherever the Raptors play Scottie he is a rising star that will one day own the entire team.  He is a great 2-way player.  Scoring, Assists, Defense… and the head coach (or maybe management) does not yet have the courage to install him as the team’s point guard.  He can grow into either Scottie Pippen or Magic Johnson Lite… The Raptors just need to have the courage to give him the full-time job as either.  

Bucks: SG Grayson Allen.  Grayson has limited the number of times he has spazzed out the last few years.  You might almost forget that this is a guy who kicks players, pouts, screams at refs… and generally throws fits.  Still he is a good shooter… still he has an offensive repertoire that can make an impact… does he have the defense?... Not really.

Raptors: Nick “the run is almost over” Nurse

Bucks: Mike “I want to adopt Giannis even though he has parents” Budenholzer