Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Dec. 20 vs Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s real test time for the Milwaukee Bucks as the team takes on the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers two times in the next two days.
Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) defends during the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks have some good momentum going after their back-to-back big wins over the Chicago Bulls, including an absolute drubbing of the Bulls in Chicago. Milwaukee looked like an outstanding team in those games, something that will hopefully carry over.
The Bucks have another back-to-back two games against the same team, although the competition is much stiffer this time around. The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming to town on Tuesday, followed by a re-match between the two teams in Cleveland on Wednesday night.
Last time these two teams matched up, the Bucks won in huge fashion over Cleveland. The Cavs are without Kevin Love for at least the first of these two games, and currently sit just one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference.
Those might seem like positives for Milwaukee, but LeBron James tends to step up when the chips are down. It should go without saying, but there’s no room for error when playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To see how Milwaukee can notch a win here, we’ll go over major keys for both teams and check out a Cavalier to watch, all before making our predictions.
Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) gets some hang time over Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) after dunking a basket in the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Antetokounmpo scored 30 points to help the Bucks beat the Bulls 108-97. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Major Key For Milwaukee: Run Through Giannis
One slightly sad part about this season so far has been Giannis Antetokounmpo sometimes looking more like a regular forward than a point forward. Bucks fans watching last season were teased by a flurry of triple-doubles late in the year when point Giannis became a thing.
The Greek Freak has two thus far in 25 games, and could have more if not for a lack of big assist games. Giannis has recorded 10 or more assists four times, and eight or more assists eight times.
Unsurprisingly, when Giannis runs the offense, the Bucks run well. They’re 6-2 in games where he gets eight assists or more and 3-1 in games where his assist total is in double-digits. When Giannis gets lots of assists, the Bucks tend to win.
The opposite is true as well. Four times this season, the Greek Freak recorded less than three assists. Milwaukee is 0-4 in those games. When Giannis steps up and runs Milwaukee’s offense, good things tend to happen.
Dec 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gives instructions to forward Kevin Love (0) during the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Major Key For Cleveland: Gotta Grab Those Boards
Milwaukee’s huge win over the Chicago Bulls has something in common with the blowout the Cavaliers suffered at the Bucks hands earlier this season: the losing team got out-rebounded.
Although the team ranks near the bottom of the NBA in rebounds per game, Milwaukee actually out-rebounds the competition by 0.1 rebounds per game. In the 15 games the team grabbed more rebounds than the opposition so far this season, the Bucks are 10-5.
The back-to-back Chicago wins and the Cleveland win both fall into that win category. When the Bucks are making shots and grabbing extra chances, they can be very hard to stop. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker getting multiple chances per possession, defenses can only do so much.
That’s why although LeBron will play the biggest role and be the best player and all that, he actually is not the player to watch on Cleveland’s side of things tonight, although he actually really is.
Nov 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) shoots against Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless (4) the the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Player To Watch: Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson is the player to watch because Kevin Love is not playing. Let me explain: we’ve already discussed how important rebounding is for the Bucks. When they out-rebound teams, they tend to win.
More from Behind the Buck Pass
The last time these two teams played, Kevin Love led both of them in rebounding. Love pulled down 13 boards, one more than Giannis was able to grab. That’s important, considering Chris Anderson is also out and Thompson remains the last true big man to really be in Cleveland’s rotation.
LeBron is everything at once and will doubtlessly step up, but one man can only do so much. Bron Bron needs help from his role players and stars, and Kyrie Irving isn’t going to haul in ten-plus boards.
That burden falls to TT. Thompson was paid the max a few years ago to defend and rebound, and Cleveland really needs him to do the second thing tonight. He managed just five boards in 30-plus minutes last time these two teams played–that won’t get the job done on Tuesday.
Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) draws a foul on Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Finale
Every time any team faces off against the defending champions, the odds typically aren’t in their favor. Not having Kevin Love is a real loss though, and the Cavaliers have not been committing basketball murder too often lately.
Last time the Bucks wiped the floor with the Cavs. LeBron and company will remember that. The great ones always like to give a little payback when the opportunity presents itself. LeBron may not be as petty as Michael Jordan, but he doesn’t forget.
Still, Milwaukee is a good team. When the Bucks are clicking they can hang with anybody–the Cavaliers know that well from earlier in the season. This should be a great two games to watch from a fan perspective.
Predictions and Leaderboard:
Rohan Katti: Bucks by 2 — 18-6, 270 point differential
Adam Coffman: Cavs by 7 — 17-7, 265 point differential
Adam McGee: Bucks by 6 — 16-9, 269 point differential
Tom Pheister: Bucks by 6 — 16-9, 291 point differential
Jordan Treske: Cavs by 10 — 16-9, 316 point differential
Ti Windisch: Bucks by 8 — 14-11, 260 point differential
Lukas Harkins: Cavs by 3 — 14-11, 282 point differential
Tim Wray: Cavs by 9 — 14-11, 302 point differential
The game is on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. CT, and will be televised on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
