The new Bucks don’t even try to play D. New coach, new superstar and new philosophy all point to “we will simply try to have our guys out score your guys”. The smart play is to play against the Bucks D. Half unit play.

Middleton is coming on. With his play, minutes and understanding his role. This should be 10. Go over.

Life with Damian Lillard has been up and down, but two things we know about Dame: He can fill it up, and his defense is just so-so. The Bucks have just been trying to outscore teams without really locking down. Do they flip the switch now? I’m betting no. Go OVER!

New York seems to be taking this in-season tournament seriously and enters Fiserv Forum on the heels of three straight wins, and looking as good as they have all season when hitting 50% from the floor in dispatching the Raps without too much trouble in Toronto on Friday. The Bucks' recent uptick (4-1 last five) maybe not as impressive as it seems as it took a late burst to put away the Hawks in the last game, which was after a loss at middling Chicago, and a couple of recent narrow escapes at home vs. lowly Portland and Washington. Milwaukee is still not playing defense for Adrian griffin the way it did for Mike Budenholzer. Play Knicks

This is a seriously low number for Middleton who should play between 25-30 minutes tonight and often is the primary distributor whenever Giannis or Lillard are off the court. I could see him getting a slight bump in playing time considering the importance of the game as well. Look for Middleton to pile up at least 8 combined rebounds and assists tonight.

Each team has won four of its last five games. Milwaukee is 9-1 at home on the season. The Bucks won the first game between these two by five points while New York shot less than 40% from the floor and out-rebounded the Bucks by 15. New York’s defense has allowed teams to score 115 points, or more, three times this season. While the Bucks are the better offensive team, New York’s defense is what keeps them in games while also being 7th in the league from beyond the arc.

Jalen Brunson has been a box score beast this season thanks to elite production across most categories. He has a big game against the Bucks tonight and hopes to repeat what he did in early November at Milwaukee when he poured in 45/5/4. He's been averaging nearly 8 assists and 5 rebounds over his last four games and gets a great matchup in terms of scoring versus the Bucks. Shop your lines and get the best juice you can as there may be slightly better prices out there.