Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers Odds and Pick
It's not exactly a marquee matchup on the NBA slate Friday night but the Bucks / Lakers matchup does offer some good value for wagering. Well, to be honest, any game the Lakers are involved in lately is good for wagering so long as you bet against Los Angeles. With Milwaukee in town on St. Patrick's Day it only seems natural to put some green on the team in green – but will doing so be lucky?
The value coming in on the Bucks line could be due to the fact that they lost by 20 points in Memphis to start the week before heading to LA with matchups against the Clippers and Lakers. Prior to that loss to the Grizzlies, however, Milwaukee had rattled off 6 straight wins including some impressive wins over the Clippers, Raptors, and Pacers. One thing to note though was that all those wins were at home where Milwaukee is 20-16 compared to a paltry 12-17 road record.
Right now the Lakers are in free fall mode where they've dropped 9 of 10 matchups including 8 straight before and after the All-Star break. Los Angeles has sunk to last place in the Western Conference and might be on a fast track for the top lottery pick if not for the fact that Brooklyn might never win again.
Bucks-Lakers March 17th Pick
The Lakers actually got a road win in Milwaukee on February 10th in the teams' only previous matchup this season. Los Angeles pulled out a 122-114 victory even as +5.5 underdogs. The results of the prior matchup would scream “over” for Friday night but Milwaukee has played to the “under” in 8 of 10 matchups and sports a top 10 defence in opponent’s points against.
The Bucks are in the midst of a 6-game road trip but the travel schedule might actually favour the away team in this game. Milwaukee will be in LA already after a Wednesday night game against the Clippers whereas the Lakers are coming off a matchup the same night at Houston.
One final deciding tip in this game is that the Bucks simply need it more – MUCH more. The Bucks are barely holding on to the 8 seed in the East and after Friday they match up against Golden State, Portland, Atlanta, and Chicago in 4 of 5 games – all teams in the playoffs or at least in the hunt. Milwaukee needs to get down to business and get the easy win here which is why the Bucks are the pick in a blowout.
