Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers: Match Preview and Predictions - 16th November 2019
Match details
Fixture: Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers
Date & Time: Saturday, November 16th, 2019 (7:00 PM. ET)
Venue: Bankers Life Field house, Indiana, IN
Last game results
Milwaukee Bucks (8-3): 124-115 win against the Chicago Bulls (Thursday, November 14th, 2019)
Indiana Pacers (7-5): 102-111 loss against the Houston Rockets (Friday, November 15th, 2019)
Milwaukee Bucks Preview
The Milwaukee Bucks are 8-3 to start the season after a 124-115 victory on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls. The Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is once again putting up MVP like numbers as he did last season, scoring 38 points and grabbing 16 rebounds against the Bulls.
The Bucks are on a two-game winning streak and have been road warriors early this season as they are 5-2 away from Milwaukee. They have played seven of their 11 games on the road. They will play their eighth away game Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks will be without their second-leading scorer Khris Middleton for several weeks as he recuperates from a left leg injury.
Key Player - Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo is once again in the conversation to become the MVP of the NBA in 2020. The reigning MVP is averaging a double-double with 30.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. Antetokounmpo is only shooting 29.5 percent from behind the three-point arc but is shooting at an efficient 58 percent from the field overall. One flaw in Antetokounmpo’s game is turnovers, averaging at 4.5 per game but considering he takes 19 field goals a game the Bucks trust the ball in his hands
Bucks predicted lineup
Eric Bledsoe, Donte DiVincenzo, Wesley Matthews, Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Indiana Pacers' Review
The Indiana Pacers were a top-five team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference last season. At the moment, the Pacers are 7-5 this season. On Friday night, they lost 111-102 to the Houston Rockets. The Pacers shot a poor 24 percent from three-point arc in the game and also turned the ball over 17 times,in comparison to just eight from the Rockets. Domantas Sabonis and Doug McDermott led the Pacers with 18 points apiece in the Friday night loss. On Saturday night, the Pacers will face the Bucks at home where they are 5-1 this season.
Key Player - Malcolm Brogdon
Malcolm Brogdon was acquired via free agency this summer by the Indiana Pacers. Brogdon’s insertion into the Pacers’ lineup was necessary as Victor Oladipo has not played for Indiana since his leg injury last season in a game against the Toronto Raptors. Brogdon has been very good for the Indiana Pacers.
In the Pacers' first 11 games, Brogdon was averaging 20.7 points and 8.5 assists per game. He was also averaging over 33 minutes a game. However, Friday night Brogdon was suffering from a sore back and only played nine minutes against the Houston Rockets.
Pacers predicted lineup
Malcolm Brogdon, Aaron Holiday, JaKarr Sampson, T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis
Bucks vs Pacers Match Prediction
The Bucks are playing a lot of road games early and are a good road team at 5-2 already this year. The Bucks are a high powered offensive team and are thrd in the NBA in points per game at 120.3. One major area of weakness for the Bucks is that while they are 4th in the Association in free throw attempts they are 27th in the NBA in free throws made at just 71.9 percent.
The Indiana Pacers are a good home team to this point in the season at 5-1. The Pacers are averaging 108.3 points per game so they may get outscored by the Bucks. However, the Pacers do hold opponents to 104.5 points per game and will need a strong defensive effort Saturday night. It is unclear how severe Malcolm Brogdon’s sore back is and his availability to play Saturday may be in question.
The Bucks are better rested than Indiana and dominate on the road so expect a Bucks victory Saturday night.
Where to watch Bucks vs Pacers?
You can stream the game live online with NBA League Pass. The game can be watched on TV on Fox Sports Indiana, NBA TV, and FSWI.