The 20-8 Milwaukee Bucks take on the 17-14 Utah Jazz on Saturday Night at home. The Fiserv Forum should be rocking! The game tips off at 7pm. This will be Utah’s only visit to Milwaukee. The Bucks play the Jazz in Utah on March 24th.
Khris Middleton is out. Joe Ingles should be back on Monday. Giannis also might not play.
The Bucks are coming off an embarrassing loss against Memphis (142-101) . Portis and Giannis led the way with 19 points. Brook Lopez had a real tough game, only scoring 4 points. Giannis did not play well either, only grabbing 6 rebounds. The Bucks, as a team, only had one blocked shot.
The Jazz have been very up and down of late. They beat Golden State and New Orleans but then lost to Denver and Minnesota. They are a decent road team at 7-9.
Vegas has the Bucks at a 58% chance to win and 4 ½ point favorites. The over/under is 230. Because of the way the Bucks lost in Memphis this one should be rocking.
Bucks Key to Win
Get better play from their starters.
Jrue hasn’t been able to play lately. Giannis has also been up and down. Brook Lopez seems to be down; so does Grayson Allen. In this game the Bucks starting five is simply better than what the Jazz have. The Jazz don’t play with a true center (even though Kelly Olynk is pretty close), instead playing with three “power forwards”. The Bucks need to exploit that from their starters and play faster and, ironically, taller.
The key match-up will be the Jrue Holiday- Mike Conley match-up. The Bucks need Holiday back in the worst way.
The Opponent: Utah Jazz
The Jazz got off to an awesome, unexpected start this season. They have begun to come back to earth. Winning four of their first five games and seven of their first ten games helps. However a five game losing streak around Thanksgiving but an abrupt end to that party. No one really projected the Jazz to be in contention after dealing center Rudy Gobert and start guard Donovan Mitchell.
Their new leading scorer came over in the Mitchell trade. Lauri Markkanen is having an awesome year. He is long and rangy and can score. (22.4) The Jazz also got three unprotected first round picks in the deal.
Jordan Clarkson is having a great year for the Jazz. Earlier in the season he was linked to the Bucks in many trade rumors.
The Jazz have some decent big men. Kelly Olynk came over from Detroit and is also playing well. He shoots over 55% from the field.
Things to tell your buddies as you’re watching the game
- It isn’t that there is more or less “Jazz” in Utah. The Jazz started out as the New Orleans Jazz in 1974. They moved to Utah in 1979.
- It is hard to not play the Jazz and skip over the infamous Stockton/Malone connection. John Stockton leads the NBA, all-time, with 15,806 assists. In second place is Jason Kidd.
- Coach Bud acknowledged the tough loss in Memphis. “We were just beaten soundly, in every way, shape, and form. We have to own that.” Coach Bud’s all-time record is 446-301.
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