Milwaukee Bucks vs Dallas Mavericks Pick and Odds (Mar 1)

• The Milwaukee Bucks (33-25, 5th in the East) travel to Dallas to play the Mavericks (32-28, 9th in the West)
• The Bucks are jockeying with Indiana and Indiana for the 4th to 6th seed in the conference
• The Mavericks are 5-3 since trading Luka Dončić

The Bucks are in the middle of the playoff pack in the East, but they are a dangerous team that threatens the top-tier clubs in the NBA. They are without the suspended Bobby Portis for the foreseeable future. Milwaukee has won 4 of 5 since the break. This is the first meeting between the teams this season. They will play again on Mar. 5.

The Mavericks are a team in transition after their shocking trade of Dončić to the Lakers. To make matters worse, the primary player who came over from LA, Anthony Davis, is out with an adductor strain, but head coach Jason Kidd believes Davis will be back reasonably quickly.

Bucks Had Impressive Showing In Win Over Denver

Milwaukee has been playing well despite Portis’ painkiller-related suspension. Against Denver, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28, grabbed 9 rebounds, and had 7 assists. Brook Lopez added 22 points. Kyle Kuzma scored 16, had 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. They overcame Nikola Jokić’s triple-double.

Giannis is having an MVP-caliber season, averaging nearly 31 points per game, over 12 rebounds, and almost 6 assists. Kuzma has been a notable addition with over 15 PPG.

The Mavericks Are Holding On, Waiting for Davis

The shock of the Dončić trade coupled with Davis’ immediate injury in his first game as a Mav is starting to wear off. The team remains in playoff contention and if the season ended today, they would be in the Play-In Tournament. They defeated Charlotte 103-96 in their previous game. Kyrie Irving has been picking up the slack since the trade. Against the Hornets, he scored 25, had 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Moses Brown added 20 points and 11 boards.

Dallas had lost two straight to the Warriors and Lakers before the Charlotte win. It will take time to assess them and it cannot be done until Davis gets back and is healthy.

Bucks vs Mavericks Pick: Milwaukee Wins a Matchup Between Evenly Matched Teams

Milwaukee and Dallas are surprisingly evenly matched on paper. Both average around 114 PPG on offense and surrender between 112 and 113 defensively. Their rebounding, rebounds allowed, 3-pointer percentage — all are extraordinarily close.

Giannis’ brilliant play and the workload forced on Irving should give Milwaukee the advantage and they will win by more than 3 points.