Milwaukee Bucks vs Golden State Warriors Preview: Golden State is resting some good players
The (26-12) Milwaukee Bucks take on the defending NBA champion from two seasons ago, the (18-20) Golden State Warriors at home at the beer keg. The Fiserv should be rocking again after the Bucks destroyed the Celtics (7:00 pm Tip-off CST) The Warriors are on a “back-to-back” having beaten the Bulls by nine last night in Chicago. Milwaukee has delivered on a strong regular season and is currently the number-two seed in the Eastern Conference. It promises to be a high-scoring, fun regular-season NBA game. The game will be televised on Bally Sports and NBA TV.
Related: How to Bet the Game
Vegas has the Bucks with a 75% chance to win the game and 13-point favorites. Golden State is really having a down year. Along with just not getting the same production for all-world players like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the team has been struck by the injury bug. Chris Paul recently broke his hand and is out for eight weeks.
Keys for the Milwaukee Bucks
Hit your shots
The Bucks are 2nd in the NBA in scoring (124.4 points per game). Defensively they only give up around 119 points per game, hence their pretty strong record.
I know it sounds overly simplistic, but in this game it may come down to a few separate possessions where, if Milwaukee hits their shots, they’ll win. Can Dame hit three threes? Can Khris hit a running floater in the lane when he needs to? Golden State will still have a few runs in this game. Can Milwaukee hit that shot to flip the momentum back?
Malik Beasley has proven he can score in the spotlight. How great would a 20 points performance from him be?
What a win Thursday Night! The Bucks need to keep that energy rolling!
Related: Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics Game Preview
Don’t Turn the Basketball Over
Golden State is 22nd in the NBA in team turnovers. Milwaukee has done better this season than last year with turning the ball over.
Milwaukee is currently 9th in the NBA in team turnovers. As long as they don’t give up the ball too much, they should be able to beat the Warriors by having more “full” possessions.
Equipped for gameday.#SmileWatch x @BubonOrtho pic.twitter.com/itNI4y8G6h
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 13, 2024
The Opponent: The Golden State Warriors
Things just are not going the Warriors way. Draymond Green has had more than a few entertaining moments. He is out tonight against the Bucks. However you feel about the energetic Warriors forward, he on the court antics have hurt this team.
Golden State used to score a ton of points (2nd last season in the NBA). Now their scoring is down and they play suspect defense. They don’t block many shots (25th) and don’t get a ton of steals (15th). They just have not been able to get stops when they need to.
Klay Thompson should be the Warriors leading scorer against the Bucks. He is averaging 17.4 points per game this year.
Jonathan Kuminga is a good, young talented player who can jump out of his shoes. At 21, the former first round pick is playing well this season. (13/5/1)
So is Dario Saric. The 6’10” forward is averaging 10 points per game over his last ten games.
Chris Paul leads the team in assists. (7.2) He is out with a broken hand.
Steph Curry is a future hall of famer. He leads the team in scoring with 26.7 points a game. He is listed as “out”.
Kevon Looney is the team’s leading rebounder. He leads the team with 7 rebounds a game.
(Giannis leads the Bucks with 11.1 rebounds a game and “Big Bob on Dat a$s” is second with 7 a game.)
The Warriors have had a strong Milwaukee connection with Kevon Looney, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Jordan Poole all being from the Milwaukee area. Two of those guys are gone now as Baldwin Jr. was traded to the Wizards and Draymond Green punched Joran Poole. This team would be so much better if Poole was still with them, adding a dynamic scoring punch.
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- What a nice snow pick-up for us? Here is Southeastern Wisconsin Brookfield, Wisconsin got his with 16 inches. West Bend picked up 18 and Racine picked up a foot.
- Golden State actually started out in Philadelphia, moving in 1962. The originally were the San Francisco Warriors but took on the Golden State moniker in 1971.
- Klay Thompson of the Warriors really, really loves boating. (Not sailing- being out on a motor boat.) He often can be seen wearing a Captain’s “Cap”. Check it out here.
- Golden State has had some nice success as a franchise winning seven (7) NBA titles (1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022.)
- The Bucks lead the all-time series 86-58.
- Brook Lopez has had some big games against the Warriors in his career. But interestingly enough he has managed at least two blocks against Golden State 10 times.
A solid 12-18" of mainly wet snow fell across most of SE WI yesterday. Lower totals the closer you were to the lake.
Here's a bunch of totals. If you don't see your town, check here: https://t.co/rLIqMujpBq pic.twitter.com/aBaS5TKYAh
— Meteorologist Sam Kuffel (@SamKuffelWx) January 13, 2024
Follow me on Twitter at @authorrudylb and check out my other writings at www.rudylb.com. Follow us at @WiSportsHeroics! For all things Wisconsin sports, click here! Also, check out our merch store for some amazing WSH merchandise!
