I've successfully backed Harden a couple of times recently but this line feels like an overreaction, even without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the lineup. Harden benefits greatly from the attention that both George and Leonard command and at this stage of Hardens career he is simply isnt capable of being a lead guard/scorer on a nightly basis. Harden is more comfortable as a secondary scoring option and primary playmaker which is where he excels. It wasn't long ago that Harden was one of the best scorers in NBA history, he was able to get to the foul line 12-15x per game and finish at the rim with contact, something he rarely does nowadays. He is still a great shooter although more one dimensional.

Interesting for the Bucks to win the game in the past week that Giannis missed...and that came vs. the Clippers last Monday. The Greek Freak now deals with right knee tendinitis but is expected to give it a go on Sunday after Milwaukee has lost twice on this road trip since his return, with the defense faltering vs. the Warriors and the LeBron-less Lakers. Meanwhile the Clips are still kicking themselves for letting the Bucks off the hook last week, the only LA loss in the last five games, and showed plenty of mettle on Saturday when rallying from behind to take down the Bulls at Crypto.com. Play Clippers

This has been a staple of the big man's game since the All Star break and it doesn't take many attempts to hit. They continue to offer a nice return on it and he's hit it in 7 straight games and I'm going to keep riding it here. Giannis seems to be well aware of it and hasn't made us sweat it out much. He kind of likes to get it out of the way and those are my kind of props.

Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were questionable entering Saturday's game against Chicago. They logged 39 and 38 minutes in the one-point win as the team clearly decided to go all-out for the victory. Surely one or both could be held out 24 hours later against Milwaukee. The Bucks have been in L.A. for awhile, having lost to the Lakers on Friday, so fatigue should be no issue for them. Giannas Antetokounmpo sat out the Bucks' recent win over the Clips and could dominate if either of L.A.'s stars sit.