NBA Betting: Are The Milwaukee Bucks Still a Smart Bet to Become NBA Champions?

Milwaukee stunned the NBA by trading for Damian Lillard, making them a very popular bet to win this year’s NBA Championship. While there is no denying that they have one of the best duos in the league, the Bucks have not looked like a Champion through the season’s first few weeks.

Below, we will cover how NBA betting sites view Bucks’ odds to become champions and share what we like and don’t like about the Bucks’ chance to become NBA Champions.

US Sportsbooks still have the Bucks as a top favorite to become the 2023 NBA Champion, despite their shaky start. Bookmakers usually don’t panic early in the season, especially when a team has stars like Damian Lillard and Giannis Antentokounmpo. The decision to keep their odds high is scaring off some bettors, but bookmakers know a change in price could leave them open to a major loss.

The Giannis and Dame combo is something that has the potential to be special. They have yet to truly get comfortable with the pick n’ roll but are doing a ton of damage. These two stars are still feeling each other out, with both getting used to having another superstar on the floor with them. Once they settle in, expect to see this team rattle off a lot of wins.

Another thing we like about this team is that they now have a true closer. Giannis has served that role for the Bucks, but his inability to consistently make threes or even free throws was a problem. It resulted in opponents constantly fouling him late in games, forcing the star to do what he is worst at. With Dame on the floor, that problem no longer exists.

Few players are better at the end of a game than Dame. His ability to sink free throws makes last second comebacks near impossible for opponents. His ability to hit big three-point shots is renowned, giving birth to the idea of “Dame Time.” Milwaukee has lacked a true closer for a long time and still won a lot of games, so we see a lot of wins coming thanks to Dame’s presence.

The Bucks role players are struggling to settle in, but they have a solid bench. Milwaukee has seen former first-round draft pick MarJon Beauchamp take a major step forward in his second season. The loss of Jae Crowder for two months is a major blow, but he will return well before a playoff run begins. His absence will force the rest of the group to step up and hopefully gel before his return.

There are three major concerns we have about this Bucks team. The first is head coach Adrian Griffin. Very few new coaches are brought into situations like Milwaukee, and for good reason. The ability to manage stars and a veteran team is difficult, and it doesn’t like Griffin has a knack for it quite yet. Add that to his preseason fight with former assistant Terry Stotts, and you can understand our doubts.

Our second concern is the Bucks defense. They are twenty-fifth in the league in points allowed per game (119.3). While their offense is good, it wasn’t been enough to overcome embarrassing defensive showings last week. The hope is that the defense will improve as the team gets used to playing together, but it is unlikely they will return to the defensive powerhouse they have been over the last few years.

Our final concern is Khris Middleton. The Bucks star has been their second scoring option for years now, but injuries have caused him to miss many games over the last year. Middleton had another surgery in the offseason, but still seems to be off. That hasn’t helped him fit in to this new-look Bucks team, which has been a big problem for Milwaukee. Middleton is still a crucial part of this team, so we’ll be following his play closely.