Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA Eastern Conference Playoff game on TNT. The series lead is on the line tonight as the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics clash in Game 5 at TD Garden. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Boston Celtics
Avoiding going down 3-1 in Game 4 was a big deal for these Boston Celtics as only a handful of teams in NBA history have come back from that deficit to advance in the playoffs. Jayson Tatum bounced back with a 30 point performance and Al Horford once again turned back the clock with 30 points of his own as the Cs shot 50% from the field as a team.
They were also able to slow down Milwaukee’s 2 best players Giannis and Holiday who combined to shoot just 19-for-54 from the field. That approach should be efficient tonight as well, but the question is can they do it in back-to-back games?
Boston enters the game as 5.5 point favourites, that’s the highest the line has been in this series for either team. They’ve covered the spread in 5 of 6 home games vs Milwaukee and are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 vs Eastern Conference teams.
Milwaukee Bucks
It was an odd result in Game 4 for Milwaukee as they outrebounded the Celtics by 10, had 4 fewer turnovers and committed 8 fewer fouls, but in the end they still lost by 8 at home. Ball movement was an issue as Boston collected 7 more assists and the Celtics were almost 9% more efficient from the field.
That all has to change on the road tonight if the Bucks want to avoid facing elimination in Game 6. It hasn’t been a pleasant experience playing at TD Garden, they are just 1-6 ATS in their last 6 visits and overall they’ve covered just once in 11 vs Boston. However, the Bucks’ optimism lies in the fact that they went 26-19 ATS on the road this season and they also have that guy Antetokounmpo on their roster.
Milwaukee already has 1 win on the road in this series, but tonight’s game is a pivotal one and I can’t see Boston losing home court advantage this late in the series. Celtics are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games and have covered in 3 straight games in this series. Let’s go with the home team once again.
Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks Predictions & Odds
After the first 3 games of the series all ended under the total, in Game 4 we finally saw some scoring with a total of 224 points scored and the over cashing. It was the first time in this postseason run that a Milwaukee Bucks game went over the total, with the previous 8 all going under. On the road they’ve gone under in 4 of the last 5 and for the season they are 22-23 on the O/U away from home. Boston also favours the under a lot more in home games having gone 21-24 so far in the season.
In their last 7 games overall the total has gone under 5 times. If we look at games played in May then the total has gone under in 8 of their last 12, highlighting just how important defence is at this part of the season. Their disruptive defence held the defending champions to just 41% shooting in Game 4, you’d think they would put in a similar effort in front of a packed TD Garden tonight. With both teams favouring the under quite a lot recently I think that’s the smart bet for tonight’s game as well.
