A Central Division rivalry will be renewed in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks enter the postseason as defending champions and the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They take on the Chicago Bulls, who will look to prove that they are legitimate contenders in the East. In our NBA picks for Sunday, we look at Bulls vs Bucks as the Bucks’ title defense begins in earnest.
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Bulls vs Bucks Game 1 Betting Pick
This game will be played at Fiserv Forum at 6:30 PM ET on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
Why Bet The Bulls:
✅ The Bucks are 4-0 against the Bulls this season, but they have struggled to cover the spread as a home favorite this year. While the Bulls have not proven that they can beat the best teams in the NBA this season, they are likely to keep this game within single digits in their postseason debut with their current nucleus.
✅ Chicago has kept two of their four losses against the Bucks this season within single digits, which is worth noting given that the spread for this game is around double figures. DeMar DeRozan’s mid range shooting late in this game should keep the Bulls within striking distance, even if they are likely to lose a fifth straight game to the Bucks this season.
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✅ It is also worth pointing out that the Milwaukee Bucks failed to cover the spread as a favorite against the Miami Heat in the first game of their playoff series last season. They went onto sweep the Heat in that series, but the Bucks were involved in a tight first game and could very well find themselves in the same situation at home here.
Chicago Bulls
This season for the Chicago Bulls started off well, with the Bulls sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference in the first half of the season. But the Bulls fell apart in the second half, as they could not perform against the top teams in the league. Unfortunately for them, that second half slide pushed them down to sixth place in the East, where they will have to win a best of seven series against an elite team in the Milwaukee Bucks.
For the Bulls, the biggest concern in this series aside from guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo is how they match up with the Bucks at the point guard position. With Lonzo Ball out for the season, Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu will have to get the better of a guard group led by Jrue Holiday for the Bucks. That is likely to be an issue for a Bulls team that is looking for their first win in five tries against the Bucks in Game 1 of this series.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee finished in third place in the Eastern Conference, setting up a first round series with the Bulls. That was a choice that the Bucks made, as they rested their top players for the final game of the regular season, staying in third place instead of moving into second, where they would have played the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Milwaukee was rewarded for making that decision, as they face a Bulls team they swept in the regular season.
For the Bucks, the key to this game is contesting DeMar DeRozan from the mid range, where he can be so lethal. Down the stretch, the Bulls can be overly reliant on DeRozan’s long twos, and whether or not the Bucks can shut him down late will determine whether the Bucks can maintain their stranglehold on this series.