Celtics vs Bucks Betting Preview & Analysis

High Stakes for Celtics vs Bucks

Both the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks look to keep their strong run of form going as they prepare for a game of huge importance that could dictate the outcome of their season. Our Celtics vs Bucks predictions take a look at how this game will potentially shape the final standings in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are coming off a big win in Chicago, moving a half-game clear of the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 2 seed.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will need a win to avoid losing the season series to the Celtics and surrendering a tiebreaker should they finish with identical records. They were 117-113 winners in their only other meeting in Milwaukee, which came back in December.

Rest Could Play Pivotal Role

The Boston Celtics come into this one playing their second of a back-to-back after a 117-94 win in Chicago on Wednesday.

Ime Udoka did a good job of managing the minutes for his starters, with Jaylen Brown the only one to play over 30 minutes in the blowout win.

Even with that in mind, Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford were all game-time decisions before tip-off in Chicago and the same is expected here.

Resting players to ensure full health for the playoffs is certainly the priority for most teams at this point of the season, but with so much still in the balance in the race for seedings, the temptation to play your best players certainly exists for all coaching staffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been officially listed as probable for Milwaukee, but we’ve seen him downgraded season multiple times so there’s no guarantee we get either side playing their superstars here.

That certainly leaves for a volatile market and the NBA points spreads and predictions are left in the balance while we wait for confirmation on who is in and who is out.

A Game of Chess

Things in the East are made extremely complicated by the fact the Brooklyn Nets sit in the play-in spots and will ultimately end up as a seven or eight seed.

That’s left teams potentially juggling with the idea to drop down to a three or four seed to avoid an awkward first-round matchup against the Nets when the playoffs begin.

Matchups are everything in the playoffs and there’s no denying that the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks match up better with the Chicago Bulls or Toronto Raptors than against Brooklyn.

That makes coming up with Celtics vs Bucks predictions extremely difficult when not only is there the element of players potentially sitting out, but the fact that one (or both) team might not want to win here.

Both teams still have difficult games to close out their respective schedules, so this result doesn’t necessarily lock either team into a position.

If both teams are fully healthy, it’s tough to go against the home team with the rest advantage. However, we’ve seen how the Bucks have struggled against teams who are top-tier offensively and defensively, as evidenced in their recent loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The only other team with similar top-end metrics on both ends of the floor that the Bucks have faced over the past couple weeks were the Memphis Grizzlies, a game they lost 127-102.

For Celtics vs Bucks NBA betting tips, it’s probably best to wait for final confirmation on lineups here. If both teams decide to play their starters, the value is certainly on Boston here even with the rest disadvantage.