NBA: Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks bring us one very promising clash at Fiser Forum on Sunday night. The latest two NBA MVP winners, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, will square off to see who is better at the moment. Interestingly, national TV networks won’t broadcast this event, which made both the Nuggets and the Bucks fans furious. They consider this an insult and a lack of respect towards Joker and Giannis. But that is why we are here, to deliver a preview and write a few words about these two teams.

Preview

Denver Nuggets (27-21, TBA) have been solid lately, and we’ve noticed a steady improvement in their performances. Of course, all this is because of Nikola Jokic, who is carrying this team on his shoulders with the slight help of his teammates. But to be honest, that help is increasing as time goes by, and it appears that the Nuggets finally adjusted to playing without MPJ and Murray, and facing all sorts of problems throughout the season. Needless to say, this team endured unreal jinxes during the campaign.

The Nuggets are coming to Milwaukee with four wins in a row, three of them on the road, in Detroit, Brooklyn, and at last, New Orleans, 116-105 that latest one. Jokic had a triple-double on the Pels with 29 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists. We need to say that he scored 22 buckets in the second half, with the game on the line.

Aaron Gordon added 20 points, Bryn Forbes 14 off the bench, Monte Morris had 13 with eight boards and assists, and Austin Rivers contributed with 12.

Milwaukee Bucks (31-20, TBA) won the last four games at home. They would defeat the Grizzlies, Bulls, Kings (then lose to the Cavs on the road) and at last roll over the sorry New York Knicks last night, 123-108.

After playing a few pretty mediocre games, particularly on the road, the current homestand came in handy for Mike Budenholzer’s unit. They regrouped, recovered, and rested well, and we immediately see more confidence on the floor.

Giannis had no mercy for the team from the Big Apple, dropping 38 points on their defense and also securing 13 boards. He was 12-for-19 from the field and 12-for-16 from the free-throw line. Jrue Holiday also had a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists, while Khris Middleton scored 20 points.

Head to Head Games

The Bucks defeated the Nuggets in the first meeting of the year in Denver, 120-109. Though, there is one important note here – Jokic didn’t play in that event. Aaron Gordon was the best scorer among the hosts with 18 points, one more than Will Barton. Giannis had 24 for the guests and Pat Connaughton 20.

Prediction

The Bucks are pretty good at home, and the Nuggets are showing solid performances, too, only on the road. However, because of their convincing performances at Fiserv, the champions will be our pick here. We respect the Joker and the Nuggets, but the champions are always our choice when playing in front of their own crowd. Simply, that is the logic in this case, and we won’t back out from it.

Pick: Bucks win