Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview

The Boston Celtics travel to Milwaukee Tuesday night to take the Bucks. This matchup will feature the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, With both coming into this game playing their basketball of the season this is looking to be one of the best games of the week.

Boston comes into this game riding a 4-game winning streak led by their team’s leading scorer Jayson Tatum. Very few teams have had an answer for Tatum this year who is averaging 30.5 points per game. However, Tatum is currently listed as day-to-day on the injury report due to a non-covid related Illness and is doubtful for Tuesday night’s game. If Tatum can’t go Tuesday can the Celtics replace the 41 points Tatum scored in the first matchup against the Bucks?

If Tatum can’t go which is looking more and more doubtful, Jalen Brown is going to have to have a career shooting night to help fill the void left by Tatum’s absence. This will be a huge test for the Celtics, and if they can overcome the loss of their best player and leading scorer, there will be little doubt left as to whether they are a contender heading into the All-Star break.

Milwaukee Comes into this game winning their last 10 games in a row, and 12 of their last 13. Absolutely nobody has had an answer for the Bucks lately, led by their leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo, averaging 32.4 points and 12.3 Rebounds per game. Although Antetokounmpo is listed on the Injury report as day-to-day with knee soreness he is probable to play, and most likely will.

Heading into the NBA All-Star break there doesn’t appear to be a team that can compete with the Bucks right now. In my opinion, they are becoming the favorite to win the Eastern Conference this year. If the bucks can stay relatively healthy the Eastern Conference is theirs for the taking.

Celtics vs Bucks Head-to-Head this season

The Celtics and the Bucks have only met one other time this season back on Christmas day. In that game, the Celtics absolutely took it to the Bucks winning 139-118. During the matchup on December 25th, Jayson Tatum took over scoring 41 points. Although the Celtics were able to dominate the first matchup, tonight’s game looks to be a different story. The Celtics will be without Tatum, which I believe makes looking at the first matchup between these two teams somewhat pointless when trying to gauge how tonight’s matchup will go.

Team Leaders - Statistical highlights

With Tatum not playing for the Celtics it’s understandable why the spread is 9.5 points in favor of the Bucks. With the Bucks playing their best basketball of the season and the Celtics being short-handed, the best bet here is to take the Bucks to cover. Even with the Celtics handling the Bucks in their first matchup I don’t think this game looks anything like the previous matchup on Christmas day.

Over Under Celtics Vs Bucks (226.5)

Any time I see an over/under in an NBA game these days under 130 points I normally say bet the over. However, there is a reason why Vegas is being so conservative with this game, and that is due to the fact Tatum is most probably not going to play. Looking at the lines for this game, Vegas thinks this game is going to be a blowout in favor of the Bucks, and I can’t disagree. However, I do think the Celtics are a good team and good teams find a way to fill voids left by injury, so I think this game is going to be competitive at the start. I think the smart bet here is to bet the over. 226 total points in an NBA game is just too low for me to take the under.

Bucks vs Celtics How to Watch ??

?? Date: Thursday, February, 14

?? Game Time: 7:30 pm

?? How to Watch: TNT

Venue: Fiserv Forum