The Milwaukee Bucks look to become the second team in the playoffs to punch their ticket to the second round as they eye the four-game sweep over the Detroit Pistons at Little Sportsbook Arena. Detroit has put up very little fight through the first three matches in this Sportsbook-round series as Milwaukee has dominated nearly every facet of the game. The Bucks are a 12.5-point favorite with the total Sportsbook at 219.5 points.
Standout Stats
- For the first time this series, the Pistons are coming off a game in which they tallied more than 100 points, which coincided with the return of Blake Griffin. As the series has progressed, Milwaukee has scored fewer points each game, while Detroit has scored more points, but the gap is still substantial. The Bucks have had an average winning margin of 24.
- Tonight’s total is the highest yet in the series. The Sportsbook game went UNDER, but Games 2 and 3 have gone OVER and only the most recent game went OVER tonight’s total of 219.5 points with a combined score of 222.
- As mentioned above, Pistons power forward Blake Griffin returned to the lineup in Game 3 after missing the first two contests and he made an immediate impact, scoring a game-high 27 points, 12 more than Reggie Jackson, who was second on the team. Additionally, Detroit scored 103 points in that game, the first time it broke 100 points in the series.
- The Bucks have had three different players finish with the team high in points – Giannis Antetokounmpo led Game 1 with 24 points, Eric Bledsoe had a team-high 27 in Game 2 and Khris Middleton led the way with 20 in Game 3, really outlining the depth Milwaukee possesses. Slowing down Antetokounmpo has proven to be a difficult task for the Pistons as he is averaging a double-double with 21.3 points and 13 rebounds per game.
- Milwaukee has averaged 120 points per game, third-highest in the playoffs, trailing just Golden State and Philadelphia, but it has the best ppg differential at +24. As poorly as Detroit has played, it doesn’t rank last in points per game but rather third-last with 96 ppg. Additionally, the Bucks are shooting 50 percent from the floor and have limited the Pistons to a shooting percentage of just 38.
My Best Bet for Milwaukee vs Detroit
Milwaukee -12.5
Although the Pistons got a boost when Blake Griffin returned to the lineup, it still wasn’t enough against the high-octane Bucks offense. Milwaukee swept the four-game regular-season series with only one game being settled by fewer than 10 points and I anticipate this trend to continue in Game 4 as Boston waits in the wings for the Bucks following its four-game sweep over Indiana.
