Betting Odds: Milwaukee Bucks at Washington Wizards Spread: Bucks -1.5 Over/Under: 226.5 Time: 7 p.m. ET >> All odds as of 6 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NBA odds and track your bets Update at 5:45 p.m. ET: Giannis has been ruled out tonight. Eric Bledsoe, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova are available to play. Right around noon ET on Friday, the Bucks released their injury report, which included several players: Giannis Antetokounmpo (quad, hip) was downgraded to doubtful, Eric Bledsoe (hamstring) and D.J. Wilson (hip) are both questionable while Ersan Ilyasova (quad) is probable. Giannis is obviously the big news here, and the betting market almost immediately reacted to the news. This game opened at Bucks -7.5 on the road and now sits at -2. According to Sports Insights, bettors hammered the Wizards right after the news, immediately forcing it down to Bucks -2.5. As you can see, it did move back to Bucks -3 briefly before another Steam Move pushed it to its current number of -2. The over/under has seen similar movement, with the under getting hit hard after the Giannis news, pushing it from 231 at open to 226.5 as of writing (see live odds here). Betting Impact The line movement indicates Giannis is worth about 5.5 points to the spread, which is about what you’d expect from the current MVP frontrunner. His on/off court numbers are a little odd, however. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Bucks have been “just” 2.8 points per 100 possessions better with him on vs. off this season — in the 65th percentile of players. For reference, he was in the 91st percentile last season with a +9.4 on/off differential. That might suggest that the Bucks are deep enough to overcome Giannis’ absence for a single game — although, as we covered above, much of the rest of the team is also on the injury report. The majority of bets (66%) and money (56%) are still on the Bucks, likely because the Wizards have been the most disappointing team to wager on this season. Washington’s 17-25 against-the-spread record is worst in the league, and they’re just 7-13 ATS as underdogs. Fantasy Impact Here’s the fantasy news blurb from our FantasyLabs page: Khris Middleton has seen a massive 9.1% usage bump with Antetokounmpo off the court this season, resulting in an average of 1.29 DraftKings points per minute. He should become a cash-game staple if Antetokounmpo is ultimately ruled out against a Wizards team that ranks 27th in defensive efficiency. Malcolm Brogdon would also see a bump with Antetokounmpo out of the lineup. He’s averaged a FantasyLabs’ Plus/Minus of +3.1 on DraftKings in two games without his star teammate this season. Right now, three Bucks players — Ilyasova, Brogdon and Middleton — lead the entire slate in Projected Plus/Minus (our proprietary metric indicating daily fantasy value). Of course, we’ll still have to monitor the statuses of the questionable players, so follow our twitter feed and check our NBA models for instant updates on projections. One other place to get action on this news — especially if you missed the spread and total before they moved — is in the props market. Middleton has a points over/under of 20.5 currently, and we’re projecting him above 23. According to our NBA On/Off tool, he’s averaging 28.0 points per 36 minutes with Giannis off the court this year and 30.3 when both Giannis and Bledsoe are absent.<doc-sep>Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely be held out of Friday night’s road game against the Washington Wizards due to quadriceps soreness and a hip contusion, according to a report from Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Wizards. — Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) January 11, 2019 This is unfortunate news for Bucks fans, as Antetokounmpo is coming off of one of the best games of his career. “The Greek Freak,” as he’s come to be known, logged 37 minutes in Wednesday night’s 116-109 victory over the Houston Rockets, scoring 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, a career-high 21 rebounds, five assists and one steal. “All I care about is winning,” Antetokounmpo told ESPN after Wednesday’s game. “I know by winning and doing whatever it takes to help your teammates and leaving everything out on the floor everything will take care of itself, the titles and all that.” If Giannis is indeed ruled out for Friday’s game, veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova will likely see an uptick in his usage rate. Ilyasova scored 10 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday’s win. In his 38 appearances with the Bucks this season, Antetokounmpo has racked up averages of 26.6 points on 58.1 percent shooting from the field, 12.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in 33.6 minutes per outing. The Bucks, who have won eight of their last nine games, will continue their three-game road trip with Friday’s game in D.C. Tip-off inside Capital One Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.<doc-sep>Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images The Milwaukee Bucks will be without star Giannis Antetokounmpo for Friday's game against the Washington Wizards. According to Matt Velazquez of the Journal-Sentinel, Antetokounmpo was listed on the NBA's injury report with right quad soreness and a left hip contusion. Velazquez noted head coach Mike Budenholzer said the primary playmaker won't play with an injury that has been lingering for a couple of games. Antetokounmpo is among the top contenders for the 2019 Most Valuable Player Award, having taken his game to another level. Through 38 games, he's averaging 26.6 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Antetokounmpo's importance to the Bucks is obvious. With him healthy, Milwaukee is a serious threat to win the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1974. Take the two-time All-Star out of the equation, and the Bucks are a bottom four playoff team. As long as Antetokounmpo's injury isn't too serious, the Bucks don't need to go into panic mode. According to NBA.com, they've had a 6.5 net rating so far when he was on the bench. Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Malcolm Brogdon and Eric Bledsoe are all enjoying productive seasons, and the addition of George Hill shored up Milwaukee's backcourt. As long as Antetokounmpo is back on the court relatively quickly, the Bucks should be able to weather his absence. Zach Lowe was the guest on the latest edition of The Full 48 podcast and spoke about Antetokounmpo, the Bucks and much more. To hear the Bucks discussion, jump to 34:07.<doc-sep>Coming off wins over the Thunder and Sixers already this week, the Wizards will host the Bucks on Friday night. Milwaukee owns the best record in the NBA at 29-11 and will certainly present a challenge. This will be the first of three matchups between the two teams. The Wizards and Bucks split the season series last season. Game Info Capital One Arena | 7:00 P.M. | NBC Sports Washington | 1500 AM Probable Starters Wizards: G – Tomas Satoransky, G – Bradley Beal, F – Trevor Ariza, F – Jeff Green, C – Thomas Bryant Bucks: G – Eric Bledsoe, G – Malcolm Brogdon, F – Khris Middleton, F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, C – Brook Lopez Injury Report Wizards: Dwight Howard (aggravated gluteal soreness – out), John Wall (left heel soreness – out), Markieff Morris (transient cervical neuropraxia – out) Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (right quad/left hip – doubtful), Donte DiVincenzo (left heel – doubtful), Eric Bledsoe (left hamstring – questionable), D.J. Wilson (left hip – questionable), Christian Wood (right ankle – questionable), Ersan Ilyasova (left quad – probable) Storylines Wizards competing during tough stretch In what is arguably the toughest month this season, the Wizards have gone 3-2 in January. With wins over the Thunder in OKC and at home against the Sixers in the past several days, the Wizards are putting it together at the right time. Dating back to 2018, the Wizards have won four of their last six games. The Wizards are ninth in the NBA in net rating this month, outscoring opponents by 5.4 points per 100 possessions. If you take away the team’s blowout loss in Philadelphia, the team would rank even higher. Bradley Beal ranks eighth in the NBA this month in scoring, averaging 28.8 points per game to go along with 5.2 assists per game, 47.7% overall shooting, and 39.6% from beyond the arc. Otto Porter Jr. has stepped up since coming back from injury, scoring 20 and 23 points respectively in the wins over the Thunder and Sixers. Washington will begin a stretch of games against Milwaukee, Toronto, Golden State, San Antonio, and Indiana during the rest of the month. Balanced Bucks Led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo (26.6 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 6.0 APG), the Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Stopping Antetokounmpo is always the key to beating them, but the Greek Freak will likely miss Friday's game. All five Bucks starters average 12.2 points per game or more per game, with Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and Eric Bledsoe all border-line All-Stars. Brook Lopez can hit stepback 3-pointers now too, providing the spacing that Mike Budenholzer’s team thrives on. Milwaukee has won 11 of its last 13 games dating back to December 14, with a 14-point average margin of victory in those 11 wins. The Bucks are the only team in the NBA to be inside the top five of both offensive (3rd, 111.1) and defensive (4th, 102.5) rating this season. Milwaukee’s net rating of 8.6 is also the best mark in the league.Milwaukee has taken on the Houston shooting chart, focusing on 3-pointers and points in the paint. The Bucks shoot 38.6 triples per game, second in the league, and also make 47.8% of their field goal attempts, fourth in the NBA. They also rank in the top three in defensive and overall rebounding percentage, leading the NBA in rebounds per game at 49.4. Wizards at home The Wizards continue to be one of the league’s best teams at home during the past few months, winning nine of their last 11 games at Capital One Arena. During those 11 games, the Wizards are scoring 115.2 points per 100 possessions and giving up 5.6 points per 100 possessions less at home than on the road. Thomas Bryant, Sam Dekker, Otto Porter Jr., Chasson Randle, Troy Brown Jr., Tomas Satoransky, Bradley Beal, and Jeff Green are all shooting 47% or better at home this season. The Bucks are 10-7 on the road this season, with both their offensive and defensive efficiencies down from when they play at home. Considering they’re 19-4 at home this season, that would make sense. Milwaukee still ranks second in the NBA on the road with a 4.3 net rating, and the team is coming off a big win in Houston on Wednesday night.<doc-sep>
Matt Velazquez Milwaukee Journal Sentinel WASHINGTON - Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for Friday's 6 p.m. matchup with the Washington Wizards due to right quadriceps soreness and a left hip contusion. "He got hit a few games ago and we've kind of been managing it," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He just can't go tonight." This marks Antetokounmpo's third absence during the first half of the season. He was sidelined against the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 29 while in the concussion protocol then sat out a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 10 due to neck soreness. Outside of Antetokounmpo, only rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo (left bilateral heel bursitis) is officially out for Friday's game despite a lengthy injury report. Point guard Eric Bledsoe was questionable with left hamstring soreness, but was cleared to play. Forwards D.J. Wilson (left hip pointer) and Christian Wood (right ankle sprain) were upgraded to being available after each missing multiple games. Antetokounmpo has been one of the NBA's top players all season, averaging 26.6 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while dominating the interior, shooting 64.7 percent on two-point shots. He's a favorite for the league's MVP award and ranks first in the Eastern Conference in fan voting for the All-Star Game. Bledsoe freelancing The plan Wednesday night in Houston was always for the Bucks to keep their hands high and shade James Harden's left side in an effort to limit fouls and three-pointers while also tempting him to go right. Bledsoe exaggerated that defensive plan, sidling up to Harden and playing parallel to him on his left side, inviting him to drive the lane into the thicket of bigs Milwaukee had waiting. It was an exaggeration that wasn't exactly part of the game plan, but one that Budenholzer welcomed because of the trust he has in Bledsoe, particularly his defensive acumen. “Eric is just so talented defensively, so gifted defensively," Budenholzer said. "He has a little more rope, probably than any player I’ve ever coached defensively. So he has a knack, he’s so athletic and strong and fast. He can get to spots from unique positioning. He exaggerated a little bit and it was good for us.” Milwaukee's other guards followed Bledsoe's lead when defending Harden, who finished with 42 points on 30 shots over 41 minutes. The Rockets were only plus-two points in Harden's minutes, though, with the Bucks capitalizing when the reigning MVP was on the bench. Budenholzer thinks players adopting Bledsoe's style against Harden wasn't totally organic, surmising there were some player-to-player conversations before the game. To him, that's a good thing. “That’s what's great about the team. I think there’s a high level of communication, a high level of trust," Budenholzer said. "I think they take what the coaching staff and all of us give them and they’re trying to figure out how they can make it even better.”