Milwaukee at Cleveland
Time: 6 PM CT (ESPN)
Spread: CLE -2.5
Total: 225
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Milwaukee Bucks have lost six of its past 10 and travel to face the Cleveland Cavaliers as 2.5-point underdogs in the first of a Monday night ESPN Doubleheader.
The Cavaliers are 22-11 at home but have also won just five of its past 10 games, and currently the Bucks trail Cleveland by just three games in the Eastern Conference standings.
Milwaukee is 15-18 on the road this season but is the only Eastern Conference team with a negative point differential (-0.3).
CAVS NOTES:
Much ado about the fate of free-agent-to-be LeBron James: Teams are already posting billboards and beginning their recruiting campaigns, while this season wanes and it could possibly be LeBron’s last in his home state. James got his way at the trade deadline when the Cavs basically restructured its entire team, but the results have been mostly mediocre. It may be the time in James career when he finally realizes that he cannot win without two superstars (like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) by his side.
While that is no knock on Kevin Love, James’ Cavs this year are less talent than the teams he played with in Miami, and though he did win a title two years ago, few are expecting a return to the Finals, never mind an improbable win over the stacked Golden State Warriors.?It is no fault of James, though, really.
He has played excellent basketball and is still arguably the most dominant offensive force in the league. His stats obviously support that, as he is averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists per game while posting an extra-worldly PER of 28.0.
Love has been a solid second-fiddle with 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, but in order for Cleveland to really contend, he would nearly have to revert to the form he once showed as a Minnesota Timberwolf. The Cavs did make a couple nice additions at the trade deadline by adding former Cavalier legend Larry Nance’s son, Larry Jr., as well as Jordan Clarkson.
The Cavs also parted ways with the declining Wade, sending him back to Miami to finish his career. Perhaps the most clutch additions were those of George Hill and Rodney Hood, but neither has been outstanding since coming to Cleveland. The Cavs now have the odd task of adding so many players and trying to gel and reach form in a matter of a month and a half before the postseason.
One-time MVP Derrick Rose is firmly out of the picture, and perhaps now Cleveland is done adding washed up veterans in hopes to keep LeBron afloat. Maybe the Cavs just let LBJ walk and rebuild their team around Hood and Nance, and whatever lottery picks they obtain with the pick it picked up at the deadline.?To be certain, it would require a near-miracle for James and company to usurp the Warriors’ title hopes, and few are picking Cleveland in any respective series against Toronto or Boston. The ship has simply sailed for the Cavs; most likely, anyway.
MIL Notes:
The Bucks are coming off a 122-117 victory over the lowly (tanking) Atlanta Hawks. Milwaukee has won three of its past four, and is still five games above .500. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a tremendous season with 27.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists and a PER of 27.8. But the Bucks also have a lot of depth and are a team that truly could be better than it already is.
After Giannis, the Bucks sport three borderline All-Star talents in Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon has not improved much since his Rookie of the Year campaign a year ago, but he has proven a staunch defender and good team leader. Bledsoe is the secondary scorer at 17.4 points per game, a crucial acquisition that cost the Bucks only a plodding Greg Monroe to obtain. Middleton is averaging 20 points per game and shooting 35.3 percent from three on five attempts per night. The Bucks also are still allowing Jabari Parker to round himself into shape after missing a full-year with an ACL injury.
If Parker returns to top form before the playoffs, the Bucks could be a major headache for a higher seed. Parker has averaged 11.3 points in just 21 minutes over 18 appearances since returning. Tony Snell is a marksman, and Brandon Jennings has provided a spark after spending a season in China.
The Bucks ideally have a top-end rotation strong enough on both ends of the court to be a problem for any team in the East, but there is no mistaking that this team is cued by the brilliance of Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee’s long and limber front court is able to disturb a lot of teams, even as Thon Maker continues to learn the ropes. Fear the Deer is a motto we may see popping up again soon, as this enigmatic team simply has yet to reach its full potential. Antetokounmpo has enough help, particularly with a healthy Parker in the fold.
