This should be a fun night of hoops for the Tuesday night doubleheader on TNT for the second week in a row.

Last week, the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks battled for the first game of the doubleheader and it ended with the Mavericks winning 116-113 as the game came down to the wire in a fun matchup. Following that thriller, The Los Angeles Clippers narrowly overcame the Trail Blazers in Portland 118-112.

The matchups this week could match that excitement when the Warriors take on the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee. Following that battle of titans, the Los Angeles Lakers will look to keep improving, but they will have to do so against the dominant Boston Celtics.

Let’s dive into each game.

Golden State Warriors vs Milwaukee Bucks

Tuesday, 10/25 at 5:30pm MST on TNT in Milwaukee

This could be one of the best games of the season if both teams bring their best to Milwaukee in a battle between the Warriors and Bucks.

The Bucks are just smothering on defense. Yes, there are some fair concerns about their offensive execution and process, but with a defense that good, it is not a surprise in any way that the Bucks are tied for the least amount of losses in the league thus far and sit just behind the Celtics in the standings league-wide and in the Eastern Conference. With two legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidates in Brook Lopes and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Oh, and the Bucks are just getting scarier and scarier now that Kris Middleton has returned from his long stint on the injury report. Yes, there is a lot of rust for Middleton to work through and sand down, but simply having him on the court to allow Giannis Antetokounmpo to slide back into a screening role from time to time to allow for more pressure on the rim and easy kick-out passes to open shooters. In layman's terms, Middleton puts the rest of the Bucks rotation into their correct spots. He perfectly combines the Bucks roster and makes it make sense on both ends of the court.

That could create problems for an improving Warriors team that relies so heavily on their scoring output this season as their defense comes and goes. Still, while the Warriors have the capability to try and just outscore the Bucks, the more realistic path to a win for the Warriors would be to inject defense into their game.

When Golden State defends, they win. In losses, the Warriors have a defensive rating of 119.7 which is outright atrocious, but in their wins, their defensive rating is a whopping 14.1 points better at 105.6 which is an elite figure and would lead the league this season.

Either way, this game has the makings of a truly spectacular battle between two powerhouse organizations of this era of NBA basketball.

DraftKings Odds

  • The Bucks are entering the game as four-point favorites, but the good value here might be taking the Warriors +150 money line via DraftKings Sportsbook instead despite them being on the road against an elite team like the Bucks. There is just not much room to profit betting on a homeport favorite against a team like Golden State that could win any given night.
  • While the Bucks and the Warriors can score in bunches, the over/under being 233.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook seems incredibly high for two teams that secure wins with strong defensive performances. Plus, the Warriors trying to score on the most dominant defense in the league is not an easy ask. That under looks like a good bet.

Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers

Tuesday, 10/25 at 8pm MST on TNT in Los Angeles

Well, even with the Lakers playing better as of late, taking on the Celtics is going to be quite the difficult obstacle standing between the Lakers and inching closer to a .500 record.

The Lakers are slowly finding their way towards playing better basketball. At no point does Los Angeles make it look easy, but the dominant play of Anthony Davis in recent weeks paired with a a slightly improved Russell Westbrook off the bench has given the Lakers the required offensive punch around LeBron James. Davis, over his last eight games, is averaging 30.3 points on 66.9% from the field to go with 12.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 blocks per outing. His impact has been terrific on both ends which is necessary for Los Angeles to win with any regularity.

Overall, the Lakers are the 21st-ranked team using net rating (-1.2), but in their last ten games, they have jumped up to 10th in net rating (+2.2) thanks to a nearly seven-point jump in offensive rating from 110.6 on the season to 117.3 over their last ten games. That 117.3 offensive rating is third-best over that 10-game stretch.

Even with the Lakers grabbing six wins in their last ten games, they largely came against inferior opponents such as two wins over the San Antonio Spurs as well as wins over the Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, and the middling Portland Trail Blazers. Taking on a team like the Celtics is another challenge entirely.

The Celtics lead the league in net rating (+7.2), offensive rating (118.4), and they are tenth in defensive rating (111.2). In more simple terms, the have the best record in the NBA at 21-7 and they have arguably the best player in the league who is also set to win the new Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player trophy in Jayson Tatum all while being the best offense and a top-ten defense. That is a whole other swath of problems to deal with for the Lakers who desperately need to grab every win they can. The Celtics will be without Robert Williams on though which should help the Lakers.

DraftKings Odds

  • I just do not understand how the Lakers are only 3.5 point underdogs against the Celtics. Even with their improved play, the emergence of Davis as the Lakers best player, and everything else working better for Los Angeles, the Celtics are just too dominant for me not to hammer them -3.5 as road favorites as they are currently sitting according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
  • Jayson Tatum has been every part of the Most Valuable Player this season so far which is why he has the highest odds to win the award at +260 according to DraftKings Sportsbook.