Portland Trail Blazers vs Milwaukee Bucks – Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips 01/02/2024

Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks meet in the early hours of this Thursday and this match pits one of the worst teams in the league against one of the most powerful teams this season.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers remain one of the worst teams in the league’s Western Conference, now having a record of 14 wins and 33 losses.

Even though they are having a terrible campaign, the team comes from a victory the last time they entered the court and in a surprising way, when they faced the good Philadelphia 76ers team.

Also playing at home, they won 130 to 104. The highlight of the match was winger Jerami Grant, with 27 points, followed by Malcolm Brogdon, also from Portland, with 24.

But I believe that it was a bit of an outlier, mainly due to its defensive capacity, which has not been a positive point this season.

We have to take into account that at the time Philadelphia didn’t have Joel Embiid, their main player, but they still have a very qualified team that could have produced more.

Portland limited the opponent to just 44% in field goals and a measly 5 long-distance balls converted.

But as said before, I don’t believe this is the beginning of a good phase, since it has presented terrible numbers so far.

The Blazers only have the 21st defensive campaign in the league, with an average of 116.7 points conceded per game, and so I believe that facing one of the most powerful attacks in the league, they will suffer a lot tonight.

Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee is one of the best teams in the league and today appears in second place in the Eastern Conference, with a campaign of 32 wins and 15 losses.

But it arrives at a time of instability, as it has lost twice in the last 3 games played.

At home they had been beaten by the Cleveland Cavaliers and in the last match, also playing away from home against the Denver Nuggets, they once again got the worst of it.

Score 113 to 107 for Denver, with Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of the best players on the court, with 29 points and 12 rebounds.

But just as was said for Portland, it also applies to Milwaukee, which was a slightly lower game, as the team has an absolutely high offensive capacity.

It is the second best attacking team in the league, reaching an incredible 124 points on average per game.

It is true that they have also not managed to have good defensive efficiency this season, appearing only in 19th position, with an average of 116.3.

But I believe that it is a team with much more resources than Portland and that is why it is the favorite tonight.

The Milwaukee Bucks arrive with their main players, with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo confirmed, and Portland has also managed to repeat its team.

Conclusion:

For tonight I believe in Milwaukee’s favoritism and that will be my betting option. But as they also have a defense that hasn’t been so solid this season, the points line could be an interesting option.