At the top of the Eastern Conference there will be a duel shortly after midnight German time today, which is not about the top of the table, but about the honor!
In my Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks tip, you can find out why it could well be that the C’s push hard until the break, only to then – as is now customary – pull back much more strongly afterwards
The Detroit Pistons went down man and mouse in a hail of bullets a few days ago. However, we’re certainly not talking about bullets from a gun, but those that the men in green fired towards the board from beyond the arc every minute!
22 threes found their target in the Celtics’ 119:94 win over Detroit, which can be translated into a success rate of 44.9% of all three-point attempts. This is Boston’s sixth win in a row at the top of the EC, which means that they are heading unperturbed towards the play-offs.
It is also impressive that the victory was achieved without Jayson Tatum, who could have played in an emergency, but was spared in view of the fact that the opponent could still be beaten without him.
Incidentally, Tatum joined Holiday, Al Horford, Davison and Hauser in a group of five Celtics players who are currently suffering from various injuries
However, in the run-up to a game as important as the one against the Bucks, I don’t think Tatum’s slight injury will prevent him from voluntarily avoiding a showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Greek is facing the same dilemma. The center also missed his team’s last game – a 140-129 win over the Suns – due to an injury he had been carrying around for far too long.
However, it is not yet clear whether the respective superstars on both sides will face each other on the court tonight. But with a 10-win lead over Milwaukee, Boston at least won’t be forced to play Tatum at all costs in the game against the second-place team in the standings.
So it’s hard to predict exactly what the formation might look like tonight. But from a betting point of view, I can definitely give you a promising Celtics Bucks tip that is suitable for entering into a sports betting app.
Because one of the biggest criticisms of the Celtics in their playoff appearances over the last two years has been how their flow has dropped off noticeably towards the end in close games.
The Celtics weren’t involved in too many close games this season, but when they were, the phenomenon just described was clearly evident in the new season as well.
Looking at the season as a whole, Boston ranks 18th in the league in “pace” – defined as the average number of plays per 48 minutes.
However, in the late stages of the game – for example, the last five minutes of the 4th quarter, when things are also tight – the Celtics’ pace is faster than that of only two other franchises – league-wide.
The conclusion I draw from the above observation is that the Celtics could come out strong again and prove to the NBA why they are rightfully at the top of the Eastern Conference.
They certainly have the potential to take a half-time lead, and this can easily be bet on at Interwetten at current odds of 1.40.
Nevertheless, they are likely to drag the game out in their own style after the break and Milwaukee could increasingly take the initiative.
Maybe the lead the C’s have accumulated up to that point will save them over the finish line, maybe not – but that would be irrelevant for the success of my Celtics Bucks prediction.
If Jayson Tatum is in full possession of his powers, I wouldn’t be averse to a corresponding player bet on the superstar assuming a mighty point output.
He has delivered consistently in important postseason games and under high pressure in the past.
His 46-point performance in a crucial playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022 comes to mind, as well as a record 51 points in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers in last year’s conference semi-finals
However, even Tatum couldn’t stop the Bucks from leading his team at will the last time they met. On January 12 of this year, Milwaukee triumphed 135-102 in front of its own crowd.
“Home court advantage” is always a big word in this green-white derby, however, as five of the last six head-to-head NBA duels actually went to the team that enjoyed the favor of the home fans.
Conclusion: It’s hard to say if Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be on the floor together tonight. However, in my Celtics Bucks betting tip, I’m ultimately assuming so, as the injuries on both sides aren’t too serious.
Milwaukee was dominant in the last showdown, but this time the arena changes and with the C’s almost uncanny scoring from beyond the arc at the moment, the home side could pull away on the scoreboard early.
However, since I’m not willing to bet my hand that they’ll keep the pace as high after the break as they did before, I’ll leave it at a quarter bet on MIL in my Celtics Bucks prediction, rather than preferring a HT/FT bet of the form 1/1 to this one.
A late comeback by the Bucks cannot be ruled out
My tip: Bucks win the 4th quarter
