Lakers carry six-game win streak into Milwaukee against a Bucks team that has lost seven straight

The Los Angeles Lakers open a two-game season series with Milwaukee on Wednesday night. They come in with the best record in the Western Conference, and the Bucks come in with the worst in the East. Los Angeles is 10-2 and has won six in a row. Milwaukee is 1-10, has lost seven straight and sits 15th in the Eastern Conference, according to ESPN's game preview.

Tipoff at Fiserv Forum is set for 8 p.m. Eastern, or 5 p.m. Pacific, per the Lakers' game page on NBA.com. ESPN lists Bucks guard Tyler Herro as out with a contusion. That takes a scorer away from a team that has already struggled to compete. For the Lakers, Quentin Grimes is day to day with a finger injury. His status is the only health question on the visiting side.

The two franchises took different paths into this season. ESPN notes the Lakers went 53-29 last year, including 25-16 on the road. The Bucks finished 32-50 and were only 19-22 at home. Home court has not helped Milwaukee this fall either. The Bucks are 1-5 at Fiserv Forum, and the Lakers are 5-1 away from Los Angeles.

What it means for Wednesday

The Lakers' season numbers point to a team that has found its scoring. Across 12 games they average about 122 points and allow about 114, a margin of nearly eight points a night. The current streak has been stronger on offense. Over the six straight wins against Toronto, Miami, Sacramento, Portland, Detroit and Atlanta, Los Angeles has averaged close to 126 points. Its last two games were road wins at Detroit, 121-116, and at Atlanta, 124-114. The defense has given up an average of about 115 in that stretch, so the Lakers are mostly winning shootouts rather than shutting teams down. Their two losses were a 112-95 defeat at Golden State and a 136-129 home loss to Portland.

The board reflects the gap between the teams. Los Angeles is a heavy favorite across the 12 venues on this site's odds page. On the moneyline, Novig has the Lakers at -590, and the best price anywhere is DraftKings at -578. Milwaukee is +545 on Novig. The venues disagree a little more on the spread. Novig has Los Angeles favored by 12.5 at -108, and DraftKings has the Lakers at -11.5 at -110, which matches the 11.5-point line ESPN lists. The total is in the same narrow range: 231.5 on Novig and 232.5 at DraftKings. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.9% to 5.7% on the moneyline.

That total sits below the recent scoring in Lakers games. The combined score across their 12 games averages about 236 points. The last six Lakers games have averaged more than 240 combined, and four of those six went past 236. Without Herro, Milwaukee may struggle to keep up its end of a high-scoring game. That would leave the Lakers' offense, and how long Grimes is out, as the main factors deciding the margin.

After Wednesday, the Bucks play at Orlando on Friday. The Lakers will try to extend their streak in the second stop of a long road swing through the East.