The sky is falling for the Milwaukee Bucks. The narratives surrounding the Bucks following their loss Monday in Miami have completely gone off the rails and caused some unrest within the fanbase. Make no mistake, Monday night’s game was awful in just about any way, but it is in no way an indication of how the Bucks fare as contenders for the championship. The Bucks were topped by the Heat for the second time this season as they fell 105-89 thanks to abysmal 3-point shooting (7/34) and Miami shooting extremely well (18/37 from 3). Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to a season-low 13 points in 31 minutes in the loss. Miami is the first team to defeat Milwaukee twice this season.

Needless to say, it would be very reassuring for many fans to see a classic Bucks blowout after the team has scored less than 100 points two games in a row, just after their 83-game streak of 100 points or more was snapped. Milwaukee will have that chance when they square off against the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night. The Pacers, who currently reside in the 5 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, extended their winning streak to 4 games after they defeated the Spurs 116-111 on Monday night. They are largely buoyed by All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis (18.3 PPG, 12.5 RPG) and former Buck Malcolm Brogdon (16.6 PPG, 7.3 APG).

This is the last of 4 meetings between the teams this season. Milwaukee currently leads the season series 2-1.

Expected starters:

IND: Brogdon, A. Holiday, Warren, Sabonis, Turner

MIL: Bledsoe, Matthews, Middleton, G. Antetokounmpo, B. Lopez

Injuries: Victor Oladipo (knee) is questionable for Indiana while George Hill (groin) and Kyle Korver (back) are out for Milwaukee.

The spread: MIL -11

Time and TV: 6:00 PM CT on ESPN

Prediction: The Bucks are back home after a brief road trip, and I think they’re ready to break out of their small offensive slump. I expect this to end much like the first matchup between the teams this year in Milwaukee. Bucks 128, Pacers 112