Wednesday night is a busy one with a schedule that offers 11 NBA games. While NBA TV has a fun doubleheader in store — Warriors vs. Nets (7:30 p.m. ET) and Hornets vs. Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET) — the game of the night is undoubtedly Bucks vs. Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET).
Our analysts are getting after things early, targeting two games on the early side of tonight's slate. They've got two best bets for Wednesday's games.
Check out their expert picks and predictions for those game below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Chris Baker: I don’t like this spot for the Bucks as they have traveled more than any team in the NBA over the past 10 days, per Positive Residual. They’ve flown from Houston to Milwaukee, down to Memphis, back up to Milwaukee, down to New Orleans, and now up to Cleveland for tonight’s game.
Normally I wouldn’t put as much emphasis on this, but Cleveland has been the polar opposite in terms of travel schedule. Cleveland has been on one flight in the past10 days and they have played four consecutive home games leading up to this one.
On top of the travel edge, I just like the way Cleveland matches up here as they have the size to contest shots at the rim with Jarrett Allen back in the lineup alongside Evan Mobley. They also should be able to limit the Bucks in the half court as they do an excellent job of blocking out and finishing possessions.
That is absolutely crucial against this Bucks offense that ranks seventh in offensive rebound rate. With Allen on the court, the Cavs allow just a 22.2% offensive rebound rate which places them in the 96th percentile of defensive rebounding.
On the flip side, I don’t like the way the Bucks matchup here as they only have one Jrue Holiday to put on either Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland. The other guy should draw either Marjon Beauchamp or Grayson Allen and I don’t think either of those players are capable of hanging with Mitchell or Garland.
This offense should be able to get some clean looks against this defense. I’m not going to argue that Cleveland is massively better than Milwaukee, but Cleveland is the No. 1 team in Adjusted Net Rating on the year and they have a massive travel edge in this spot.
I think this team should be higher than -2 considering that the Cavs adjusted net rating of (+6.3) is a full 2 points better than the Bucks (+3.7). When you factor that in with the homecourt advantage and the travel edge I’m not sure how this line is just -2.
Trust the Cavaliers to make a statement at home on Wednesday night.
Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks
Jim Turvey: DeRozan is averaging 4.7 assists this season, and he's actually been a little unlucky to not be a touch higher, given his 9.7 potential assists per game. (Typically, players turn about 55-60% of their potential assists into actual assists).
DeRozan has cleared this 4.5 number in 16 of 30 games, and there's a very high floor on this bet, as he has reached at least four assists in 23 of 30 games.
This is also a favorable matchup for DeRozan to tally assists, as the Hawks rank seventh in fastest pace, while sporting a defense in the bottom half of the league.
The point total has also steamed up quite significantly, with the sharps all over the over for this game today.
DeRozan tallied eight assists in his first game against the Hawks this season, his second-highest total of the season, and did so against just one turnover, so look for him to be facilitating well when the two match up again tonight.
