Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls will face each other in their opening match of the NBA playoffs first round. The hosts want to bounce back after their latest defeat and start the tie with a win. The away side managed to break its run of losses and looks forward to building up on its latest performance.
Milwaukee returns to the home court after two straight trips, hoping to kick off the series against the Bulls with a win. The home side will play in front of their fans twice in a row, and they look forward to securing an advantage. On the other hand, Chicago boosted its confidence ahead of this tie. It will be a challenging game, but the visitors will search for a positive result.
Milwaukee Bucks – Will they open the tie with success?
The Bucks enter the post-season from 3rd place in the Eastern Division with a 51-31 record. They missed the chance to secure the 2nd seed after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers 133-115 on the road in their most recent game. That defeat broke Milwaukee’s three-game winning streak and sent them into a tie against the Bulls. The Bucks need to improve their field goal percentage, which stood at 44.3 in the previous match. Nevertheless, Milwaukee also had selection problems in that game and played with only seven players on the roster.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the most dominant player in the Bucks’ offense with 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.1 steals per match. Khris Middleton has produced 20.1 pts, 5.4 rebs, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in the regular season, while Jrue Holiday averages 18.3 points and tops the assists charts with 6.8 per game. Bobby Portis has 14.6 pts and 9.1 rebounds per contest, while two other players contribute with a double-digit number of points per match. Looking into the Bucks’ roster, the only concern is Jordan Nwora, who is listed as questionable.
Expected Line-Up: Jrue Holiday, Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
with best odds
Chicago Bulls – Can they pick up where they left off?
The Bulls enter the playoffs series after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road in the closing match of the regular season. However, they remained 6th in the Eastern Conference due to a four-game losing streak. Chicago heads to another trip, searching for a chance to repeat their latest performance. They had a very good 53.0 field goal percentage against, while their dominance in the paint led them to a 124-120 win. Patrick Williams was the best player on the court with 35 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one block for 41 minutes.
DeMar DeRozan has been the most productive player for the Bulls during the regular season, with 27.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per contest. Zach LaVine averages 24.4 pts, 4.6 rebs, and 4.5 assists, while Nikola Vucevic controls the paint with 11 rebounds per game, followed by 17.6 points, 3.2 assists, one steal, and a block. Lonzo Ball produces 13 pts per match, while Coby White contributes with 12.7. Regarding the selection issues, Chicago won’t count on Lonzo Ball and Matt Thomas in the first game of the series.
Expected Line-Up: Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic
Expert Pick #1 – Milwaukee Bucks -10 @-110
The Bulls are completely out of form, and they lost 15 of their last 22 games. On the other hand, the Bucks haven’t been too confident either, but they should win and cover to start the series with success. That’s why I’m taking the hosts ATS as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Over 229.5 @-110
The Over has been the most frequent outcome in the most recent matches for both sides. It cashed in all six Bucks’ games, while five of Chicago’s previous six went over the margin. I expect a similar outcome here, and I’ll back the Over as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Milwaukee Bucks Over 120.5 @-110
The Bucks managed to recover several important players for this game, and I expect them to be very efficient. Although the margin is pretty high, I count on Chicago’s poor form and Milwaukee’s good field goal percentage. It is going to be my third pick at the same odds as the first two.
