The respective 1st place teams in each conference meet up on Saturday at Ball Arena in the March 25th Bucks at Nuggets betting matchup. Milwaukee (53-20) has a 2.5 game lead over Boston with 8 to play while Denver (49-24) is up 3 on Memphis in the West.
The Bucks picked up a 107-99 victory over the Nuggets on January 25th but as -12.5 favorites as Denver rested four starters on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Nuggets are much healthier for the rematch and this time it’s Milwaukee on 0 days rest coming off an easy 144-116 victory in Utah on Friday. That has the Nuggets a -3.5 favorite for Saturday night’s tilt.
Why Milwaukee Can Cover +3.5
The Bucks are playing their third game in four nights on Saturday, but at the same time the last two haven’t exactly been challenging. Milwaukee rolled through the Spurs 130-94 on Wednesday even covering a -19 point spread and beat the Jazz 144-116 on Friday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played a mere 25 minutes in Utah, still going for 24 points while adding 11 assists. Antetokounmpo logged just 24 minutes in the victory over the Spurs this week, once again still playing solid with 31 points and 14 rebounds. Antetokounmpo had 33/11/14 in the first meeting with the Nuggets.
The Bucks are fresh even on the back to back, and they’re on a run of wins in five of their last six games. Milwaukee has gone 12-1 ATS in their last 13 road tilts and are 10 games over .500 in away games this season.
Why Denver Can Cover -3.5 Points
Regardless of whether Milwaukee cruised to easy victories their last two games, they still played and they still traveled which has to have some affect on the stamina of the team on Saturday night. At the same time, the March 25th Bucks at Nuggets betting matchup will be Denver’s first game since Wednesday’s 118-104 in Washington.
Nikola Jokic continues to dominate, posting a 31/12/7 line vs. the Wizards a game after putting up a 22/17/10 triple-double in Brooklyn. Jokic has a triple double in his last two meetings with Milwaukee but the Nuggets are 1-1 in those tilts.
Jokic did not play in January’s game against the Bucks, resting a tender hamstring while Jamal Murray (knee maintenance) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (wrist) and Michael Porter, Jr (personal) also sat and Milwaukee still “only” won 107-99 failing to cover the -12.5 number.
Free March 25th Bucks at Nuggets Betting Pick
Will this be the heavyweight fight that everyone expects it to be between the top two teams in each conference – or will each squad keep things close to the vest to not tip their hands for a possible NBA Finals meeting?
Denver is an amazing 30-6 at home this season, the best record on their own court in the league. Milwaukee is on the back to back, but they’ve also had nothing more than glorified scrimmages with an average margin of victory of 34 ppg their last two contests. The Bucks have won 10 of their last 11 on 0 days rest, but that trend is going to be hard to continue in Denver.
Free Pick: Nuggets -3.5
