Cleveland Cavaliers vs Milwaukee Bucks Prediction: Can the exhausted Cavs tackle well-rested Bucks?

The NBA schedule is relentless. Hundreds of players, coaching staff, and team-related people move here and there daily and the movement can take a toll. After traveling, you have a game to play and when the game is up and down for more than two hours, it is surely an exhausting practice. Then many times, you are asked to play two games on consecutive nights. Cleveland Cavaliers face a similar prospect as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Cavaliers come into the game after losing 114:120 against a Warriors team that was missing Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green. They have now lost two in a row and have in an extended window, they have lost five out of eight games. Thanks to some solid play earlier, they have now won 28 and lost 19 games. The Cavs have been without Donovan Mitchell for the last couple of games and without him, they have five losses and just two wins.

Their defense is one of the best, thanks to a physical frontline of Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Jarrett Allen. Darius Garland has picked up the scoring in absence of Mitchell, regularly scoring 20+ points and dishing around 10 assists. Caris LeVert has improved his play whereas the bench with Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and LaMar Stevens has been decent, but nothing that wins games regularly. Overall, Cavs need Mitchell around to be more effective.

The Bucks come into this contest after beating the Raptors 130:122 as Jrue Holiday had 37 points. Holiday has scored 35 or more in two straight games as the team has played without their all-around leader Giannis Antetokounmpo for around four games. Thus, Holiday has been the scoring leader and has also continued his amazing playmaking and defensive play. Thanks to their deep core, the Bucks have acquired 29 wins and 16 losses but that is also due to a strong nine wins and zero-loss start.

The Bucks’ size allow them to be among top-rebounding teams, especially when Giannis is active. However, it is not just about him as Bobby Portis is having another fantastic season, enabling Bucks to regularly to get 45+ rebounds. They are solid defensively and it is tough to score in paint against them due to the size of Brook Lopez, Giannis, and a solid perimeter defense that can extend to the paint. Overall, the Bucks’ prospects look great.

• Cavaliers: OUT: Ricky Rubio, Dean Wade, Dylan Windler. Game-Time Decision: Donovan Mitchell;
• Bucks: OUT: Khris Middleton, Serge Ibaka. Game-Time Decision: Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Bucks will come into this game after a big rest and that also means more time for Giannis to recover. On the other hand, the Cavs played last night and took a beating by a shorthanded team. However, they themselves were missing their Ace Donovan Mitchell. This one isn’t easy to predict and a lot depends upon the availability of Giannis and Mitchell. I’d predict a scoring range of 229-236 and the Bucks to come on top.