Betting tips / Matthew Reid / 23 April 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

With only four days remaining in the NBA regular season, Matt Reid found meaningful games hard to find, bar the Toronto Raptors - Milwaukee Bucks matchup, which has playoff implications, even if only over the course of a few hours.

Milwaukee finds themselves in the unenviable position of having to rely on other results to keep their playoff hopes alive.

A single Philadelphia 76ers victory in their remaining three games eliminates the Bucks from playoff contention. The Sixers are heavy favourites at New Jersey in a match that tips off half an hour before the Bucks take to the court against the Raptors. The Bucks will have an eye to the score in that game but first of all must take care of a team missing several starters.

Andrea Bargnani and Jerryd Bayless will miss the remaining games in the Raptors season and it would be surprising to see Jose Calderon return from an eye injury as well. Teams out of the playoff picture have little motivation to win games as it decreases their chances of winning the NBA lottery and receiving a high draft pick.

The Raptors have fallen into this category for about the last month of the season. They dropped a 73-76 result at Detroit yesterday, and by my reckoning played roughly four players that would crack the rotation for any decent NBA team.

It would be surprising to see them win another game this season.

The Bucks have been a solid team since making the move in acquiring Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh at the trade deadline. Many expected them to make a run at the playoffs given they gave up two players in Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson who weren't playing, but they haven't been able to beat many decent teams and as such their playoff push hasn't really gotten going.

Barring a miracle, they will finish with the ninth seed, which is about where they belong.

Milwaukee has beaten the Raptors on the last six occasions they have played. This match will be the first time that the Bucks new look back-court of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis have met the Raptors and I suggest that they will like what they see. The Raptors don't have the quickness or size to keep the pair out of the paint and the Bucks could well run up the score against a hapless Toronto outfit.

Back Milwaukee to win their seventh straight match against Toronto and get a double digit victory.