3 Greatest Picks for Giannis and Wembanyama’s First Meeting Against the Bucks and Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs return to the Frost Bank Center tonight to host the Milwaukee Bucks. The Spurs lost in Milwaukee earlier this season 132-119, but that was without rookie star Victor Wembanyama. Tonight, Wemby will match up with Giannis Antetokounmpo for the first time.
Antetokounmpo has had high praise for Wembanyama, saying “He has so much talent, his talent is out of this world.” The two-time MVP is averaging 30.8 points and 11.7 rebounds this season.
Blake Wesley will be relied upon by the Spurs to contribute to the offense once more. Zach Collins and Charles Bassey are not playing, and Malaki Branham is questionable to play. Jae Crowder won’t be available for Milwaukee, and AJ Green is dubious.
Our three top picks for this eagerly awaited matchup, supported by the lines at SI Sportsbook, are listed below.This season, Tre Jones has averaged eight points in 23.5 minutes of play; however, with Branham sidelined, he ought to be able to surpass this mark. His scoring average dropped to just 9.3 points per game in the 12 games where he played at least 25 minutes, but in their most recent meeting, he scorched the Bucks for 14 points. Moreover, Damian Lillard is the worst defender in the Bucks’ starting five, so Jones should capitalize on the matchup. Finally, the career 26 percent three-point shooter has been taking a lot more shots from deep as of late, and with the Bucks crowding the paint, he should get some open looks.
Parlay selections: Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 10.5 rebounds (+360), Victor Wembanyama OVER 2.5 blocks, and Keldon Johnson OVER 1.5 threes made
Recently, Keldon Johnson has struggled to make deep shots; in the last five games, he has made only 30% of his attempts. He has nevertheless continued to take a lot of long-range shots, averaging two per game over that time. Johnson’s number will be called frequently tonight as the Spurs will need to shoot well to keep the game close. With 3.1 blocks per game, Wembanyama leads the league. In his last five games, he has averaged four blocks per game. Wembanyama will have plenty of opportunities to secure some blocks because the Greek Freak leads the NBA in points in the paint. Finally, Antetokounmpo has recorded more than ten boards in all of his last three games, and the Spurs are only 22nd in rebounding, so he will also have plenty of chances to round out this parlay.
The Spurs covered the 11.5-point spread against the Memphis Grizzlies, and more often than not follows up a loss with an even closer loss. This spread appears generous since the Bucks have title aspirations and the Spurs do not, but that means the Spurs will be able to get the game close in garbage time. There will be a point in the fourth quarter where the Bucks rest their best players, which means the Spurs will be able to secure a backdoor cover in the final minutes, just like they did against the Grizzlies.
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Spurs’ ‘small’ insistence on moving in right direction despite awful record as new year begins
ClutchPoints asked a couple of Spurs about their improved play of late.
“I think as a team, we definitely added a step forward. We split one (of consecutive games at Portland), went in there to grab two. I think we showed a lot of good things, some things we can carry as a first step, forward,” Julian Champagnie said, “For the most part, we fought. And I think that’s the biggest thing we’ve got to take away is that no matter who we’re playing, where we’re playing, we’ve got to fight.”
Over their last four, San Antonio has won a game and lost two by single digits. A 33-point loss to the Boston Celtics on New Year’s Eve serves as the outlier — though the Celtics, who sport a league-best 26-7 record, have beaten up on most teams they’ve played. The single-digit losses are noteworthy because each of the Spurs’ previous five losses have come by wide margins, including 25-point and 36-point blowouts.
“We’re just trying to take steps forward and I feel like it was step forward. It was step, not a huge step but a mini step so we’ve just got to keep moving forward,” guard Malaki Branham added.