Chicago (0-0) at Milwaukee (0-0)
When: Sunday, April 17th, 2022
Where: Fiserv Forum,
Milwaukee, WI
Time: 6:30 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Milwaukee -9.5/229
The Milwaukee Bucks are set to take the court as the defending NBA Champions on Sunday evening when they host the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of their first round series. Last summer, the Bucks earned their first title since 1971 when they took care of the Phoenix Suns in six games. A lot of people weren’t overly impressed with the championship, so the Bucks are out to prove it wasn’t a fluke. The Bucks closed the regular season by winning 14 of their final 20 games thanks to the return of a couple of key players. Brook Lopez returned from back surgery and Pat Connaughton came back from a fractured bone in his right hand. The Bucks were 27-14 at home this season, but just 16-25 ATS due to being heavy favorites in most contests.
The Bulls are in the postseason for the first time since 2017 and finished with their best record since the 2014-15 campaign. Chicago struggled down the stretch, due mostly to the absence of Lonzo Ball. Ball has been out since mid-January with a knee injury, and the Bulls went 24-23 without him during the regular season. Alex Caruso also missed the final three games of the regular season due to a bruised back but is expected to go Sunday. The Bulls struggled against the top teams in the East including the Bucks, who swept the four-game season series. This is the fifth postseason series between the Bucks and Bulls. Chicago won the most recent won in 2015.
The Bulls lost four of their last five games and were 1-4 ATS in those contests. Chicago can score points thanks to veteran DeMar DeRozan, who averaged 27.9 points on 50.4 percent shooting from the field in the regular season. In four games against the Bucks, DeRozan put up an average of 31.3 points on 47.4 percent shooting. Zach LaVine averaged 24.4 points on the season, but missed two games down the stretch with a knee injury, including the last matchup with the Bucks. Defensively, Chicago held Milwaukee to 10.0 made 3-pointers a game and 32 percent. Milwaukee averages 14.1 per game and 36.6 percent on the season. The Bulls are 3-1 against the spread in their last four games on the road.
The Bucks come in as heavy favorites in this series and for good reasons. They won all four matchups during the regular season, covered three of them and blew them out in two. The last time they met, the Bucks won 127-106 at Chicago on Apr. 5. The Bucks ranked third in the league in scoring with 115.5 points a game thanks to Giannis Antetokoumpo’s 29.9. Five other Bucks average at least 10.1 points a contest. Since his return, Lopez has averaged 12.8 points and four rebounds, while Connaughton shoots 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Grayson Allen missed the last three games with a hip injury, while George Hill, Serge Ibaka and Luca Vildoza are all listed as day-to-day.
I can see the Bucks sweeping this series unless DeRozan shoots out of his mind. Milwaukee is by far the superior team in this matchup and should open the series with a dominating performance.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Bucks -10
