Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predicted Starting Lineups and Depth Chart for Dec. 20 | 2024-25 NBA season

The Milwaukee Bucks will be on the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Both teams have been in great form recently; Milwaukee more so than Cleveland, as it is coming off an Emirates NBA Cup final win. Milwaukee is fifth in the East with a 14-11 record, while Cleveland leads the conference with a 23-4 record.

The Bucks put in a great defensive effort in the NBA Cup final against the OKC Thunder on Tuesday to get a 97-81 win. Giannis Antetokounmpo came up huge with a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.

Cleveland, meanwhile, is coming off a blowout 130-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. In a game where all of its starters scored in double digits, Evan Mobley led the scoring with 21 points.

The Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and will air nationally on NBA TV. It will also be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network - Ohio and FanDuel Sports Network - Wisconsin. Fans can also stream it live on NBA League Pass and fuboTV.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Injury Reports

Milwaukee Bucks injury report for Dec. 20

Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Khris Middleton (illness) are listed as probable and should play. Damian Lillard, however, has been ruled out with a right calf strain.

Cleveland Cavaliers injury report for Dec. 20

The Cavs will be without Max Strus (ankle) and Isaac Okoro (sprained AC joint in right shoulder).

Here’s a look at the Bucks vs Cavaliers’ starting lineups and depth charts for Dec. 20.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Starting lineups and depth chart

Milwaukee Bucks starting lineup and depth chart

Position	Starter	2nd	3rd
PG	AJ Green	Delon Wright	Ryan Rollins
SG	Khris Middleton (DD)	Gary Trent Jr.	AJ Green
SF	Taurean Prince	Andre Jackson Jr.	Khris Middleton (DD
PF	Giannis Antetokounmpo (DD)	Bobby Portis	Taurean Prince
C	Brook Lopez	Bobby Portis	Giannis Antetokounmpo (DD)

*DD implies day-to-day

Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup and depth chart

Position	Starter	2nd	3rd
PG	Darius Garland	Caris LeVert	Ty Jerome
SG	Donovan Mitchell	Sam Merrill
SF	Georges Niang	Dean Wade	Jaylon Tyson
PF	Evan Mobley	Georges Niang	Dean Wade
C	Jarrett Allen	Evan Mobley	Tristan Thompson

Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Key matchup

Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Cleveland bigs

The "Greek Freak" has been on a tear recently and is coming off a triple-double in the NBA Cup final. He leads the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game and would like to continue his form on Friday. He will, however, face the defensive juggernaut combo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

If the Cleveland bigs can control Antetokounmpo’s scoring, Cleveland could be in for a blowout win.

Cavs backcourt vs Bucks guards

This is the battle that should give Cleveland the win Friday. With Damian Lillard out, the Bucks' backcourt becomes weak in comparison to Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. The Cavs also have Caris LeVert coming off the bench, who can also score in bunches.

So, expect this to be a lopsided guard battle where Cleveland marks its superiority to get its third win of the season against Milwaukee.