Lakers and Bucks meet Thursday in possible NBA Finals preview

BetAmerica has teamed up with Covers and Oddschecker to break down the latest news and trends from around the Association. This week NBA columnists Andrew Caley, Sam Farley and Ryan Murphy discuss Thursday's Lakers-Bucks tilt, the NBA's most promising young team and which established star will be changing teams soon.

The Bucks and Lakers meet Thursday in a potential NBA Finals preview. Who will win their first meeting of the season?

Andrew: These teams are incredibly close in so many regards. They are the two best defenses in the Association, with Bucks and Lakers ranking first and second respectively in defensive rating, and they ain’t too bad on the other end of the floor, either. The Lakers shoot a little better from deep, but the Bucks take way more threes, while L.A. does most of its damage on the inside. That plays into the teeth of the Bucks defense, where they have the NBA’s best two-point opponent field goal percentage. But for me, this comes down to one thing: The Lakers have two top-five players to the Bucks’ one. Giannis Antetokounmpo will have his hands full, with either Anthony Davis or LeBron James, and James is smart enough to attack the Bucks the right way. Maybe you see a few more three-point attempts in this one. I’m taking the Lakers.

Sam: It’s the game that we’re all looking forward to this week, but at this stage I can’t look past the Lakers. They may be on the road, but they’ve surprised me so far this season. I was worried over the summer that they’d just be two stars and a weak supporting cast, but they’ve managed to really build something that feels like a balanced and coherent team.

Ryan: The Lakers and Bucks are nearly neck-and-neck in the standings, but I can't help but feel that Milwaukee is the more complete team at this point in the season. A big reason for that is continuity. The Bucks returned four of their top five players from last year's 60-win squad, while the Lakers were left with only five players TOTAL after wheeling and dealing for Anthony Davis. That's a whole lot of churn, and the impact has been most apparent in bench production. Milwaukee ranks seventh in bench points at 42.1 points per game, while L.A. is a distant 21st at 34.2. The starters will get all the glory Thursday night, but it will be Milwaukee's reserves who decide the fate of the game. I'm taking the Bucks by three.

The Cavaliers, Knicks and Hawks have identical 6-21 records. Which young, rebuilding squad has the brighter future?

Andrew: The Cavs have few nice pieces but are still a long way away. I love RJ Barrett, but as long as James Dolan owns the Knicks, can the future ever be bright? For me it’s got to be the Hawks. Trae Young has taken a huge step forward. His scoring and player efficiency rating are way up, and he still has plenty of room to grow. De’Andre Hunter has looked good and so has Kevin Huerter at times. Not having John Collins (suspension) for most of the season is a big reason the Hawks have the same record as the Cavs and Knicks right now, but with him due to return soon, Atlanta could pose more problems for opponents going forward. The Hawks still need a key piece or two, but you can see what they are building in Atlanta.

Sam: Come on. There’s only one answer here. I feel like the Cavs and Knicks are still a few years from contending, whereas the Hawks feel like they’ve got a few pieces. Let’s start with the fact only one of these three franchises has a legit star, because that’s exactly what Trae Young is at this stage. I’m assuming Kevin Love gets traded here. He’s the sort of player you’ll happily pay to watch, and I imagine he’s the sort of guy who others would move to Atlanta to play alongside. John Collins and De’Andre Hunter have potential, and Cam Reddish is showing flourishes of real talent. With a good draft and some shrewd trades or free-agent moves, they could become a contender relatively quickly.

Ryan: I'll take the Hawks any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Atlanta general manager Travis Schlenk has assembled a promising young roster, with seven players under the age of 23. At the top of the heap is Trae Young, who is fourth in the NBA in points per game and is rapidly developing into one of the NBA's most lethal playmakers. Young has an excellent pick-and-roll partner in suspended forward John Collins, who is a walking double-double with a sneaky-good stroke. He also has a pair of wings who can fly up the court in Cam Reddish and De'Andre Hunter. All four players are on team-friendly deals and should be in Atlanta for many years to come.

NBA trade restrictions have now been lifted. Which star do you think will be dealt first?

Andrew: There’s a lot of issues with big-name trades this season. The Cavs want to move Kevin Love, but who can take on that contract at his age? The Grizzlies seem like they’ll wait until the last minute to trade Andre Iguodala, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Warriors’ D’Angelo Russell likely won’t be moved until the offseason and Chris Paul might be staying put in Oklahoma City. So where does that leave us? I’m saying JJ Redick. The Pelicans are having a rough go, and who knows when Zion Williamson will be back. The gun for hire is on a moveable deal, and while he can be a liability on defense, he’s still knocking down threes better than most. And who doesn’t need more three-point shooting? He’d be a very good fit or any contender, particularly Milwaukee.

Sam: It really should be one of a number of names on the Knicks roster. There are a few reasonable guys there, on good contracts, who could add something to another team. Likewise, they’d be very smart to be sellers, given the state of the franchise. Sadly, though, the Knicks are the single-worst run organization in any major sporting league, so they’ll inevitably not do any of this. We’ve touched upon it previously, but Kevin Love is a great piece for any contender, and DeMar DeRozan could, and probably should, see a move very soon.

Ryan: I'm putting my money on Oklahoma City forward Danilo Gallinari, whose three-year, $64 million deal is set to expire at the end of the season. The Thunder is desperate to unload pricier assets, and Gallo could fetch a first-round pick or a promising young player in return. The 31-year-old gunner is averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and is a phenomenal floor stretcher who is just one season removed from nailing 43% of his three-point attempts. Players like Gallinari are made for the modern NBA, and it won't be long before he finds himself with a one-way ticket out of OKC.

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