Filip Tomic
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We head to Las Vegas this weekend as the Emirates NBA Cup draws to a close. Starting us off are the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks who battle it out for a place in the Final on Saturday night. Tune in to TNT at 4.30 pm ET for the tip-off, I’ve spiced things up a bit with a +449 odds Same Game Parlay.
Head over to our NBA Picks page for more predictions on the spread and total in the other NBA Emirates Cup game. Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
MIL Bucks -4 (-108)
Bobby Portis Over 1.5 Made Threes (+138)
Trae Young to Record 10+ Assists (-240)
Same Game Parlay odds: +449
MIL Bucks -4 (-108)
Winning the Emirates NBA Cup would wash out all the bad taste that was left in the mouths of Bucks fans following that awful 2-8 start to the season. Giannis and co. have completely turned things around with 9 wins in 11 games and with Khris Middleton slowly coming back from his injury, things can only get better as the season moves on. Milwaukee’s big advantage here is their ability to make threes – they rank 3rd in the NBA averaging 39.3% of makes from downtown, that number has gone up to 41.1% over their last 3 games. Plus, Giannis is also a mismatch on a nightly basis, the Hawks will not be an exception to that rule. He’s averaging 33 points, 12.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in the last 3 meetings.
As for Atlanta, they were able to shock the World in their last game against the Knicks, booking a place in the NBA Cup semis. They were down by as many as 12 points in that game, but heroics from Jalen Johnson, Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter turned things around. However, the three-point shot is a concern as they’ve made less than 10 threes in 3 of their last 4 games. As good as this team has been, you can’t win games on a consistent basis in today’s NBA without a quality shot from distance. Also, their defense has been questionable at times with opponents making 38.2% of threes against them which is the highest mark in the entire NBA. I’m picking the Bucks to win and cover the spread here.
Bobby Portis Over 1.5 Made Threes (+138)
Bobby Portis has had the hot hand for a while now and he could very well be the x-factor for Milwaukee in Saturday’s game. With the Bucks bench not being as consistent as of late, plus Khris Middleton still finding his way back from double-ankle surgery, Portis has elevated his level when it counts the most. In the last two games he’s recorded 23 and 22 points and shot a combined 18-for-21 from the field. Not only that, he has also cleared this line in both games and went a perfect 5-for-5 in the win over the Nets. With the Hawks having very strong wing play, his minutes should continue to be in the 30+ range which should allow him to have more than enough opportunities to get some shots up from distance. With his three-point accuracy going from 34.1% in November to 52.4% in December, I am counting on Portis to have a productive game here.
Trae Young to Record 10+ Assists (-240)
Like him or not, there is no denying the brilliance of Trae Young on the offensive end. His efficiency hasn’t been the best this year, because of that Young has turned his attention more to getting everyone involved and so far it’s worked wonders for Atlanta’s offense. Excluding Trae, the Hawks have 7 players scoring in double-digits which is a direct result of him averaging the most assists per game in the NBA this season at 12.2 a night. In 25 games played this season he has failed to finish with 10 assists just 6 times, while in December he already has a 15 and 20 assist night to his name. Damian Lillard isn’t exactly an elite defender at this stage of his career, so I think Young should have an easy time getting to 10 dimes here.
