BOSTON CELTICS VS. MILWAUKEE BUCKS – ODDS & PREDICTIONS FOR JANUARY 11, 2024
Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome back to our NBA coverage here at Latest Basketball News. One of the games on tap from Thursday night’s slate features the Boston Celtics (29-8 SU, 18-17-2 ATS) taking on the Milwaukee Bucks (25-12 SU, 15-22 ATS).
Here is a look at which team has the edge going into this matchup and why. 
Tipoff
- When: Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 7:30 PM ET
- Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
- TV: TNT
Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Odds (Via DraftKings)
Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks – Regular Season Stats & Betting Trends
Can The Celtics Hand The Bucks Their Third Consecutive Loss?
Boston Celtics Season Stats:
- Scoring Offense: 121.3 PPG – 5TH
- Offensive Efficiency: 121.9 points per 100 possessions – 2ND
- Scoring Defense: 111.0 PPG – 3RD
- Defensive Efficiency: 111.5 points per 100 possessions – 2ND
The Boston Celtics are the league’s top team, and they come into this matchup having won eight of their last 10 outings. This includes a 127-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Jayson Tatum paced Boston’s scoring attack with 45 points (including 14 in the fourth quarter) to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Additionally, Tatum shot an efficient 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. The win helped Boston to improve to a perfect 18-0 at TD Garden.
“You live for those moments. You want to do whatever you can to help your team win,” Tatum said. “I didn’t want to lose at home yet. We’re still undefeated. The crowd got behind us. The energy got going. That was a fun ballgame toward the end.”
Jaylen Brown turned in a solid performance as well. He finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. He also knocked four of his seven attempts from 3-point range.
The Timberwolves have the best record out west, while the Bucks have the second-best record in the east. It will be interesting to see if the Celtics can beat one of the better teams in both conferences on back-to-back nights.
Can The Bucks Snap Their Skid Against the League’s Best Team?
Miami Heat Season Stats:
- Scoring Offense: 124.1 PPG – 2ND
- Offensive Efficiency: 121.0 points per 100 possessions – 4TH
- Scoring Defense: 119.9 PPG – 24TH
- Defensive Efficiency: 116.9 points per 100 possessions – 21ST
On the other side of this matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks are 5-5 across their last 10 outings and have dropped four of their last five decisions. This includes a 132-116 loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a team-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. The Bucks dug an early hole for themselves as they trailed 77-49 at halftime, something that head coach Adrian Griffin discussed after the game.
“We flipped it a little bit as far as our energy and effort, and we made it a ballgame, but you in the NBA you just can’t dig yourself in a hole like that,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “And then you’ve got to play extremely hard and exert a lot of energy just to try to get back into the game.”
Khris Middleton chipped in with 23 points and eight assists, while Malik Beasley added 17 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Although the Bucks did trim the deficit to 10 points going into the final frame, they will need a much better effort against a Celtics team that is playing well at both ends of the floor.
Now that we have set the table for this matchup, let us take a close look at the all-important betting trends for both sides.
The Picks
The Spread
The Bucks opened as a consensus 6.5-point favorite. The line has moved to five points for the home team. Here is a look at how both teams have fared against the spread this season.
- The Celtics are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 January games.
- Boston is 5-1 ATS in their last six games against Milwaukee.
- The Celtics are a perfect 9-0 ATS in the last nine road matchups against the Bucks.
- The Bucks are 0-5 ATS in their last five games.
- Milwaukee is 5-1 ATS in its last six games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Based on the above trends, going with the Celtics to cover feels like a solid choice in this matchup.
Prediction: Boston Celtics (+5)
Over/Under
The projected over/under total for this matchup opened at 239.5 points. At the time of this writing, the line has moved to 241.5 points (via pre-game.com). Here is why going with the “OVER” is the smart choice here.
- The total has gone OVER in the Celtics’ last 12 outings.
- In Boston’s last eight road games, the OVER total prevailed six times.
- The OVER total has cashed in 13 times in the Bucks’ last 20 matchups against the Celtics.
- The teams are averaging a combined 250 points per game this season.
Prediction: OVER 241.5 points
Prop Bet
The key player to watch in this pivotal matchup is Giannis Antetokounmpo. He currently has -120 odds of scoring more than 33.5 points and -105 odds of finishing with less than 33.5 points. Here is a look at how his season splits stack up against his projected scoring total for this matchup.
- On the season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.4 points per outing.
- In 20 home games, he is averaging 30.5 PPG.
- Antetokounmpo has played against Eastern Conference teams 29 times this season. In those contests, he is averaging 31.2 PPG.
- He has played six times on Thursday nights this season. His points-per-game average in those contests is 36.8.
- In five January contests, he is averaging 34.6 points per outing.
- In three matchups against Northwest Division opponents, Antetokounmpo is averaging 24 points per outing.
- Over his last 10 outings, Antetokounmpo is averaging 33.6 PPG. He has exceeded the projected points for this matchup four times during that stretch.
Given Antetokounmpo’s recent production, going with “over” looks like a safe bet based on these trends.
Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 33.5 points
James’s Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Picks
- The Spread: Celtics (+5)
- Over/Under: OVER 241.5 points
- Player Prop Bet: Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 33.5 points