Milwaukee Bucks vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, Player Props & Odds (Jan. 31)

• The Milwaukee Bucks continue their western road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night
• This will make Damian Lillard’s first game back in Portland since this summer’s blockbuster trade that sent him to Milwaukee
• See the Bucks vs Trail Blazers odds, player props, picks, and predictions on Jan. 31

After a disappointing 113-107 setback at Denver on Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks (32-15, 11-10 away, 18-28-1 ATS) continue their five-game western road trip on Wednesday night when they meet the Portland Trail Blazers (14-33, 8-13 home, 22-25 ATS) at the Moda Center at 7:10 pm PT/10:10 pm ET.

In Damian Lillard’s first game back in Portland, his Bucks come in as massive 10.5-point road favorites over the struggling Blazers, who are second-last in the Western Conference and sit nine games back of the final Play-In Tournament position.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Portland Trail Blazers Odds

Wednesday’s NBA odds also list Milwaukee as a short -550 favorite on the moneyline. The Blazers come back at +410. The NBA public betting splits show the vast majority of money one the Bucks to win straight-up (99% of moneyline handle) and also to cover the double-digit spread on the road (69% of ATS handle).

Note that the public is just 318-342-24 ATS on the season and 30-49 over the past ten days.

Odds as of Jan. 31 on the FanDuel app. New customers can claim a FanDuel promo code to wager on Bucks vs Blazers tonight. 

Alongside Boston and Denver, Milwaukee (+464) remains one of the top-three favorites in the NBA championship odds.  Though, after starting the season as the second-favorite in the NBA MVP odds, Giannis Antetokounmpo has faded to fourth at +933, well ack of favorite Joel Embiid (+117).

Bucks Drop Road Trip Opener at Nuggets

Suffering their second loss in the last three games, the Bucks dropped a 113-107 decision to the reigning-champion Denver Nuggets on Monday, despite a 29-point, 12-rebound performance from Giannis. The Bucks defense played reasonably well, limiting Denver to 48.4% shooting from the field and 22.2% from three. But their own offense only managed to hit at a 42.9% clip from the floor. They had a negative margin in both rebounding (-7) and turnovers (-4).

Overall, the Bucks are still among the league leaders in offensive rating (120.1, third). Their defense has taken a dramatic decline from recent seasons, though. They sit just 19th in the league at 116.3. They have finished each of the last five seasons among the top-ten in D-Rating, finishing fourth in the category just last year (110.9).

While some defensive decline was expected when Jrue Holiday was replaced with Damian Lillard, no one was expecting a defense anchored by Giannis, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis to be in the bottom-half of the league. Portis is the only member of the trio still relevant in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds.

Blazers Dust Aside Shorthanded 76ers

The injury gods finally handed the Blazers a break on Monday. The hard-hit team had the luxury of facing the Philadelphia 76ers without both Joel Embiid – the favorite in the NBA MVP odds – and Tyrese Maxey, their two leading scorers.

Portland took full advantage, running away with a 130-104 victory on the strength of a 24-point, nine-assists, five-rebound night from point guard and former Buck Malcolm Brogdon.

Jerami Grant added 27 points while going 7-of-13 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the stripe.

The win over Philly improved Portland’s record to 4-4 straight-up in its past eight and 6-3 ATS in its past nine. The Blazers remain among the worst teams in the NBA in terms of point differential (-8.4, 26th) and Net Rating (-8.4, 27th), though.

MIL vs POR Player Props

Player props from the DraftKings Sportsbook app. 

Giannis has a game-high point total of 30.5, half a point below his season average of 31.0 PPG. He also has the highest rebound total on the board at 11.5, which is almost exactly on his season average of 11.7 RPG.

Anfernee Simons (22.8 PPG) has the highest point total among the Blazers at 22.5. The 24-year-old has stayed under that number in two straight and five of his past seven.

Bucks vs Trail Blazers Prediction

I firmly believe the Blazers have the pieces in place to contend for a playoff spot next year. They have been hit hard by injuries this season which has kept them from finding a rhythm and building any sort of momentum. But they have flashed their potential at times, recording road wins over Indiana, Cleveland, Brooklyn, and Houston, plus home victories over Utah, Phoenix, and Sacramento.

Last time out, they had the benefit of facing a Sixers team without its two best players, but they were still impressive in the circumstances, overcoming an eight-point first-quarter deficit to rout Philly 130-104.

With Dame back in the building, this is going to be as close to a playoff atmosphere as the Blazers will get this season, and +420 is the right price to take a shot on the home underdog.

MIL vs POR pick: Blazers moneyline (+420)