In the ever-changing NBA landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Milwaukee Bucks received good news on Christmas Eve regarding star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo cleared the league's health and safety protocols, making him eligible to play, according to a report from ESPN. Antetokounmpo will practice on Friday and determine if he's ready to play on Christmas Day. The Bucks are scheduled to host the Boston Celtics at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
As a result, there's been notable movement to the betting odds on both the spread and total for the game. After the news was leaked, the Bucks moved from 3.5-point to 4.5-point favorites.
The total saw even more significant movement throughout the day on Friday. At the start of the day, the total was 224 before dropping all the way to 219.5 as of this writing.
Antetokounmpo hasn't played since a loss to the Celtics on Dec. 13. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes that night. On the year, he's averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game. Milwaukee is 21-13 on the season.
Boston has struggled early in the year with a 16-16 record. However, the Celtics have treated bettors well compared to Milwaukee. Boston is 18-14 against the spread, while Milwaukee is 15-20 this season.
Jayson Tatum leads the way for Boston with 25 points and eight rebounds per game.
The Bucks currently have Donte DiVincenzo, Bobby Portis and Wes Matthews in health and safety protocols. The Celtics are currently without Al Horford, Grant Williams, Jabari Parker, Josh Richardson, Enes Kanter Freedom, Juancho Hernangomez, Sam Hauser and Brodric Thomas, who are all in COVID-19 protocol.
