Milwaukee Bucks vs Denver Nuggets Prediction: Exhausted but amped-up Nuggets take on gritty Bucks

The NBA Regular Season has officially entered the trade category and we will see intense shuffling of rosters in the coming 15 days. We have already seen Los Angeles Lakers’ ac quisition of Rui Hachimura and things are set to heat up even more. Anyway, in this NBA Regular Season game, the Milwaukee Bucks are going to face off against the Denver Nuggets.

The Bucks enter the affair after defeating the lowly Pistons 150:130 in one of the most balanced scoring efforts for the team. The Bucks have won three of their last four games but in an extended window, they have just eight wins and nine losses, mostly because their Ace Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a bunch of games. Overall, they have a strong record of 30 wins and 17 losses, thanks to a nine wins and zero losses start.

Having already won a championship with the core Holiday, Giannis, Middleton, Portis, Connaughton, and Lopez, the expectations are high from the squad. They have one of the most solid defenses in the league, especially when Giannis is playing. They have the fifth-best defensive rating and when the Playoffs arrive, their defensive rating goes up even further. The team has title aspirations and they have gelled core to do that.

The Nuggets enter the game after beating the Pelicans 99:98 behind a triple-double by Nikola Jokic who also made the game-winning shot with 16 seconds on the clock. This win came after the team had lost a one-point battle against the Thunder. Denver has been the headliner of the league and has accumulated ten wins in their last eleven games. These performances have put them on top of the West with an impressive 34 wins and 14 losses.

Of course, the major enforcer is Nikola Jokic and he has a methodical approach based on producing efficient and patient offense. The return of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray gives him much more help than he had last season while adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown have brought glory. The frontline is further bolstered by Aaron Gordon and the trio of Porter Jr, Gordon, and Jokic is too much to handle. The team has taken their defense to next level and there is no stopping this well-constructed squad.

• Bucks: OUT: Bobby Portis, Serge Ibaka. Game-Time Decision: MarJon Beauchamp;
• Nuggets: OUT: Collin Gillespie. Game-Time Decisions: Michael Porter Jr, Bones Hyland.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Giannis Antetokounmpo(30-36 Points), Nikola Jokic(24-29 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Giannis Antetokounmpo(12-16 Rebounds), Nikola Jokic(11-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakes: Nikola Jokic(8-11 Assists), Jrue Holiday(7-9 Assists).

The Nuggets played last night and had to fight till the last seconds to register a win so they will be cooked as this will be their second game on the second night and that too away from home. The Bucks have the home-court advantage and are well-rested plus getting Giannis is always a huge boost. It will be interesting to see how they respond here against the Jokic-led squad. I see a close game but ultimately Bucks swinging it their way in the last quarter. I predict a scoreline of 117:110 in the Bucks’ favor.