Getting Healthy
Milwaukee,Wi – The Milwaukee Bucks have shown they are a better club now that they are healthy. The Los Angeles Clippers are showing that they are a much stronger team since acquiring Zach Randolph.
The Bucks look for their fourth win in five games on Saturday night when they meet Randolph and the Clippers, who are aiming to finish with a winning record in the finale of their four-game road trip.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Bucks -4 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Clippers. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 64% of more than 287 bets for this game have been placed on the Bucks -4.
Milwaukee (12-16) has suffered with leading scorer Michael Redd missing 14 games, going 5-9 in his absence. The Bucks also went 0-3 without Andrew Bogut and 2-4 minus Charlie Bell.
But the Bucks have all of those players available now, and completed a 2-1 road trip with an easy 105-81 win over New York on Friday. Redd scored 21 points and Bogut added his third double-double in four games with 10 points and 13 boards.
"This was definitely a critical win," Redd said. "As crazy as it sounds, in the East we’re both in the playoff hunt."
Los Angeles (8-18), meanwhile, got off to a 2-12 start, but has split 12 games Randolph has played in since he was acquired from the Knicks on Nov. 21. He turned in a huge effort with 34 points and 16 rebounds on Friday as the Clippers beat the Pacers 117-109 in double overtime
The Indiana native made 13-of-25 shots in his home state for his eighth double-double in 11 starts with Los Angeles, which is 2-1 on its road trip. Randolph is one of the hottest players in the NBA, averaging 30.8 points and 15.3 rebounds in his last five games.
"We’ve got good players," Randolph said. "I’m just trying to bring what I can bring to that team, and that’s being aggressive about rebounding and scoring the basketball and getting offensive rebounds."
It’s probable Bogut will see some time guarding Randolph. The Bucks center was able to help frustrate Randolph on Nov. 2 as the power forward was limited to 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting to go with 13 rebounds while playing for the Knicks in a game Milwaukee won 94-86.
The Clippers have won six of their last seven meetings with the Bucks, including three straight on the road.
Los Angeles rookie Eric Gordon could have an awkward reunion on Saturday with his college coach at Indiana, Kelvin Sampson – who is in his first season as an assistant under first-year Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles.
Gordon spent his only season with the Hoosiers being coached by Sampson, but the two haven’t had much of a relationship since each left the scandal-ridden program. Gordon said earlier this week that Indiana was plagued by drug problems, but decided to stay away from further comments on the matter Friday in his return to his hometown of Indianapolis.
"I’m not going to discuss any issues that happened in the past," Gordon said. "What happened in the past, happened in the past, and we’re going to move on from here."
Gordon, the seventh overall pick in June’s draft, has started the last 13 games, and is averaging 16.2 points in his last five. He had 15 points on Friday, including a key 3-pointer late in the second overtime.
Did you like this article? Subscribe to our Basketball news feed for the fastest updates delivered right to you – Click here to Subscribe
Posted: 12/20/08 2:00 AM ET