Milwaukee Bucks vs Chicago Bulls NBA Playoff Picks, Predictions and Odds: Game 1

Game 1 of the No. 3 seed Milwaukee Bucks and No. 6 seed Chicago Bulls NBA Playoffs first round series tips off on Sunday, April 17. The defending NBA champions are on a mission to defend their crown, and the slumping Bulls are hoping their to-heavy roster can lead an upset. We’ll continue to have your daily picks and predictions throughout the NBA Playoffs.

Although the Bucks have covered in just 39 of 82 games this season, Giannis and company have dominated this particular matchup against the Bulls. The Bucks have won nine out of their last 10 outright, and have covered the spread in seven of those same 10 games. However, the total has gone under in all but three of those matchups. 

Overall, neither team has done well at covering the spread lately. For Chicago, that’s due to a roster lacking depth. For Milwaukee, it could be a sign of fatigue and a lack of interest in the regular season. It’s more than likely we’ll see a sharper version of Milwaukee in the NBA Playoffs.

Bucks vs. Bulls Game Info

Date/Time: Sunday, April 17 at 5:30pm EST
TV: TNT

Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee

Click here for how to live stream and watch the game.

Bucks vs. Bulls Odds Analysis

The Bucks are favored by 10 points at our favorite sportsbooks. This is an aggressive opening game line that is betting against the Bulls’ ability to hang on in Game 1. It makes sense though given their current form and limitations.

The total is a realistic 229 points. The public is hitting the over hard. We’ll dive into the best play below.

 

Bucks vs. Bulls Predictions

Bucks -10 (-110)

The last time these two teams met last month ended in a 21-point blowout. The Bulls simply lack the defense to be super competitive this series. Milwaukee, flush with six rotational players who shoot over 35 percent from three, can not only match Chicago’s scoring but force the Bulls into shooting from three, a weakness of theirs.

Expect Milwaukee’s blend of shooting and blitzing defense to cause all sorts of mistakes and rushed shots for the Bulls. The Bucks are a well-oiled machine with Giannis taking up primary defensive anchor duties and ball-handling responsibilities. Chicago is a great story, but the Bucks will be motivated to make a Game 1 statement in a blowout win.

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Over 229 (-110)

The last time these two teams played, they combined for 233 points and it wasn’t an especially good shooting night for the Bucks. They shot just 12-of-35 from three, and the damage would’ve been dramatically more if Kris Middleton didn’t miss seven attempts. Even on an average night, the Bucks could have scored almost 140.

Chicago can light it up as well, but lack the defensive ability to clamp down on Milwaukee’s size and deep shooting. Chicago is usually a poor deep shooting team but we’d actually love to see an uncharacteristically efficient game from them to push our confidence in the over even more. 

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Our Bonus Player Prop pick: Jrue Holiday Over 19.5 points (+100)

This is far from a gimme considering Holiday scored just 11 in their last matchup. Chicago’s defensive guard rotation is legit when healthy. Alex Caruso is a fantastic presence, but he’s been banged up and the rest of this rotation can’t deal with missing one or Lonzo Ball and still be average. Ball is out, opening the door for Holiday to be effective.

With the shortened rotations, expect Holiday to continue his excellent play from this season and take more of a scoring load in this one. Home role players always seem to be more efficient, so I’ll be taking a stab on this one.