Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics Betting Tips [31 July 2020]

The return of the NBA in Orlando continues with the Western Conference’s top seed the Milwaukee Bucks squaring off against conference rivals Boston Celtics at HP Field House. The Bucks lead the way in the Central Division out west while Boston come into this game 2nd in the Atlantic division behind last year’s ring winners, the Toronto Raptors.  

Despite three straight defeats prior to being plunged into lockdown the Bucks are the top seed in the Western Conference and boast the best win percentage across the country with 53 wins from 65 games (81.5%). The Bucks also lead the way in terms of points scored throughout the league hitting 7712 and it’s no wonder why they return to action as one of the favourites to go all the way. Milwaukee won back-to-back games against San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings in pre-season scrimmages before losing to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Outside of Wisconsin Mike Budenholzer’s side have won 25 of their 34 games but have lost each of their last four, however, they were victorious during their last visit to Orlando defeating the Magic back in February (95-111). 

As for Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics they face a stern test upon their return to action but they are 3rd in the West on merit and could cause the Bucks problems. Boston signed off with a 114-111 win over the Indiana Pacers and extended their winning run on the road to four straight wins. The Celtics have the 5th best win percentage in the league with 43 wins from 64 and have the 2nd best defence in the west conceding 106.8 points per game although they did ship a total of 137 points in a defeat to the Houston Rockets in their final scrimmage in midweek leaving them with a record of 1-2 prior to the restart.  

The fact that these teams can produce high scores without a crowd is testament to their attacking prowess. Boston have scored at least 112 points in nine of their last 10 games on the road while the Bucks scored an average of just over 111 points across their three scrimmage games. Therefore, I’m confident we will see over 217.5 points scored in this game and that’s my tip for this one.