Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 12/13/2021

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to watch: NBC Sports Boston, Bally Sports Wisconsin

DraftKings: Celtics -1

BetMGM: Celtics -1.5

Caesars: Celtics -1.5

Bucks: 18-10 (2nd place, Eastern Conference)

Celtics: 13-14 (10th place, Eastern Conference)

Despite playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road, I’m a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks winning their third straight against the Boston Celtics on Monday.

I’m not normally a fan of the traveling SEGABABA for the road team, but we’re making an exception in this one. The Bucks are coming off a 15-point win on Sunday against the New York Knicks. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double of 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Khris Middleton had 24 points on 8 of 17 shooting.

But the Knicks were limited in offense. Julius Randle was held to 8 points and 10 rebounds, and no one was able to come close to the output that Quentin Grimes made in his first start. The guard had 27 points and was the only offensive option.

That’s good news for the Bucks. Overall, it was an easy win for the defending NBA champions against a shorthanded New York team. There’s plenty of energy to go around for the Bucks, who won wire-to-wire against the Knicks, despite the quick trek to Boston.

“We talk a lot about being unselfish and making the right play, having high-IQ guys that are willing to make the right pass,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. “It was a good team effort.”

If it weren’t for the fact the Celtics are coming in on a 3-game losing streak and losses in four of five, I’d be more weary of siding with Boston in this one. But the Celtics also lost to three playoff-caliber teams with two of those games coming by double digits.

Boston is coming off a 21-point loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday in a matchup that was dominated by the Suns’ defense. The Celtics shot 37.6 percent from the floor and made only 4 of 26 from 3-point range. Marcus Smart was held to 1 of 13 shooting and Jayson Tatum (10 of 25) was left to fend for himself.

“It was kind of like a snowball effect,” Tatum said. “One turnover, one miss, it just built and built. Instead of moving on to the next play, we kind of let it carry over. We let our offense affect our defense and then they got rolling.”

Good news for the Celtics is they’re expected to get Jaylen Brown back after missing the last two weeks with a hamstring injury. Brown has played only 13 games and averaged 21.4 points this season. For as talented as Tatum is, he needs some help. Brown will aid in some of that relief.

That said, expect Brown’s minutes to be limited as he gets worked back into the lineup. Boston would love nothing more than to just move full-speed ahead with the roster intact and snap that three-game losing streak, but the Celtics will be dealing with an already stifling perimeter defense that can easily take Tatum out of the game.

Giannis is starting to round into MVP form as of late with two 40-point games in his last five. In his last 10, he’s averaging 27.3 points and 11 rebounds on nearly 60 percent shooting. Not many can stop him, but surely not from Boston. I like Milawukee behind a big game from its MVP to get the job done. Bucks by 8

The Bucks are 16-9 ATS in December games over the past three seasons.

The Bucks are 1-6 ATS in their last seven on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Celtics are 1-6 ATS in their last seven when the opponent scores 100 or more the last game.

The Celtics are 27-17 ATS in their last 44 off a road loss.

PG: Jrue Holiday

SG: Grayson Allen
SF: Khris Middleton
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Bobby Portis

PG: Marcus Smart

SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams III

Bucks: Brook Lopez (back, out), Donte DiVincenzo (ankle, out), Wesley Matthews (COVID, out)

Celtics: Josh Richardson (COVID, out), Bruno Fernando (back, out)