NBA Picks 3/26 – LA Lakers @ Milwaukee Bucks

NBA Picks 3/26 – LA Lakers @ Milwaukee Bucks

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The Los Angeles Lakers (39-32) visit the Milwaukee Bucks (46-25) tonight at Fiserv Forum on TNT. Milwaukee is a 7-point favorite and the total is 232.5. The teams are meeting for the second and final time this season. A LeBron-less Lakers squad squeaked by Milwaukee 123-122 on March 8 as D’Angelo Russell scored a season-high 44 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 5.9 seconds left to seal the win. This is the opening leg of a six-game East Coast road trip for Los Angeles. 

The Lakers enter tonight’s contest on a three-game winning streak after a 150-145 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. Anthony Davis had a monster game of 36 points and 16 rebounds in the win. The last time a Lakers team scored 150 points in a game was 37 years ago when they beat the Phoenix Suns 155-118 on Jan. 2, 1987. Milwaukee is coming off a 118-93 statement win over the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, while Kris Middleton recorded his second career triple-double – 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists – in the win. 

GAME STORYLINES: LAKERS

In June 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired superstar power forward/center Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster trade to pair with LeBron James. The move paid off immediate dividends as the Lakers finished 52-19 in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season and breezed through the Orlando bubble playoffs en route to the 2020 NBA Championship. Constant Injuries to both Anthony Davis and LeBron James along with year-to-year roster upheaval with everyone outside of LeBron and Davis has caused the Lakers to fall short of winning another title.  

In the three and a half years since winning the NBA title, the Lakers lost in the first round in 2021, missed the playoffs in 2022 and were able to make a spirited run to the Western Conference Finals last year as the No. 7 seed. The Lakers were hovering around .500 for most of this season despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis being relatively healthy. A recent run of consistent play has seen the Lakers win 5 of their last 7 games which has put them a season-high 7 games over .500 at 39-32. They still have some work to do to get out of the play-in round as they are solidly locked into 9th place in the tough Western Conference.

The Lakers continue to be led by the dominant, All-Star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The 39-year-old LeBron James continues to amaze in his 21st NBA season. The 20-time NBA All-Star James is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals on 53 percent shooting from the floor and 40.6 percent shooting from long distance across 62 games. Davis is averaging 24.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 steals on 55.8 percent shooting from the floor. Davis has notched 3 straight double-doubles with at least 15 rebounds in each game. He’s participated in 67 games this season which is his highest total since the 2017-18 campaign when he played in 75 games with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Guards D’Angelo Russell (18 pts, 6.3 asts, 3 rebs, 46.7% from 2, 42.3% from 3, 2.9 threes per game) and Austin Reaves (15.9 pts, 5.5 asts, 4.2 rebs, 49.1% from 2, 37.8% from 3) along with forward Rui Hachimura (12.7 pts, 3.8 rebs, 52.8% from 2, 40.8% from 3) have provided very good production alongside James and Davis for most of the season. The 28-year-old Russell has knocked down 184 three-pointers on the season, which broke the franchise-record set by Nick Van Exel in the 1994-95 season. After going undrafted in 2021, Reaves played well enough over his first two seasons to earn a 4-year, $56 million deal to stay with the Lakers. His numbers have improved in each of his first 3 seasons. 

GAME STORYLINES: MILWAUKEE

After winning the 2020-21 NBA title behind the heroics of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks have come up woefully short in capturing another title since then. The 2021-22 season ended with a hard-fought 7-game series loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round. The 2022-23 season concluded with a stunning 4-1 series loss to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The upset loss to Miami led to significant changes on and off the court.

Since the upset loss to the Miami Heat in May 2023, Milwaukee has fired two head coaches – Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin – and hired Doc Rivers on Jan. 24. They also acquired 7-time All-Star Damian Lillard prior to this season on Sep. 27 in a three-team deal in which they parted ways with All-NBA defender and former All-Star Jrue Holiday, along with double-digit sharpshooting guard Grayson Allen. The loss of Holiday and Allen have played a big factor in Milwaukee’s defensive struggles for much of the season.

Despite all the changes with Milwaukee this season, two-time MVP and 8-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career in 2024. The 29-year-old superstar is averaging 30.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1 block while shooting 61.6 percent from the floor. The “Greek Freak” has a shot at establishing career-highs in scoring, assists and shooting percentage this season. He leads the NBA with thirty-two 30-point, 10-rebound games this season, he’s five away from breaking the all-time regular season record set by Karl Malone in 1990-91.

Damian Lillard continues to play at an elite level with his new team, he’s averaging 24.4 points, 7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1 steal and 3.3 three pointers per game through 66 games. Forwards Kris Middleton (15 pts, 5.2 asts, 4.4 rebs, 49.3% from 2) and Bobby Portis (13.4 pts, 7.2 rebs, 50.2% from 2), center Brook Lopez (12.5 pts, 5.3 rebs, 2.5 blks, 48.1% from 2) and guard Malik Beasley (11.4 pts, 3.9 rebs, 43% from 3, 2.9 threes per game) are all tremendous contributors alongside the star duo of Giannis and Lillard. Middleton’s recent return from an ankle injury –which kept him out for about 6 weeks – has played a huge role in Milwaukee’s strong play of late. 

THE PICK: BUCKS (-7)

Now that Milwaukee has their full team intact, they are starting to play like one of the best teams in the NBA, I think they pick up another statement win on national TV for a second straight game tonight. Lay the Points and take the Bucks