Boston at Milwaukee -3.5 O/U 200 
Recommendation: Milwaukee

Milwaukee is on a roll right now: 7-1 SU, 8-0 ATS in its last eight ballgames. They were positively buoyed by the acquisition of Monta Ellis at the trading deadline, giving Scott Skiles exactly what he needed to get this team into the playoffs – a good crunch time scorer.

The Bucks won by 22 on the road at Golden State in his first game with the team, then won by 29 at Portland. Ellis: “Coaches, everybody was phenomenal. I think it made it smooth for me. It’s great man, it’s even better to be out there on the floor with those guys sharing the ball. We’ve got a lot of guys who can hit shots and make plays … I think we’re going to get (in the playoffs) if we keep playing the way we did.”

The Bucks are averaging 113 points per game during their current winning streak. They’ve dished at least 30 assists in each of their last four games. The last time to have 30+ assists in five straight games? Orlando’s NBA Finals team in 1995! Head coach Scott Skiles: “We’ve had a (great) stretch here where we’ve scored the ball. One of the reasons we got Monta was to add another scorer out there late in the game.” With the Bucks scrambling to make the playoffs, currently a game out of the #8 spot in the East, there’s no reason to expect any sort of letdown against Boston this evening.

The Celtics are finishing up a grueling two week road trip. This is their seventh straight road game, with a big ‘lookahead’ against Atlantic Division leader Philadelphia on tap for tomorrow, with only a single game separating the two teams in the standings. In other words, if things get away early, look for Doc Rivers to mail this one in, saving his veteran’s tired legs for the Sixers.