Celtics vs Bucks Prediction, Odds, Pick Today | NBA Betting Preview (Tuesday, April 9)

Here's everything you need to know about Celtics vs. Bucks on Tuesday, April 9 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today's game.

The Celtics will travel to Milwaukee to take on a Bucks team in disarray. Can the Bucks earn a much-needed win, or will the Celtics overwhelm them?

Let's dig into the NBA odds and make a Celtics vs. Bucks pick.

The Celtics have nothing to play for here considering they have locked up the Eastern Conference 1-seed. They have simply been trying to stay healthy for the playoffs for the last month, and there is little incentive to put stuff on tape against the 2-seed Bucks since there is a real possibility these teams see each other in the playoffs.

As of Monday night, Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis are the only Celtics listed on the injury report, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see more names pop up on the injury report tomorrow.

If you're looking for a bull case for the Celtics, there may be some motivation to get revenge; the last time they traveled to Milwaukee they got embarrassed in a 33-point blowout loss. Schematically, I’d expect the Celtics to struggle to get stops against the size of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez if Porziņģis and Horford do sit.

The Bucks have much more motivation to win this one since they have completely fallen off the past two weeks, going 1-6 over their last seven games against mostly bad competition. They now have a legitimate chance to lose the 2-seed with the Magic, Knicks and Cavs creeping up on them.

Milwaukee should also be motivated to win this one so it can develop some chemistry before the playoffs. If the Celtics bigs sit this one out, we should expect Antetokounmpo to dominate.

I’ll be backing the Bucks at -1 here, as they have a clear motivation edge over the Celtics. Boston has absolutely no incentive to put complex offensive sets and actions on tape against a potential playoff opponent with the 1-seed locked up. Milwaukee, meanwhile, needs to win to avoid dropping in the standings and to prove to itself that it is still a good team.

I think this line should be closer to -3 when you consider all of those factors, so I will gladly take -1 here.

Pick: Bucks -1

The must-have app for NBA bettors

The best NBA betting scoreboard

Free picks from proven pros

Live win probabilities for your bets

DOWNLOAD NOW