Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 31st, 2022 

Venue:  Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

Where to Watch: TNT

DraftKings:  Spread:  Nets -1; O/U 241

Fanduel:  Spread:  Nets -1.5; O/U 241

BetMGM:  Spread: Nets -1.5; O/U 239.5

Bucks: 47-28, 2nd place Eastern Conference

Nets: 40-36, 8th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference matchup that will tantalize the entire league at what may be coming in the postseason.  We all know the questions:  Is Giannis this season’s MVP, and will he carry the Bucks to another Championship?  Or: Since Kevin Durant is the best offensive player ever, will having Kyrie join him on a full time basis… make up for not having much of a team around them?... Are the two great players enough to cut through the East from the 8th spot?  It’s hard to imagine one game in the regular season could definitively answer questions that important… but it will give us an idea of the answers.  The Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers and won ATS last night with a final score of 118-116.  The spread was only a single point… the win by 2 points… but it show us a Bicks team that could overcome 32 points from SG James Harden, 29 points from C Joel Embiid, and 22 points from PF Tobias Harris… They did it by getting yet another 40 points game from Giannis and solid contributions from Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Grayson Allen.  The starting five of the Bucks were clearly the better team in the game.  The takeaway is the Bucks can overcome anything if they get a big game from Giannis.  The Brooklyn Nets won their last game against the Detroit Pistons… it was a loss ATS. The final score wasd 130-123 for the Brooklyn win, but the spread was -14… proving yet again to bet the other way on Most is not All double digit spreads. It was Detroit so take it with a grain of salt, but Kevin Durant had 41 points in 39 minutes while Kyrie Irving had 24 points in 39 minutes.  The overall team did contribute, especially SF Bruce Brown and C Andre Drummond.  So the question will be answered tonight… Can Giannis take down the Big Two of the Nets with help from a deeper team?  Also where should we put our gambling $$$?... Is this game even worth a big bet… or just a small one to keep the bankroll churning?

The Milwaukee Bucks have won 7 of their last ten games as they pushed into 2nd place in the Eastern Conference.  They went 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  They are undoubtedly led by Giannis Antetokounmpo who brings averages of 29.9 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, and 55.2 % shooting into each game he plays.  Giannis will wind up like Michael Jordan and LeBron… Comfortably in the Hall of Fame, but knowing full well that the dumb voters stole 3-5 MVP awards from his resume.  He is the best player in the NBA, he has been the best player in the NBA… and He has watched others take the award home. Yes, he has 1 when he should have 3.  The coming years will see more Giannis dominance.  Giannis is advertised as being a part of a Big Three with PG Jrue Holiday and SF Khris Middleton… we all know that is not true.  Jrue and Khris are not equals or close to equal to Giannis… They are simply the best of a great supporting cast.  The team recently got C Brook Lopez back from the injury list after everyone in the league had considered him shut down forever… Lopez is playing great.  Also the rest of the team is rounding into good health just in time.

The Brooklyn Nets have won 7 of their last 10 games.  They went 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  We all know the soap opera that the Nets were in this season.  SG James Harden wanted out and a big trade was made for Ben Simmons and some pieces at the trade deadline.  Ben has not and will not play this season.  Every insider I’ve talked to has flatly said that James Harden wanted away from Kyrie Irving as much as he wanted to be in Philly if not more.  So that leaves the team with 2 of the Big Three they had assembled in SF Kevin Durant and PG Kyrie irving.  We will never know what those two could have done with James Harden as we never saw them play together for more than the occasional game here and there.  The supporting cast of C Andre Drummond, SG Seth Curry, and SF Bruce Brown are all B players…They have individual strengths and weaknesses.  The bench has a handful of over the hill guards in Patty Mills and Goran Dragic… and young question marks like power forwards Nic Claxton and Kessler Edwards.  The Nets may be in the playoffs… but at the 8th spot they may also lose a play-in game and watch the playoffs from home.  

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The Bucks are 47-28 on the season, but 36-39 ATS.  They have logged 37 Overs and 38 Unders.  They are a tough 21-16 in road games.

The Nets are 40-36 on the season, but 31-43-2 ATS.  They have notched 39 Overs, 36 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 17-20 in home games.

The Milwaukee Bucks are 4th in scoring with 114.9 ppg, 2nd in rebounds with 46.8 per game, and 17th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 17th while allowing 111.3 ppg from opponents.

The Brooklyn Nets are 9th in scoring with 112.4 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 44.1 per game, and 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 20th while allowing 112.1 ppg from opponents.  Seriously, the Nets defense is softer than French cheese.  They don’t have the right mix of players to buckle down on defense even if they wanted to.  

Our prediction for Thursday, March 31st is…. Bucks 124 - Nets 118

The Bucks will show the Nets what they are missing in a supporting cast.  Since Brooklyn lost to the Charlotte Hornets the game before last… the word is out:  Give up the deep ball to Kevin and Kyrie and just hit them back on the other end.  Giannis is built perfectly to stop anything in the paint… while Brook Lopez can handle Andre Drummond.  The defensive numbers for Brooklyn will show in its full light.

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The Bucks are 23-14 ATS this season after having won 4 or 5 of their last 6 games.
The Nets are a bad 8-28 ATS in home games this season.
10 of 14 games between the Bucks and Nets have gone UNDER the last 3 seasons.

Bucks: PG L Wiggington (ankle) Out ** SG Deandre Bembry (knee) Out

Nets: SG Ben Simmons (back) Out ** SG Joe Harris (ankle) Out

Bucks: PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, C Brook Lopez, SG Grayson Allen, PG Jrue Holiday, SF Khris Middleton

Nets: SF Bruce Brown, PF Kevin Durant, C Andre Drummond, PG Kyrie Irving, SG Seth Curry

Bucks: Mike Budenholzer

Nets: Steve Nash