Our upcoming NBA game of the week is a potential preview of the NBA finals, as the defending champion Golden State Warriors meet the promising Milwaukee Bucks.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (8-2) @ GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (10-1)
AEDT: Friday, Nov. 9, 1:30pm
PST: Thursday, Nov. 8, 7:30pm. Oakland, CA. Oracle Arena (19,596)
Almost a month into the season, we’ve established the two best teams in the league (for now), and they meet this Friday at Oracle Arena.
We knew what the Warriors were, and we expected the juggernaut of Curry-Thompson-KD-Draymond to be dismantling teams by now. 10-1 is an unsurprising record – a feat that is barely worth mentioning behind a growing catalogue of success.
The Bucks being 8-2 is a bigger deal. Before they met the Celtics and Blazers, they were undefeated. The last time that happened was in 1971, when they had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar raining unstoppable skyhooks. That was also the last time they were world champions.
That’s almost 50 years of defeat. For the current Warriors squad, championships are a constant. Winning is like breathing.
Truth be told, the Warriors won’t care much if they lose this game. They know it’s a long season, and they know NBA basketball doesn’t really start until playoff time: for them anyway.
But if the Bucks could pull off an upset in Oracle Arena, that would mean something. Not to how we view these teams if they were to meet in the NBA Finals – the Warriors would still be heavily favoured. But it’d mean a lot, nonetheless.
A win for the Bucks would be a statement to the Eastern conference contenders that they just toppled the champs in their home arena. The Celtics and Raptors would feel uneasy in that moment.
That’s a difficult prospect to imagine though. The Warriors are on fire right now, led by two-time MVP (three time if he stays on pace this year) Steph Curry. As expected, they lead all scoring categories, and lead the league in assists. The Warriors offense is like clockwork – efficient and smooth in its complexity.
The Bucks are competitive with the Warriors in a number of categories, and this will be a competitive game. The key for a Bucks win is creating turnovers and translating those turnovers into points. They’ll also need a big night from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the post to exploit the Warrior’s lack of big-man talent. The Bucks’ emphasis on Giannis’ post-up game has been a revelation this season and their turnover differential is second in the league, so they’re a capable opponent.
This game will be interesting if nothing else, to see if the Bucks present any major mismatches that the Warriors can’t handle. It’s possible on paper, but the defending champs tend to overcome such risks.
| Regular Season Stats | Warriors | Bucks |
| Points/game (rank) | 124.1 (1) | 121.9 (2) |
| Points Allowed | 110.6 (12) | 106.1 (5) |
| Rebounds | 47.1 (8) | 54.4 (1) |
| Assists | 30.7 (1) | 26.4 (3) |
| Blocks | 6.1 (9) | 6.7 (5) |
| Steals | 8.2 (10) | 6.1 (25) |
| Turnover Differential | +1.6 (11) | +3.8 (2) |
| 2PT Shot % | 52.0% (1) | 48.0% (6) |
| 3PT Shot % | 41.4% (1) | 37.9% (7) |
| Opponent 2PT Shot % | 43.8% (8) | 40.4% (1) |
| Opponent 3PT Shot % | 32.3% (4-tied) | 32.3% (4-tied) |
Our Tip
It’d be foolish to pick against the Warriors at home. Warriors to win in a tight one.
Warriors $1.32 V Bucks $3.45
