Final Game Between the Hornets and Bucks this season
The 33-17 Milwaukee Bucks take on the 15-36 Charlotte Hornets at the Fiserv Forum in Downtown Milwaukee on Tuesday Night. It is cold but still, the Deer District should be HOT! The Bucks won Game One of the three game season series 105-96. That game was memorable because of who didn’t play, ala almost the entire Bucks team. Then in Game Two the Bucks got smashed, giving up like 1,000 points in the first quarter. They went on to lose that game at home.
The Bucks have a nice week at home here with games against Charlotte, then the LA Clippers on Thursday and finally, against the Miami Heat Saturday. Milwaukee begins a West-Coast road trip on Feb. 6th, concluding on Feb. 10th against the LA Clippers.
Vegas has the Bucks as 11 point favorites with a 78% chance to win. Milwaukee has been hot with the return of Khris Middleton. Charlotte has the 4th worst record in all of the NBA. Makes sense.
This is the last time this season these two teams will play.
Related: Game One Preview
Related: Game Two Preview
The Keys to a Bucks Win
Score over 118 points
Milwaukee and their offense is back! Over the past four games the Bucks have averaged 133 points. That is awesome! It is no wonder that they are also on a four game winning streak.
In this space we are still trying to figure out that “total game points” magic number. (Yes, we all get it, if you score more points then they do, you win!) When the Bucks lost to the Wizards they only scored 95 points. That felt like an outlier. When they beat the Wizards they scored 123. That felt “right”. When they beat Toronto they scored 134 which also felt “right”.
When Milwaukee beat Minnesota they scored 123; when they lost to Chicago they only scored 113. (Hopefully you see the pattern.) When the Bucks hit that 118 point number, they almost never lose.
There seems to be something to that 118 point mark lately. Or even to the Bucks scoring between 115-120 points total. Milwaukee, so far in the 2022-2023 season, averages 114.1 points as a team. If they can get to 118, that bodes well for the Bucks.
Related: NBA Hall of Famer Reacts to Giannis’s Epic 50 Point Night
Rebound the Basketball
When Charlotte lost to Milwaukee in Game one they were outrebounded 44-47.
When Charlotte beat Milwaukee they outrebounded them 49-44. It might not seem like a lot, -3 vs +5. But an 8 possession swing does make a huge difference in an NBA game.
Right now Milwaukee is in a statistical dead heat with Memphis.(48.5 vs 48.5) The Bucks have rebounded well all season. For them to be in the running for the team rebounding title is impressive. For Milwaukee, when Giannis and Brook Lopez average over 18 rebounds between them, they win.
Charlotte can also rebound; they are 5th in the NBA in team rebounding.
The Opponent: The Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
This version of the Hornets started out as the Bobcats. Now owner Michael Jordan is trying to get his franchise on the right track.
Charlotte has been playing decent basketball of late. Earlier in the season it seemed like they might be trying to “tank”. It is hard to tell.
LaMelo Ball leads the team in scoring (23 per game) and “Bucks Killer” Terry Rozier is 2nd on the team in scoring.
LaMelo Ball is hands down the Hornets best player. He is dynamic, can pass, and can score. His scoring average is down in the few games he has played this season but it’ll be over the 23 points per game average he has now. He is only 21 years old.
PJ Washington has been a rock solid constant for the Hornets. He has averaged 15/4/2 and has played in all 50 of the team’s games. Mason Plumlee (generally a below average center) has been their anchor in the middle (9.3 rebounds a game). Gordan Hayward also has been playing lately. He is a good shooter.
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- The Bucks lead the all-time series 64-60.
- Giannis was recently named the “NBA player of the Week” for week 15.
- If it feels like the Hornets have played the Bucks tough over their last twenty games it is because they have. Charlotte is 8-12 vs Milwaukee. (That goes back to 2017.) The Hornets are 3-2 over their last five games against Milwaukee.
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