Fresh off a road victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will face an interesting test with a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers. All-Star wing Khris Middleton (quadriceps) remains sidelined for the Bucks, while the Blazers will be very short-handed. Damian Lillard (back) joins Jusuf Nurkic (leg) and Zach Collins (shoulder) in missing Thursday's game, while there is uncertainty as to whether Hassan Whiteside (hip) and Anfernee Simons (ankle) will play for Portland. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET at Fiserv Forum. Sportsbooks list Milwaukee as an 11.5-point home favorite, holding steady from the opener, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 230.5 in the latest Bucks vs. Blazers odds. Before you make any Blazers vs. Bucks picks and NBA predictions, see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
This model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and anyone who followed it last season saw massive returns, finishing 300-252 on all its top-rated NBA picks. On top-rated NBA picks against the spread and on the money line alone, the model returned a whopping $4,280 last season. It's off to a profitable start on all-top rated picks again this season, and entered Week 5 of the 2019-20 NBA season on a 9-4 run on all top-rated NBA spread picks. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Blazers vs. Bucks. We can tell you that the model is leaning under, and has generated a strong against the spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see it. Now, here are several NBA betting lines for Blazers vs. Bucks.
- Blazers vs. Bucks spread: Bucks -11.5
- Blazers vs. Bucks over-under: 230.5 points
- Blazers vs. Bucks money line: Bucks -821, Blazers +558
- Blazers: Carmelo Anthony scored 10 points in his Portland debut
- Bucks: Milwaukee enters on a five-game winning streak
The model knows that the Blazers are in dire straits from a player availability perspective, which helps to explain the double-digit point spread. Still, Portland does have a rest advantage in this game, and Milwaukee had to expend more energy than expected in order to hold off a late charge from the Hawks on Wednesday. CJ McCollum is the headliner for the Blazers with Lillard unavailable, and the veteran guard is averaging 21.3 points per game this season. He is capable of carrying the Blazers offensively in stretches and the addition of Carmelo Anthony could bring another interesting dynamic to Portland's floor spacing.
Just because the Blazers have a few edges doesn't mean Portland will cover the Bucks vs. Blazers spread on Thursday.
The model is also keenly aware that Milwaukee is playing outstanding basketball at the moment. Antetokounmpo is still in MVP form, averaging 30.5 points, 13.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in only 32.8 minutes per contest, and his presence provides immediate optimism for the home team. The Bucks are still missing their second-best scorer in Middleton, but the supporting cast has emerged, especially in the case of talented guard Eric Bledsoe.
Milwaukee ranks as a top-five team in effective field goal percentage on both offense and defense, generating quality shots and stopping the opposition from doing so. This matchup could be particularly advantageous for the Bucks on the offensive end, where the Blazers rank in the bottom five of the NBA in creating turnovers and sending their opponents to the free throw line.
So who wins Blazers vs. Bucks and which side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Blazers vs. Bucks spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
