The Milwaukee Bucks (46-7) look to hand the Indiana Pacers (31-23) their seventh straight loss Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET tip-off. We analyze the Bucks-Pacers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Bucks at Pacers: Key injuries
Bucks
- SG Kyle Korver (back) out
- SF Giannis Antetokounmpo (personal) out
- PG George Hill (hamstring) out
Bucks at Pacers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:25 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Bucks 111, Pacers 107
Moneyline (ML)
The first thing the casual NBA bettor will note about this game will be the absence of Giannis from the Bucks’ (-115) lineup. He’s going to miss his second straight game because of the birth of his son. Hopefully, the second thing someone notices is how the Bucks haven’t missed a beat without Giannis. Milwaukee is 5-0 outright and against the spread, with a plus-16.8 margin of victory, in games without the Greek Freak.
The Bucks have been stomping teams this whole season and there are very few opportunities to bet against them. Milwaukee has won 14 of its last 15 games with 13 of those victories coming by more than double digits. Also, Pacers (-106) SG Victor Oladipo hasn’t shaken off the rust since returning from the quadriceps injury that kept him out close to a year. In his six games back, Oladipo is averaging 10.8 points per game on a .295 field-goal percentage and .231 3-point rate.
TAKE THE BUCKS (-115).
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Let’s play it safe and PASS on the spread in favor of our money line bet. We aren’t going to try and outthink the room by backing Indiana (+1.5, -115) against a Giannis-less Bucks (-1.5, -106). Since the line is so small, there are some against the spread trends we can use when handicapping Bucks-Pacers.
In their last four meetings, the Bucks are 4-0 straight up and ATS in the last four meetings with three of their wins coming by 18 or more points. Indiana failed to score more than 100 points in all of those games. The Bucks are 15-9 ATS on the road and the Pacers are 13-14-1 ATS at home this season.
Over/Under (O/U)
No Giannis should mean fewer points for the Bucks so expect their defense to kick into gear. Bucks’ opponents have the worst shooting percentage in the NBA and Milwaukee allows the seventh-fewest points per game. Eight of the last nine Bucks-Pacers games went Under the total and their combined Over/Under record for division games is 9-13. Furthermore, the Bucks have a 10-13-1 O/U record on the road and the Pacers have a 1-2 O/U record as a home dog.
BET UNDER 222.5 (-110).
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