Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks Betting Preview/Prop Pick

The Charlotte Hornets are hoping to advance their positioning in the Eastern Conference. However, to do so, they'll have to get started with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In their most recent game, the Hornets lost 127-126 to the Detroit Pistons.

Now, they'll head out on the road to face the reigning NBA Champions. So, how much of a chance do they have to win this one?

The Milwaukee Bucks have lost their last two games, so both of these teams are struggling. In hopes of getting back on the right track, they'll test their strength against the Hornets.

Milwaukee has a great record at home, but they're dealing with a few injuries. If they can't find a way to overcome these, they could lose three straight. A loss could see them fall in the conference.

Charlotte Hornets: How can the Hornets take down the Bucks?

The Charlotte Hornets' defense is their weakest point and could get them in trouble here. On average, the Hornets are allowing 114.56 points per game, 28th in the NBA.

With such a terrible defense, it almost overshadows how good their offense is. Considering they have the No.1 offense in the NBA, it should win them more games. However, it hasn't helped recently.

This goes back to the old adage of offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Sure, they average 114.19 points per game, but it doesn't matter when they give up 114.56.

Tonight, they need to focus on slowing down Giannis, which isn't good news for their defense. More than likely, they'll try to find a way to stretch the Bucks' defense. The question is will it work tonight?

Milwaukee Bucks: No Brook Lopez & no George Hill again

These injuries are really starting to hurt the Bucks' ability to win games. You wouldn't think that Brook Lopez being out wouldn't be much of an issue, but it clearly is.

Over their last five games, the Bucks are 1-4. Even when it comes to playing the Hornets, they have a lackluster record. In their last three games against Charlotte, the Bucks have gone 1-2 and 0-3 against the spread.

Without Lopez and Hill, the Bucks will struggle in two areas. Lopez is an interior threat and defends the paint well. George Hill can stretch the floor and provide the Bucks with three-point shooting.

Without these two, they'll rely on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton to win this game. The Celtics are following the Bucks closely in the conference; a loss could be trouble.

Our pick for the Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks

As we stated, the Bucks have gone 0-3 against the spread in their last three against Charlotte. Charlotte also comes into this game as huge 10-point underdogs.

The Hornets have done fairly well against the spread this season, especially compared to the Bucks. Charlotte has gone 33-27-2 against the spread while the Bucks are 26-35. 

The Hornets coming in as huge underdogs help their lackluster defense. Even if they surrender a lot of points, the spread should be able to cover them easily.

We'd also recommend taking the over in this game. This is due to the total going OVER in 8 of Milwaukee's last eight games.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Charlotte Hornets +10, OVER

Prop Pick

Charlotte (-120) OVER 114.5 Points

Charlotte is averaging 114.2 points per game on offense, which ranks No. 1 in the league. Scores have gone OVER in each of the last four games between the Hornets and Bucks in Milwaukee.

With Dunkel predicting a Charlotte win by the score of 124-122, take the Hornets (-120) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 114.5 points against the Bucks.
 

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