Category: Basketball

Basketball News

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Kings' Domantas Sabonis rolls ankle Monday, expected to miss more time

Sacramento just struggled to a 2-4 record in six games Domantas Sabonis missed with a hamstring strain. Now it is going to have to get by without him for what may be weeks again.

Sabonis rolled his ankle in the opening minute of the second half on a drive to the basket and had to leave the game. It looked nasty.

There was no update postgame from coach Doug Christie, but Malik Monk summed it up well speaking to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

“It looked pretty bad. But Domas (is) strong. He’ll probably be back sooner than we think.”

The Kings need him to. For the season they are 3-6 in games Sabonis misses with a -3.8 net rating when he is off the court. The Kings sit ninth in the West and are headed to the play-in, but had hoped to catch the Clippers for the No. 8 seed and make their path to the playoffs easier. That was going to be tough with Sabonis, the Kings are 3.5 games back of Los Angeles with 15 games to play, but without him it's an Everest-like mountain. The Kings are not likely to fall out of the play-in, they have a two-game lead over the injury riddled Mavericks for the No. 10 seed, with Phoenix 11th and three games back, and the Trail Blazers five games behind the Kings.

Sabonis also may want to return for personal reasons — he has played in just 58 games this season, he needs to play at least seven more (and 20 minutes a night in those games) to reach the 65-game threshold set by the NBA to be eligible for post-season awards. Sabonis is certainly in the mix for an All-NBA spot if he qualifies.

The ankle wasn't even Sabonis' first injury in the game. Sabonis had to get stitches for a cut over his left eye after he was hit in the face by the back of Grizzlies' guard Luke Kennard’s head. Sabonis returned to the game, only to roll his ankle.

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Bucks vs. Warriors Predictions: Odds, recent stats, trends, best bets for March 18

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors Preview 

The Milwaukee Bucks (38-29) and Golden State Warriors (39-29) are all set to square off from Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Warriors are coming off of a tough loss last night. They played the Denver Nuggets, who decided to rest their stars.

With the season in the back-half, we could possibly see a few Warriors players out tonight.
The Bucks are currently 14-17 on the road with a point differential of 2, while the Warriors have a 8-2 record in their last ten games at home. 

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Game details & how to watch Bucks vs. Warriors live today

  • Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
  • Time: 10:00PM EST
  • Site: Chase Center
  • City: San Francisco, CA

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Bucks vs. Warriors
The latest odds as of Tuesday:

  • Odds: Bucks (+125), Warriors (-149)
  • Spread:  Warriors -2.5
  • Over/Under: 233 points

That gives the Bucks an implied team point total of 115.94, and the Warriors 117.25.
 
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!

Expert picks & predictions for Tuesday's Bucks vs. Warriors game

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

 Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) is betting on Jimmy Butler over 19.5 points…

Thomas: “With Curry possibly out, Butler instantly becomes the primary option. There will be role players who go off, but Butler to score 20 at this price is playable and has some value.”

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Bucks & Warriors game:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Golden State Warriors on the Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Milwaukee Bucks at +2.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the under on the Game Total of 233.

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Bucks vs. Warriors on Tuesday

  • The Warriors have won 4 straight home games against the Bucks
  • The Under is 7-3 in the Bucks' last 10 road games
  • The Bucks have covered the Spread in 4 of their last 5 games as a favorite
  • The Warriors have won 4 straight home games against the Bucks

 
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
 
Bet the Edge is your source for all things sports betting. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insight weekdays at 6AM ET right here or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. 
 
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: 
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) 
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) 
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)

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Transfer portal and NIL are making it even more difficult to three-peat in college basketball

Florida had a dominating team in 2005-06, winning 33 games on its way to the program's first national championship. The Gators returned nearly everyone the following season and did it again, becoming the seventh team to win consecutive national titles. The key players from the title teams were all gone and the Gators didn't even make the NCAA Tournament, proving just how difficult it is to win three straight national championships.

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Why Giannis vs. Draymond is key matchup in Warriors-Bucks game

Why Giannis vs. Draymond is key matchup in Warriors-Bucks game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

For the second consecutive Warriors night at Chase Center, a marquee player will be sidelined. On Monday, it was Denver’s three-time MVP Nikola Jokić. On Tuesday, it’s Golden State’s two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

The Nuggets surprisingly withstood the absence of Jokić, and the Milwaukee Bucks will test the Warriors without Curry. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6 p.m. PT with Warriors Pregame Live, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Bucks (38-29, third in the East) have their own two-time MVP in forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who means as much to them as Jokić does to the Nuggets and Curry to the Warriors. The “Greek Freak” is averaging 30.4 points per game, second in the NBA behind only Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 33.0.

How will the Warriors (39-29, sixth in the West) try to contain Giannis? The first step is crowding his space with more than one defender. The second is keeping him out of transition, where the 6-foot-11 veteran is the league’s most devastating force.

That task falls into the lap of Draymond Green because, well, despite being only 6-foot-6 he always gets the most threatening big man. He will be assisted by double-teams and occasional blitzes, which could include anyone from Jimmy Butler III and Jonathan Kuminga to Gary Payton II and Gui Santos.

The goal with Antetokounmpo is to force him into shots outside the restricted area, where he takes 59 percent of his shots and is making 73.8 percent. Ideally, the Warriors would like to push him out beyond the arc, where he is shooting 18.2 percent, the lowest since his second season in the league.

Antetokounmpo’s other exploitable weakness on offense is his propensity for turnovers. He’s fifth in that category, ahead of such turnover-prone guards as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Washington’s Jordan Poole. Giannis has committed at least six turnovers in eight games, with a season-high eight.

Though Antetokounmpo is Golden State’s biggest challenge, the Bucks have six-time All-Star Damian Lillard (averaging 25.1 ppg) to keep defenses honest. Their combined scoring average of 55.5 points per game is the highest of any duo in the NBA.

With their season-high seven-game win streak snapped against the Nuggets, the Warriors are trying to avoid losing a back-to-back set at home for the first time since Nov. 12, 2023. There is a change they could be rejoined by guard Brandin Podziemski, who has missed the last five games with a low back strain and is listed as questionable.

Getting back to their winning ways against Milwaukee is hard enough for the Warriors, and trying to do without Curry is exponentially more difficult.

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