NBA: Milwaukee Bucks vs Philadelphia 76ers Pick and Predictions 10/20/2022

Game: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, October 20th

Venue:  Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch: TNT 

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

Sixers: PG Tyrese Maxey, SG James Harden, SF Tobias Harris, PF PJ Tucker, C Joel Embiid

DraftKings:  Point Spread: Philly -4, O/U 225

Don Best: Point Spread: Philly -3.5; O/U 225

William Hill: Point Spread: Philly -5; O/U 223.5

Bucks: 0-0, haven’t played a game yet. / 51-31 last season.

76ers: 0-1, last place in the Eastern Conference. / 51-31 last season.

Another great night of rivalry basketball on TNT.  The first game of a TNT doubleheader brings us two teams that tied in regular season record last season, two teams that have a legit MVP candidate this year and every year, two teams that missed the Conference Finals let alone the NBA Finals last season.  This year will be another tough matchup every time the Bucks play the Sixers.  Let’s check the numbers and make a solid prediction.

The Milwaukee Bucks will play Wednesday night, but the game to watch is Game 2 of the season when they go head to head with the Sixers.  The Milwaukee Bucks go as far as star PF Giannis Antetokounmpo takes them.  That is the long and short of it.  Giannis is a perennial MVP candidate, an All-Star every season, and maybe the best basketball player on the planet.  He has inspired a Disney movie about his youth in Greece… and the story behind it is fascinating.  Giannis is proof that if someone is imbued with talent and drive… They can rise from the lowest rung of society to the highest.  He is a testament that your physical gifts need to be backed by endless determination… If you haven’t noticed, he has 3 brothers who have similar size and length… but Giannis is the hard worker (at press time we still don’t know the basketball identity of Giannis’s youngest brother Alexis).  That statement is proofed by his stats.  He is everywhere on the court.. He does everything that needs to be done.  The hardest part of running the Bucks franchise is finding exactly the right guys to put around Giannis.  The Bucks will again wait to see if Khris Middleton has health and postseason production.  They will again hold their breath over Brook Lopez and his frequently banged up knees.  They will again hope that JRue Holiday’s two-way production leans more toward defense.  They will now wonder if SF Grayson Allen is the right choice after moving off of Donte DiVincezo (A Warrior now) and sticking SF Pat Connaugton on the bench.

The Sixers are opening this season on the short end of the stick.  They had to play (and lose) to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 where they lost BIG 126-117… and then a quick day of rest brings Giannis and the Bucks!  That is a hard road to hoe.  The Sixers have the tandem of MVP candidate C Joel Embiid ( 26 points & 15 rebounds Game 1) and former MVP SG James Harden (35 points, 8 and 7 in Game 1)... and that is a lot to have.  PG Tyrese Maxey had 21 points, but only 2 rebounds and 1 assist.  SF Tobias Harris is wildly overpaid and had 18 pts, 2 rbs, 0 asts.  After that things get much worse.  The Sixers will need to find a way to get production from anywhere in their depth.  Also on defense they will need to find an identity as they gave up 35 points to Jayson Tatum and 35 points to Jaylen Brown… and the Sixers severely lost in the battle of bench production.  The Sixers are fine… They will trounce the league’s much lesser team and be back at the top of the standings by next week… but will they ever be able to compete with the big boys?

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Milwaukee finished last season 3rd in scoring with 115.5 points per game, 12th in FG percentage with 46.8%, 5th in 3-point percentage with 36.6%, and 2nd in offensive rebounds with 46.7 per game (*thanks Giannis)

The Sixers finished last season 18th in scoring with 109.9 per game, 16th in FG percentage with 46.6%, 7th in 3-point percentage with 36.4%, and 29th in offensive rebounds with 42.3 per game.  If your center Joel Embiid is taking all the shots it is imperative that SF Tobais Harris make rebounding his contribution.  Thai has never happened.

Our prediction for Thursday, October 20th is…. Bucks 120 - Sixers 115

The Bucks will roll the Sixers… The reason is they are healthy and rested and Giannis really wants to put his stamp on this season’s MVP race.  You may have seen the recent commercial where Sixers C Joel Embiid is playing in the greatest street game “OF ALL TIME” and then toward the end Giannis shows up to play him one on one… Giannis says “really bro really?” which may just be a preview of the MVP trophy presentation.  

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Philly is 4-2 ATS versus Milwaukee the last 3 seasons.

Milwaukee is 2-1 ATS against Philly at Philly the last 3 seasons.

Bucks: Giannis.  Whenever the Bucks play you will have to watch Giannis because he always has the ball and he is always making it happen.

Sixers: SG James Harden.  No one in the league knows more about losing after scoring 35 points.  Will James ever find the key to playing effective defense… or is this all he has?

Bucks: Mike “where did i put my ring?” Budenholzer

76ers: Doc “I’m here forever man” Rivers