Bucks vs Trail Blazers: Injury Updates, Team News, Match Preview & Predictions

Fixture: Milwaukee Bucks vs Portland Trail Blazers

When: Thursday, November 21, 2019 8:00 PM EST (Friday 1:00 pm GMT)

Where: Fiserv forum, Milwaukee

 Preview-

Milwaukee Bucks sit second in the Eastern Conference while the Trail Blazers sit third from bottom in the Western Conference.

This will be the second of back to back games for Bucks. Their 135-127 against Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday means that they have now won five games in a row and nine of the last ten games. In their first 13 games of the season now, Giannis Antetokounmpo has led the team in rebounding all of the matches, 11 times in scoring and eight times in assists. This is the kind of influence that Giannis had in the Bucks standing second in the Eastern conference. Similar stats also reflect in the overall team.  Milwaukee rank second in the NBA in scoring and first in rebounding.

The Bucks can take confidence from the fact that they have won six of the last eight games against the Trail Blazers.

Portland are in the middle of a six-game trip that has so far featured losses to the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans, and a win over the San Antonio Spurs. The trip ends with games at Cleveland and Chicago, after Thursday’s game against the Bucks. The 115-104 to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night was eighth loss in the last 10 games for the Trail Blazers. The game saw a much anticipated debut by Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 10 points, four rebounds and five turnovers in 24 minutes.

Injury updates and team news-

Damian Lillard had missed his first game this season on Tuesday due to back problems, and he is expected to sit out on Thursday as well. Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic are also expected to be out for the Trail Blazers while Anfernee Simons and Hassan Whitesideare questionable.

As for the Bucks, Khris Middleton is listed as out with a left thigh contusion.

Predictions-

Going by the record so far, the Trail Blazers winning against the Bucks look highly unlikely.