The Milwaukee Bucks have catapulted themselves into the thick of the Eastern Conference race so far this season. Milwaukee currently has the second-best record in the conference behind just the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks have won three out of their last four games with their latest victory coming against the Cleveland Cavaliers despite not having Giannis Antetokounmpo in the lineup. Antetokounmpo was dealing with some neck soreness, but the explosive forward is currently being listed as probable for Wednesday's contest.

The Indiana Pacers have been playing some of their best basketball as of late and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. The Pacers have been without Victor Oladipo for the last 11 games as the team's star guard deals with soreness in his right knee. Oladipo is currently being listed as questionable for Wednesday's contest, but he did participate in practice with the team on Tuesday. Forward Bojan Bogdanovic has been playing tremendous basketball during this recent stretch as he's averaging 21.4 points per contest over Indiana's past five games.

These are two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference as things currently stand. Despite without the Pacers possibly being without Oladipo, this could potentially be a playoff preview.

How to watch 

  • Date: Wednesday, Dec. 12
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse -- Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Streaming: fuboTV - (free trial - NBA League Pass add-on available)
  • Live stats: GameTracker
  • Odds: Pacers +2.5

Odds and analysis

Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.

Storylines

Bucks: The Bucks have been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference so far this season. It appears that Antetokounmpo will be good to go for Wednesday's matchup after missing just one game due to neck soreness. The team is playing very well as of late with their only blemish being a loss to the Golden State Warriors. It's also worth keeping an eye on the team's newest acquisition George Hill, who played just 13 minutes in his first game with Milwaukee against Cleveland earlier this week. Hill will likely serve as the primary backup to Eric Bledsoe as the season rolls along.

Pacers: The Pacers have ended up playing pretty well despite not having Oladipo in the lineup. Indiana has the good fortune of having a considerable amount of depth on their roster. Bogdanovic has come up big for the team as he's topped the 20-point mark in six of the 11 games that Oladipo has missed. In addition, center Myles Turner is coming off a double-double in which he scored 26 points and secured 12 rebounds in their most recent win over the Washington Wizards. It'll be interesting to see if Oladipo attempts to play or if the team decides to hold him out until the weekend.

Game prediction, pick

The Bucks and Pacers certainly are two of the more underrated teams in the Eastern Conference. With Oladipo potentially missing Wednesday's game, it's hard not to roll with the Bucks in this one.