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The Milwaukee Bucks hope to improve their stellar 21-5 home record when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The pregame narrative: Brook Lopez is in a good spot to fill the bucket, Paul George could struggle to put up a big assist total and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rebounding stats may suffer against a team that’s tough on the glass.
Here are our Clippers vs. Bucks picks for February 2.
Odds as of 10:07 a.m. on 02/02/2023.
Clippers vs. Bucks prop picks
Best Bet : Lopez over 13.5 points (-110)
In a game with two elite defences, overs might be hard to come by. But Lopez has a chance to thrive.
Milwaukee’s big man has been pretty good on this line lately, going over in five of his last eight games and averaging 14.0 points during that span.
He also took at least 11.2 field-goal attempts in those games — slightly above his season average (11.0) — proving the return of Khris Middleton hasn’t reduced his role in the offence.
Lopez’s Thursday matchup may appear daunting, but the Clippers struggle against centres, allowing the seventh-most points against them in the NBA, per FantasyPros. Los Angeles’ best defensive talent is on the wings, and Lopez might be one of Milwaukee’s best options in this game.
He’s also positioned to get plenty of playing time as Bucks backup centre Bobby Portis is out with an MCL strain.
Milwaukee can avoid overworking Lopez by staggering his minutes with Giannis, but the team is still likely to use their big man extensively.
Key stat: Lopez has averaged 14.8 points per game since December 17.
Quick picks
George under 5.5 assists (-104): When you’ve got two top-six defences facing off against each other, that’s an environment to hit some unders on assists.
We like the value on this line at near-even money considering George has six or more assists in just 45.9% of his games this season.
He’s been a little more productive lately, hitting the over in four of his last eight, but each of those overs came against scoring defences ranked 18th or worse. Two of them came against the San Antonio Spurs’ league-worst defence.
Antetokounmpo under 13.5 rebounds (-107): While Giannis is capable of incredible days on the glass, this line is asking a lot. The two-time MVP has hit this under in 67.5% of his games this year and he doesn’t have an easy matchup on his hands.
The Clippers rank seventh in the NBA in rebounding rate thanks to their collection of long, athletic wings and the presence of Ivica Zubac down low.
We’d only back Antetokounmpo on this line in the easiest of matchups — especially considering he’s playing through a minor knee injury.
Disclaimer This content was produced as part of a partnership and therefore it may not meet the standards of impartial or independent journalism.
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