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Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
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Expert Picks
With Game 4 on the line in Miami, the Bucks let Giannis Antetokounmpo bring up the ball and make a play. It didn't always work out, as he finished with six turnovers to go with 13 assists. Wednesday night, I'm expecting a big offensive performance from Milwaukee. The Bucks are at home and facing elimination versus a depleted Heat roster. Look for Antetokounmpo to dish out at least seven assists.
Maybe I'm dense for going Under Butler's point total off his epic 56-point game, but don't the Bucks have to make it their only priority tonight to make other Heat guys beat them and not Butler? That's part of the reason why I'll lean Under but also I have a suspicion that the Bucks destroy Miami (I'm not interested in the spread as of right now but that may change) and Butler doesn't play heavy minutes ahead of a chance to clinch the series again at home Friday. Butler is also shooting nearly 63% from the field and that's simply not sustainable. The SL Model has him with 24 points tonight. Bueno.
Khris Middleton averaged 4.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists despite logging just 24 minutes per game during the regular season because of injuries. He’s now healthy for the playoffs, which has resulted in him averaging 33 minutes in this series. With him playing so much, he has recorded at least 12 combined rebounds and assists in three of the four games. The one time that he missed, he had 11. With the Bucks trying to stay alive in the playoffs, I like Middleton to play a lot and go over this number.
Heat center Bam Adebayo, who is playing through a hamstring strain, is 10 for 26 over the past two games. He scored 12 and 15 in those contests. This game has the potential to be a Bucks' blowout, in which case Miami would be better served conserving Adebayo for Game 6.
We're getting a nice discount on this assist line as Jrue Holiday dished out 7.4 assists in the regular season and that number has increased to 8.5 in the postseason. Holiday logged 41 minutes in game four and I expect him to receive a similar workload tonight as the Bucks are facing elimination. Holiday handed out 27 assists in the first two of games of this series in Milwaukee. I expect the Bucks to keep their foot on the gas through all four quarters and Jimmy Butler has certainly proven that no lead is safe. Holiday typically shows up for big games and I expect the veteran point guard to play a great game. Holiday is capable of dishing out seven assists even in a blowout as well.