Milwaukee Bucks (9-12, 3-6 away) vs. Washington Wizards (2-16, 1-6 home)

When: Monday, Dec. 1, 7 PM

Where: Capital One Arena

Betting: Washington +9.5, O/U: 232.5 (DraftKings)

After a weekend’s worth of practice and rest, the 9-12 Milwaukee Bucks travel to the nation’s capital to take on the 2-16 Washington Wizards on Monday at 7:00 PM ET. Both teams have been playing poor basketball as of late, with Washington being 1-9 and Milwaukee being 2-8 in their last ten games.

Monday night also marks the second matchup between the two teams after Washington kicked off the season in Milwaukee with a 133-120 loss.

Monday night also marks a return to DC for Kyle Kuzma, who sits among the worst three-point shooters on the team despite being one of seven players averaging double-figures to open the 2025-26 season. Still, Milwaukee enters Monday night one of the best shooting teams in the NBA with the third-most made threes and leading the league in three-point percentage at 41%, compared to Washington tied with Phoenix at 37.4% through the first quarter of the season.

Depth will be a question heading into tonight as Washington will be without Tre Johnson (hip), Corey Kispert (thumb) and Sharife Cooper (right calf strain). Alex Sarr has also been listed out with right adductor soreness. For Milwaukee, Taurean Prince will be out with a neck injury, while star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as probable with a left adductor strain and injury management.

If Washington wants any chance of winning tonight, they need to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo which is easier said than done. However, physicality will be the name of the game in this one. When playing Milwaukee, it is critical to establish the tone early. When Washington faced off against Milwaukee for the first time on opening night, it was quite clear that the Wizards lacked in size needed to hang with the Bucks. It also didn't help that Washington found themselves trailing by 22 in the first half. Here's what Head Coach Brian Keefe had to say after Washington's first meeting with Milwaukee in late October:

“We didn't play with the force that we would've liked...they got some easy baskets in transition. We didn't close to their shooters well enough but we just didn't have the necessary force to start but we got that in the second half," said Keefe. 

Keefe has been stressing all season long that the lack of physicality has costed them multiple games. Big man Alex Sarr is having a fantastic sophomore season, but he at times is the only center that Wizards fans can trust to man the paint. In order for Washington to come out on top vs Milwaukee, they need to depend on their bigger wings such as Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly to help out in the interior tonight with Sarr sidelined. 

Washington looks to pick up their second win in three games on Monday at Capital One Arena. Washington is coming off a 119-86 loss vs. Indiana on Friday night.