February 16, 2025
NBA Playoffs Record: (55-29-3, +71.7 units)
Plays will be posted an hour before tip of first game.
NBA
8:35 PM EST
Rotation #545-546
Bucks -6 -120 over Raptors (5u)
That was a demoralizing loss for Toronto in Game 1. The Raptors were the better team for most of the night holding the Bucks to 25 percent shooting from three, had a brilliant gameplan for stopping the Greek Freak, Kyle Lowry had a career night and yet even with all of that they were held scoreless in the final three and half minutes and lost by eight. It’s not often that the Raptors are going to get the Bucks to shoot that poorly, rust was definitely a factor after the long layover after dominating the Pistons series. Milwaukee is a great offensive team and they were far from the best on Wednesday and I look for them to bounce back offensively tonight. Outside of Brook Lopez and Malcolm Brogdon, no one shot well for the Bucks in Game 1. Khris Middleton, Nikola Mirotic and Eric Bledsoe shot a combined 2-for-18 from behind the arc. They hesitated on wide-open looks until turning it on in the fourth quarter. I don’t expect Brook Lopez to score 29 points again obviously, but it’s not unreasonable to think that the other three should be more productive. Kyle Lowry will also not go 7-for-9 from behind the arc again. The Raptors have too many scoring droughts to stay competitive against a high scoring team like the Bucks. The Bucks came on late in the game and really dominated the glass. Milwaukee is good at everything they do and bring a style of play that matches the Warriors out West. Defense and three point shooting are a deadly winning combo in this series. I think Toronto is really going to struggle in this series and it seems like their first year head coach is over matched. Unless Leonard goes off for 40+ I cannot see the Raptors covering this game and I won’t be surprised if this ends up being a blowout. Every game the Bucks have won this post season they have covered and I look for more of the same tonight. Take the Bucks.