NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee/illness), Jrue Holiday (sore neck), and Wesley Matthews (calf) are all out tonight for Milwaukee on the road vs Orlando

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Zach Wolpin
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Zach Wolpin Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

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Sports Editor

Updated2 hours ago on April 24, 2024

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Giannis and Jrue Hliday pic

The Milwaukee Bucks have won 17 of their last 18 games and have a two-game lead over Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference. It’s been another strong season for the team and they want to make another deep playoff run. Tonight the Bucks are on the road, but they will be without some of their top players. Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee/illness), Jrue Holiday (sore neck), and Wesley Matthews (calf) are all out vs the Magic. 

Role players who normally come off the bench for Milwaukee will have to step up for for head coach Mike Budenholzer tonight. Antetokounmpo and Holiday account for a large portion of the Bucks’ stellar play on both ends of the floor and they will be missed tonight.

Orlando are a bottom three team in the East and Milwaukee has a deep enough roster where they still have a good chance to win tonight. Wisconsin Sports Betting sites have the Bucks at (+475) to win the Finals this season.

Milwaukee Bucks won’t have either of their 2023 all-star’s tonight vs the Orlando Magic

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday are out tonight vs the Magic and that means other players are going to need to step up. Mainly because Giannis leads the league with a (.375) usage rate and a number of Milwaukee players will have to make up for that.

Usually the Bucks will have holiday available when Antetokounmpo doesn’t play, but that is not the case tonight. Holiday is the second-highest scorer per game (19.9) points for Milwaukee this season and he also initiates a large portion of their offense as well.

The two-time all-star leads the Bucks is assists (7.3) and steals (1.3) per game and they will miss that production from him tonight. One player who has the chance to shape back into his regular form tonight is Khris Middleton. He’s had two separate injuries that have left him not at 100 percent, but tonight could be a chance to play a larger role.

Middleton’s season-high for points is 24 this year and that is not what were used to seeing from him. He’s averaged 20+ points per game over the last three seasons, but the injuries have held him back to his true potential. Coach Budenholzer could possibly give Middleton the start tonight if he’s healthy enough to do so.

In 21 games played with 7 starts this season, the two-time all-star is averaging (13.2) points, (4.1) rebounds, and (4.1) assists per game. This season he’s playing (21.8) minutes per game and that’s the lowest of his career since his rookie season in 2012-13.