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Milwaukee Bucks vs. Washington Wizards Preview: Deja Vu All Over Again

We literally just did this.

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NBA: Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks just lost (badly) to the Washington Wizards. Hopefully, they can avoid a repeat performance tonight.

Where We’re At

For those of you out of the loop, this 9-second audio clip is Bill Simmons remarking that the Bucks are “a mess” and sharing that he has heard (invented?) rumors surrounding the team, including weird stories about chemistry. The amount of digital ink that was spilled in the last 24 hours will contain all the speculation and conjecture you can choke down, but for the time being we can assume this much: the Bucks are playing poorly, and they are not happy about it.

Same, Bucks. Same. Tonight, the team is still expecting to miss Khris Middleton, but should see a return from George Hill (yay.), Jrue Holiday (hooray!), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (OH THANK HEAVENS!).

As for the Wizards, they just kicked the crap out of Milwaukee so it can’t be said that they’re in dire straits, but when their current trajectory has them getting back into the play-in picture, it’s not like Washington is contending for a title presently. They have, with their most recent win over the Bucks, won five straight, so it’s possible that they’re figuring some things out. For tonight, though, it’s likely that the Wizards will miss Taj Gibson and another game from Bradley Beal, their ostensible superstar.

Player To Watch

Milwaukee routinely out-sizes opponents in the front court; with Giannis, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis as your main trio, it’s hard to counter that sort of skilled size. However, Washington forward Kristaps Porzingis – who recently was awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors – has logged four straight games of scoring at or above his average (22 points), so it will be worth watching how the Bucks respond to his stretch of positive play.



Poll

Game 37: Against Washington, the Bucks will...

This poll is closed

  • 54%
    Win big (by 10 or more points)
    (59 votes)
  • 30%
    Win close (by 9 or fewer points)
    (33 votes)
  • 10%
    Lose close (by 9 or fewer points)
    (11 votes)
  • 4%
    Lose big (by 10 or more points)
    (5 votes)
108 votes total Vote Now

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