Giannis Antetokounmpo turned in a massive game in the Milwaukee Bucks’ season-opening win over the Washington Wizards, scoring 37 points to go along with 14 rebounds and five assists.
Now, the Bucks find themselves as 1.5-point favorites on the road on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, who upset the Atlanta Hawks in their opener on Wednesday. Toronto has a new-look lineup with Brandon Ingram in the fold, and they put up 138 points in a 20-point win over the Atlanta Hawks.
RJ Barrett (25 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Scottie Barnes (22 points, six rebounds, nine assists) led the way for a Raptors team that could be in the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference this season.
The Bucks are hoping to finish in the top four in the East even though they lost Damian Lillard to a torn Achilles (and then waived him) ahead of the 2025-26 season. Milwaukee shot the lights out against Washington, hitting 18-of-44 shots from beyond the arc (40.9 percent) in the win.
Oddsmakers expect this to be a close game, but how should we bet on it? Here’s a look at the odds, my favorite prop and a prediction for Friday’s matchup.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Bucks Injury Report
Raptors Injury Report
Raptors Best NBA Prop Bet
Note: These player prop suggestions were written before prop lines were released and are based on past player performance.
Barnes finished with nine assists in his season opener, building on his last two seasons where he averaged 6.1 and 5.8 assists per game.
Even though Immanuel Quickley was in the lineup, Barnes had 13.0 potential assists in the Raptors’ season debut while the starting point guard (Quickley) had just 8.0.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Raptors use Barnes more and more as a hub this season with scorers like Quickley, Barrett and Ingram around him. He’s worth a look against a Bucks team that allowed 120 points and 23 assists to a bad Washington Wizards team on Wednesday night.
These two teams both put up huge scoring numbers in their season opener, as the Bucks scored 133 points in a win over Washington while the Raptors hung 138 points on the Hawks.
Yet, this total is under 230 on Friday night.
I think we could be in line for a high-scoring game, as the Raptors still allowed 118 points and the Bucks gave up 120 to a shaky Washington team. These teams also ranked in the top four in the league in pace during Wednesday night’s action.
Milwaukee has a ton of shooters around Giannis, getting up 44 shots from deep on Wednesday night, and that gives the team a really strong offensive ceiling in any game.
Meanwhile, Toronto pushed the pace and had all of its starters with 13 or more points on Wednesday night.
With the spread so close, I’d rather bet on both of these offenses thriving again as we attempt to figure out what exactly these teams are early in the 2025-26 season.
Pick: OVER 229.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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