Milwaukee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 2/9/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Milwaukee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers are welcoming the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

The Bucks faced off with the Trail Blazers and went home with a win by a final score of 127-108 in their last contest. Milwaukee finished the contest with a 54.0% field goal percentage (47 out of 87) and made 16 out of their 42 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Bucks knocked down 17 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. With regard to rebounding, they earned a total of 55 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 27 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. Pertaining to defending, Milwaukee allowed their opponent to shoot 40.7% from the field on 37 out of 91 shooting. Portland doled out 23 assists and had 5 steals in this game. On top of that, Portland grabbed 28 boards (1 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Portland shot 86.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 25 of 29 shots. They also knocked down 9 of their 36 shots from beyond the arc. In reference to fouls, the Bucks finished with 27 while the Trail Blazers totaled 20 fouls.

Brook Lopez is a guy who was a contributor in this game. He was able to score 27 points on 9 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 32 mins and also collected 9 boards. Lopez finished the game at 75.0% from the floor but didn't record an assist.

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Milwaukee comes into this one with a mark of 37-17 for the campaign. They are averaging 114.5 points per contest (14th in the league) while hitting 46.3% from the field. The Bucks are shooting 35.9% on shots from distance (769 of 2,145) and 73.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Milwaukee is grabbing 49.1 boards per game and has tallied 1,329 assists this season, which ranks 18th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.2 times per contest and as a group they commit 18.4 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Bucks are forcing 12.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.1 personal fouls. They give up 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 7th in the league in opponents PPG (111.8). The Bucks are allowing a field goal percentage of 45.3% (2,256 of 4,980) and they relinquish 44.1 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 2nd in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,237 relinquished for the campaign.

For their last game, the Lakers took a loss by a final score of 133-130 when they played the Thunder. The Lakers were able to pull down 35 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 41 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 20 times, while earning 8 steals in this contest. The Thunder committed 18 personal fouls in the game which took the Lakers to the free throw line for 26 shots. They were able to convert 18 of those for a clip of 69.2%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Los Angeles knocked down 14 of 31 tries (45.2%). When all was said and done, the Lakers ended up shooting 49 for 85 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.6%. The Lakers permitted the Thunder to convert 49 of their 94 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.1% in this matchup. They shot 50.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 17 out of 34 and ended up shooting 18 of 20 from the free throw line (90.0%). With respect to rebounding, Los Angeles allowed Oklahoma City to grab 37 in total (7 on the offensive side).

LeBron James ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the contest. James recorded 38 points in his 34 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 3 assists in this matchup. He made 13 out of 20 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 65.0%, and tallied 7 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 25-30 so far this season. The Lakers are committing 18.5 fouls per game while shooting 77.8% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.2 times per contest (14th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.1 times per game. Los Angeles has accounted for 6,454 points so far this season (117.3 per game) and they collect 45.1 boards per game. As an offense, the Lakers are connecting on 48.2% from the field, which is 7th in basketball.

The Lakers are ranked 28th in the league in PPG allowed with 118.6. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.4% from the field (17th in basketball). The Los Angeles defense gives up 34.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (691 of 1,983) and their opposition knocks down 76.9% of their free throw shots. They give up 25.8 dimes and 45.6 total rebounds per game, ranking them 22nd and 26th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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