Milwaukee Bucks

The Cleveland Cavaliers played against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, Lithuanian time, with the Spurs given a -11.5 point advantage before the game. Despite this, the Cavaliers played an excellent game and managed to defy the predictions, taking the victory from San Antonio after overtime. Meanwhile, for the Milwaukee Bucks, this will be their second game in two days, also known as back-to-back. Last night, the Bucks had no trouble defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, represented by Jonas Valančiūnas, with a score of 127-114. The Milwaukee Bucks are currently the hardest team to stop in the league, having won 17 games in a row and boasting a total of 23 wins and only 3 losses. On the other hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in both the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA league. The Cavaliers are ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference, with only 6 wins out of 25 games played.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers will seek to continue their good streak and try, if not to win, at least to put up a decent fight against the strongest team in the Eastern Conference. In the game against the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Love shone and recalled his best times, scoring 30 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Love also made the shot that tied the game at the end of the fourth quarter, sending the teams into overtime. Collin Sexton also played well, adding 28 points to the victory.

An interesting moment was captured in the middle of the third quarter when Cleveland Cavaliers coach Job Beilein and power forward/center Tristan Thompson got into a conflict. The incident occurred when Thompson demonstratively did not fight for the rebound on offense and stayed near the opponents' basket as they ran into a fast break. However, the Cavaliers immediately took the ball and Thompson got the chance to finish the attack from under the basket. When the opposing coach called a timeout, Thompson exchanged words with the team coach and did not appear on the court again. After the game, the Cavaliers coach “jabbed” at Thompson while talking to journalists, mentioning that Larry Nance gives the team as much as Thompson, even though he is a much less paid player.

Cleveland Cavaliers leaders:

Collin Sexton – 17.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, this is the statistic shown by the second-year American. Instability is one of the main problems for this player, as he can play excellently in one game but look like he stepped on the court for the first time in the next. This is understandable, considering that this is only his second season in the league, but there has not been much progress in terms of stability compared to the first season.

Kevin Love – 16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists. Many expected that with LeBron gone, Love would either be the main player of the team or be traded to another team. However, so far, we see neither, and the statistics collected in one of the weakest NBA teams do not look impressive.

Jordan Clarkson – 14.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists. Clarkson was considered one of the more important players of the team before the season started. However, the statistics shown are at best average, and to earn a name in the league, Clarkson will have to try much harder.

The Memphis Grizzlies were defeated last night with a score of 127-114 by the Bucks, who claimed their 17th consecutive victory. They are just 3 wins away from tying the club record (20). Antetokounmpo continues to do whatever he wants, as only a few teams in the league have the potential to stop him. In the game against the Grizzlies, the Greek scored 17 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, deciding the outcome of the game. Khris Middleton added 26 points, while Brook Lopez scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo made only 6 three-pointers out of 53 attempts, but he is showing an improved long-range shot this season. So far, in 24 games played this season, he has made 37 three-pointers out of 116 attempts, which is about a 32% accuracy rate. Often criticized for his poor long-range shooting, Antetokounmpo is proving that he can improve in this area, making him even more unstoppable.

In 26 games played this season, the Bucks lead the league in points scored/allowed ratio, outpacing the closest competitor, the Dallas Mavericks, by 3.5 points. On defense, they allow an average of 101.3 points, while scoring 114.1 points themselves, which is the third-best result in the entire league.

Bucks leaders:

Giannis Antetokounmpo – 31.1 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. An undeniable MVP candidate this season as well, Giannis continues to prove that there are no limits to his improvement, and it's hard to imagine what kind of player he can become if he continues to progress.

Khris Middleton – 18.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists. The second most important Bucks player, who made it to the All-Star game last season, also looks solid this season. Although the statistics may not fully reflect this player's importance to the team, Middleton is undoubtedly one of the team's leaders, and his importance will grow as the playoffs approach.

Eric Bledsoe – 15 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. The American looks great on both ends of the court this season. Bledsoe has never shone with good three-point shooting, but this season he is shooting almost 35% from beyond the arc, which is quite a good result for a player whose strong suit is definitely not long-range shooting.

Prediction

Although it will be the second game in a row for the Milwaukee players, it is hard to expect much resistance from the Cavaliers. Despite the Cleveland team winning away against the Spurs, things look bad in the team, and the conflict between the coach and the player only proved it further. Thompson is one of the team's veterans, whose voice is very important in the locker room, so conflicts with this player can stir up even more trouble in the locker room, making the mood for the next games very doubtful. The Bucks team is on the verge of a historic achievement, and they have looked impressive at home throughout the season. The Cavaliers simply do not have enough weapons to stay in the game with the Bucks, so at some point, the Milwaukee team should pull ahead irreversibly.