With the win streak over, the OKC Thunder seek to get back in the win column facing the only unbeaten team in the association… the 8-0 Milwaukee Bucks.
This match offers a major litmus test for the young Thunder stars as they face the potential MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and arguably the team looking like the early season title favorites.
OKC Thunder vs Bucks Odds, Spread, Over/Under
The latest odds have the Bucks tagged as seven-point favorites with an over/under of 224 points. The money line is set at minus -300 for Milwaukee and plus +240 for the Thunder.
Some other betting notables:
- The over is 4-0 in the Thunder’s last 4 overall.
- The Bucks are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- The under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between these clubs
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Thunder Starting Lineup:
With Josh Giddey back Mark Daigneault returned to his fave trio but as TI predicted he mixed up the starting rotation throwing in both Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokusevski versus the Nuggets.
POKU suffered a shoulder injury though so he’ll be out this game which presumably will equate to Jalen Williams returning to the starting rotation.
That’s not a guarantee, however, as Daigneault has experimented with numerous lineups. Other than the Big 3 ( Giddey, SGA, and Dort) nothing should surprise us this year.
With the team still (undercover tanking) growing this is the time to test who has the best chemistry and give different players reps with the core.
Thunder Injury Report
The only player on the OKC Thunder injury report other than Chet Holmgren is POKU as noted above as he suffered that shoulder injury versus the Nuggets.
The Bucks have a lengthier and less certain list of players available albeit with Giannis, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Porter all healthy Mike Budenholzer isn’t sweating the situation.
Sandro Mamukelashvili (concussion protocol) is questionable for Saturday.
AJ Green (nose), Pat Connaughton (calf), and Khris Middleton (wrist) are out indefinitely. Joe Ingles (ACL) is out until at least until mid-January.
Of note – Antetokounmpo has been nursing a bit of a knee injury and while he’s not on the injury report Budenholzer might surprise and rest him because Milwaukee is playing a back-to-back.
OKC Thunder vs. Bucks Stats Comparison and Prediction
These clubs have participated in some entertaining matches in recent seasons although the Bucks have won the last three contests.
Antetokounmpo is off to a fantastic start to the season and delivered another top performance last night with a triple-double of 26-points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. He was awarded TWENTY trips to the line against the Wolves so the OKC Thunder will be tasked with trying to slow the Greek Freak, particularly on the fast break while trying not to foul him.
On the season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 32.6 points, 12.9 rebounds (2.0 offensive boards), 5.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals.
He’s getting to the line for an incredible12.9 free throw attempts per game and attempting 3.6 long balls per game with averages of 63.1 percent and 27.6 percent respectively.
The OKC Thunder will counter with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is averaging 32.3 points, 4.7 rebounds (1.0 offensive board), 6.3 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game.
SGA is getting to the line 7.4 times a game and attempting 3.1 triples per match hitting with an efficiency of 98.1 percent and 31.8 percent respectively. Of note – Shai has attempted 52 free throws in total through seven matches and missed ONCE!
The main reason Milwaukee is unbeaten lies in its defensive prowess. They allow the fewest opponent points of 102.0 per match, rank second in opponent field goal percentage (42.3%), and are tied for fourth in perimeter percentage (32.8%).
On the offensive side of the court consider they are missing Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton who produced almost 30 points and five triples per match last season.
That clearly impacts where the Bucks rank offensively but make no mistake once the above duo returns they will likely rank in the top five on both sides of the hardwood.
Through eight games they are averaging 113.5 points per game (15th) while shooting 45.7% from the field and 34.0% from the perimeter (both ranking 22nd).
It’s no secret the OKC Thunder struggle to put points on the board but they’re making slight improvements since season start. They still struggle with their efficiency but that’s to be expected with such a young roster and many players developing chemistry with each other.
Offensively, the Thunder score 112.9 per game which ranks 20th while they shoot 44.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from deep ranking 27th and 29th respectively.
Defensively, the Thunder hold opponents to 112.3 points per game (12th), 47.0 percent from the field, (20th), and 35.3 percent from the perimeter (16th).
A key area to watch in this match will be the paint as Giannis lives there and the Bucks hold opponents to 43.3 paint points (ranks 4th) which is an area the Thunder focus on, scoring 57.3 paint points per game (ranks 2nd).
The Thunder have the rest advantage because the Bucks played Friday which normally would be a big edge but I’ll point you to the Bucks-Hawks game which was their only other B2B second game when they tallied their second-highest point total of the season (123 points).
This season has witnessed some early surprising upsets by teams expected to be tanking like the Thunder, Jazz and Spurs. However, the Bucks don’t typically take teams for granted so I won’t hold my breath.
Besides, it’s no slight to lose to the team with the best record in the NBA.
I still think the Thunder will make it a contest although I suspect the Bucks will be moving to 9-0.
Bucks 113 – Thunder 107
What channel is the Thunder-Bucks game on?
Per usual the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Oklahoma or NBA League Pass .
Tip-Off is set for 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 CT) from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee Wisconsin.
OKC Thunder vs. Bucks Live Stream
If you need a live stream of the event, check out FuboTV for a free trial!
Thunder Next Game and Schedule
Next week the OKC Thunder will play four games – – Monday they play the Pistons in Detroit, Wednesday is a rematch versus the Bucks back in OKC, Friday OKC will host the Raptors and they’ll close out the week in the Mecca playing the Knicks on Sunday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.