Time for another road game against the Eastern Conference!  If recent history is correct, that means you should now prepare for an evening of swearing, facepalms, and muttered imprecations.  The one saving grace is the Bucks aren’t actually that bad this year and sport a winning record, which means . . . the Pelicans might win!  If the Bucks had last years terrible record, this would be an easy loss to predict.  But wait, the Bucks have only managed 3 wins since the All-Star break and the trading of Brandon Knight.  That’s bad, we lose to teams on losing streaks . . .

Sigh, we love a perverse team, don’t we?

Injury notes: The Bucks are without Jabari Parker, OJ Mayo and Damien Ingles for this game.  The Pelicans remain without Anderson and Holiday.

Keys to the Game

• Crush them on the Boards.  The Bucks are terrible on the glass.  Even with Carter-Williams, who is a good rebounding guard, they are bottom five in the league.  The Pelicans are good rebounders and need to make this a point of dominance.
• Protect the damn ball.  Seriously.  The Pelicans used to be in the top five at turnover rate.  Since Jrue went down – they have fallen precipitously.  The Bucks are the second best team in the league at forcing turnovers due to all the length they have with Antetokounpo, Henson, Middleton and now Carter-Williams.  Those little spaces won’t be open.  Pass intelligently.
• Attack the ball!  Seriously.  The Bucks turn the ball over at the same rate they rob it.  They can be forced into bad decisions – and the Pelicans, who do not tend to get steals, should try to turn the Bucks over for easy shots.  The Bucks have a great half-court offense.  Getting steals will negate that strength.

Enjoy the Game!

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