NBA Predictions Today – March 30, 2023: Back Bucks at Home Against Celtics

OddsJam’s NBA expert breaks down his top prediction for each day of NBA action this season! Find his pick for today’s slate below.

Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Pick: Bucks -2 | Shop for the Best Odds Below!

7:30 p.m. ET

On Thursday night, we head to Milwaukee for one of the final genuine marquee games of the 2022-2023 NBA regular season.

These teams are developing an incredible rivalry in the modern era, as the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown tandem take on Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. When these teams played on Christmas, the Celtics won by 21 points, and in February, the Bucks won (in overtime) by six.

Personally, I think the February game is more indicative of the skill gap between these two teams, in that there is a very minimal one. I don’t expect a blowout on either side here, even with the Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back and the Celtics coming off of a blowout loss to the Wizards.

As with many Bucks games against contenders, this will come down to the three-point shooting of Milwaukee. Last night, the Bucks took a low number of threes (just 25) but shot 40% on them; a week ago, they took on the Nuggets and took a much more significant 36 threes, while hitting just 25% of them.

The number of threes taken was almost the same, but when they’re hitting, they’re dominant because they’re not wasting possessions. When they’re not hitting, they can get sucked out of games.

With the recent regression from the Celtics and the Bucks coming into Thursday with the best home record in the Eastern Conference (at 30-7), I’m taking the Bucks to win this in a nail-biter. This will likely come down to the final basket (or the final free throws), and the Bucks will win by inches.