The road-weary Milwaukee Bucks are in Charlotte to take on the Hornets tonight, hoping to snap a four-game losing slide.
Milwaukee is still a 9-point road favorite despite some health concerns with its star players, as Charlotte still lacks LaMelo Ball.
My Bucks vs. Hornets predictions and NBA picks have the road team beating up on a squad that’s lost without its star player on Wednesday, February 5.
Bucks vs Hornets prediction
My best bet
Bucks -9 (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
The Milwaukee Bucks are nearly done with a stretch of playing seven road games in eight starts and it hasn’t gone so well, with just one win to show in the first six.
The last one was hardly Milwaukee’s finest on the court, as Doc Rivers sat virtually every player of importance in an NBA Cup rematch with the OKC Thunder. The results were about what you’d expect as OKC pummeled the Bucks’ backups, 125-96.
But defense has been an ongoing issue for Milwaukee during this slide, as they’ve allowed a whopping 127.2 points per game, with opponents shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range.
There should be a more professional looking lineup Wednesday, with Khris Middleton (ankle), Brook Lopez (back) and Bobby Portis (personal) all probable. However, Milwaukee’s two main pieces, Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Damian Lillard (groin), are still listed as questionable.
It might not matter, as the Charlotte Hornets have been a get-right team all year, and even more so now since LaMelo Ball has been sidelined with an ankle injury that won’t be re-evaluated until next week. They just lost their fifth straight without him, getting dumped by the NBA-worst Washington Wizards, 124-114.
The 114 points was just the second time in 16 games minus LaMelo that the Hornets scored more than 110 points — and that was against the NBA’s worst scoring defense. Charlotte is barely breaking 100 points without their star guard.
Charlotte does have a win against the Bucks this year, a 115-114 decision way back on November 16, but Milwaukee has otherwise owned this head-to-head, winning six of the last seven with four of them coming by double-digits.
Assuming one of Giannis or Dame plays, they should anchor an offense that can put up enough points to cover against a team that ranks 28th in scoring in the NBA — a mark that's even worse without LaMelo Ball.
Bucks vs Hornets same-game parlay
Bucks -9
Giannis Antetokounmpo Under 31.5 points
Damian Lillard Under 3.5 made 3-pointers
Giannis is second in the league in scoring at 31.8 points per game and had hit the 30-point plateau in eight of his last 10, topping his 31.5 scoring line seven times. But he hasn’t really gone nuclear against the Hornets. Save for last game, when he had 32 points, Giannis has gone Under that figure in eight of his previous nine vs. Charlotte.
Lillard enters having hit three or fewer triples in four of his last five, including a 2-for-8 mark from distance in a loss to the Grizzlies.
Charlotte’s offense is a mess but they’re not a bad defensive unit, and one thing they’re great at is defending the arc, holding teams to 34.3% from 3-point range. That’s tied with the Clippers for the third-best rate in the league.
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Bucks vs Hornets odds
Bucks vs Hornets live odds
Bucks vs Hornets opening odds
- Spread: Milwaukee -9 | Charlotte +9
- Moneyline: Milwaukee -350 | Charlotte +287
- Over/Under: Over 218.5 | Under 218.5
Odds courtesy of bet365
Bucks vs Hornets spread and Over/Under analysis
- Milwaukee is 4-2-0 against the spread in its last six against Charlotte.
- The Hornets are 3-4-1 ATS over their last eight.
- The Bucks have cashed the Over in four of the last six.
- Charlotte has gone Under the total in five of their last seven.
Bucks vs Hornets trend
Charlotte has lost 15 of its last 16 games against teams with a winning record. Find more NBA betting trends for Bucks vs. Hornets.
How to watch Bucks vs Hornets
| Location | Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC |
| Date | Wednesday, 2-5-2025 |
| Tip-off | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | FDSN |
Bucks vs Hornets latest injuries
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