Celtics vs Bucks Odds, Lines & Picks (March 30)
If the Boston Celtics (52-24, 24-15 away) have any real plans of securing the top seed in the East’s NBA Playoff Bracket, a win over the Milwaukee Bucks (55-21, 30-7 home) in the final of their 3-game regular season series is an absolute must.
Boston didn’t do itself any favors last game, getting crushed by an undermanned Washington Wizards’ side. The Bucks. though, will be playing their second game in as many nights after a marathon win over the Pacers Wednesday.
Milwaukee missed both Khris Middleton (knee) and Jae Crowder (calf) vs Indy, but they should be a go in this one. The C’s are dinged up a little, with Robert Williams (knee), Grant Williams (illness) and Payton Pritchard (knee) all questionable.
The battle atop the East goes Thursday (March 30) at 7:30pm ET from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. You can watch it live on TNT.
Celtics vs Bucks Odds
The NBA odds have the hometown Bucks as 3-point favorites, and -150 on the moneyline — an implied win probability of 60%. The game features a total of 236.5.
Milwaukee is tied with Cleveland for the most home wins in the East with 30. Boston, who trails the Bucks by three games with just six to play, have the 2nd-most road wins in the NBA, with a sparkling 24-15 mark.
Odds as of Mar 29 at DraftKings. See the latest on Massachusetts sports betting.
Boston Betting Analysis
After dismantling the opposition to win three straight, Boston felt the same hurt in a 130-111 loss to the Wizards, who were down both Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.
The C’s defense allowed the Wiz to shoot 54.5% from the floor, while getting outrebounded by five and going -3 in the turnover department.
Jayson Tatum had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists to pace Boston, while Jaylen Brown had 18 points, three rebounds and four assists.
A top-7 shooting team from distance, the Celtics were held to an abysmal 11-for-44 night, just a 25% clip.
After averaging 129.7 points in their last three games in wins over the Spurs, Pacers and Kings, Boston was held to its lowest scoring output since mid-March.
They had held both San Antonio and Indiana sub-100 in the last two, but gave up 130 points for the fourth time this season, winning just one time.
Milwaukee Betting Analysis
Perhaps the biggest success in Milwaukee’s 149-136 win over the Pacers on Wednesday was that they did it without having to push their stars to major minutes for them to do major damage.
Jrue Holiday went for a career-best 51 points on a tidy 20-for-30 shooting, adding eight rebounds and eight assists. while Giannis Antetokounmpo was unstoppable in a triple-double performance, with 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 dimes.
