Denver Nuggets vs Milwaukee Bucks Picks and Predictions March 26th 2025

Nuggets, Bucks Prioritize Health Over Seeding in Late-Season Clash

As the NBA regular season winds down, the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in a familiar conundrum: chase wins and playoff seeding, or prioritize health for a deeper postseason run. When the two title contenders meet Wednesday night in Denver, it’s clear both sides are leaning toward the latter.

Bucks Dealing With Key Absences

Milwaukee (40-31) remains just two games behind Indiana for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve taken a cautious approach as they navigate a stretch riddled with injuries and absences.

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Damian Lillard has missed three straight games due to a calf injury, and center Jericho Sims is likely out until the playoffs following thumb surgery. Meanwhile, Bobby Portis Jr. remains unavailable while serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.

That leaves coach Doc Rivers relying heavily on Brook Lopez, the team’s only healthy true center. But Rivers isn’t about to overwork the 36-year-old veteran down the stretch.

“We literally have one (center) on the roster. That’s tough,” Rivers told Andscape. “He’s terrific, but I’m just going to refuse to play him a ton of minutes. We’re going to have to get through this somehow.”

Despite the depleted roster, Milwaukee can still count on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is putting up MVP-caliber numbers—30.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, good for second and sixth in the NBA respectively.

Nuggets Managing Jokic, Still Competitive

Denver (45-28) is third in the Western Conference and still holding a four-game buffer above the play-in zone. However, they’ve been without their MVP engine Nikola Jokic for the last five games due to a left ankle injury and a sore right elbow.

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In Jokic’s absence, the Nuggets have gone 2-3, including a 129-119 loss to the Bulls on Monday that opened their five-game homestand. Still, the team has remained competitive thanks in large part to Jamal Murray, who has averaged 33.5 points over the last two games.

“I’m getting a good amount of opportunity to do what I can do and just finding a little bit more comfort,” said forward Peyton Watson, who stepped in for Aaron Gordon (calf) and posted a career-high 24 points.

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Gordon is expected to return Wednesday, and there is optimism that Jokic will rejoin the lineup during this homestand. Until then, Denver’s depth continues to be tested—and rewarded.

Both teams have made it clear: they’re focused on being healthy when it matters most, even if it means sacrificing some seeding in the short term.

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