The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks played one of the closest and brutal series of the entire playoffs last year in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
They had some time away before the rematch, but Adam Silver thought Christmas Day would be the perfect time for Game 8 of that series that Boston pulled out on their home court. Like this series, Khris Middleton will likely come out of this series, which is a pretty tough blow for Milwaukee.
The Bucks are ahead 22-10 while the Celtics only lead one game in the win column, 23-10, so this would be for first place in the East. Vegas prefers Boston, so let’s take a look at the odds for this matchup between two of the best teams in basketball.
Bucks vs. Celtics Odds, Spread and Total
Bucks vs. Celtics prediction and selection
The Celtics couldn’t stop Giannis last year, but they’ve been the league’s best defensive team in a season and have done enough to slow him down. Robert Williams II has been a big part of that and has only played three games this year, coming back from a knee injury on December 16th. He is now in doubt about this game due to illness and it would be a devastating loss for the Celtics. who have won only one of the last four.
On the other hand, the Bucks lost two straight goals without Middleton. The starting lineup has a noticeable gap without him there. In their loss to Cleveland they went with MarJon Beauchamp, and in the latter game, they gave the start to Grayson Allen. Without him, I’m not sure they have the scoring to rival Boston, the number one team in offensive efficiency. The Celtics also rank ninth in defensive efficiency. Milwaukee ranks 21st in offensive efficiency and 5th in defense.
They are also 15th and 16th respectively, so I don’t think this matchup will be up and down, I expect it to feel like a playoff and be one of the best matches of the day. If we’re getting a playoff caliber defense in December, I’d love it to be under that level.
Follow all of Josh Urich’s bets here
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The game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change
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