The Milwaukee Bucks continue their rampage of the NBA regular season, as they defeat the New York Knicks in stunning fashion on Tuesday night, 128-102. In a matchup that was seemingly over at halftime, MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a soul-crushing 37 points in just 21 minutes played. No Bucks player saw over 26 minutes, as Milwaukee continues its excellent team efficiency through the first half of the regular season. Khris Middleton and Ersan Ilyasova also had strong performances of 17 and 14 points respectively.
The Bucks have been so dominant this season against the Knicks, that they have had the lead in every single second of their three meetings, except for when the score was 0-0. Similar stories can be told for the rest of the Eastern Conference, as Milwaukee has been able to maintain a 21-3 record against conference opponents through January while also blowing out teams by 20+ points 13 times. The outright destruction that this team is unleashing on its opponents is frankly unmatched by any team in the league. So…why do people continue to sleep on Milwaukee?
While national media continues to state how good of a regular season team the Bucks are, that’s normally where it stops. Whether it be the “lack” of a second-star, their playoff collapse last year against the Toronto Raptors, or the fact that media outlets want a championship in LA this year, the Bucks just aren’t getting the NBA Finals hype that they deserve. After Tuesday night’s win, Milwaukee improves to 36-6 on the year, which happens to the be the best start in franchise history. They are also on track and continue to stay on pace to be the third NBA team to win 70 games.
The Greek Freak and Co. look to continue their scorching run on Thursday, as they host the second-ranked Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference titan showdown. The Bucks are currently +125 favorites to win the Eastern Conference and are getting +350 odds to win the NBA Title. If you’re feeling frisky, this may be a fantastic time to get some value on a scorching hot team that hasn’t yet won over the basketball world.
