Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks 04/20/2022 NBA Preview and Prediction

The Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks meet again at the Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night for Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Milwaukee defeated Chicago 93-86 in an impressive defensive performance where the Bucks allowed the Bulls to score only 15 points in the 4th quarter of the game. The Bucks started out fast and took a 13-point first-quarter lead and ended the half up by 8. The stubborn Bulls refused to go away and cut the lead to just three after three quarters of play.

The Bucks struggled with only 42 second half points but their defense was able to hold down the Chicago trio of DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic to pull off the Game 1 win and take a 1-0 series lead.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls had a rough shooting night in Game 1 as they made only 32% of their shots, including 19% from three-point distance. That was uncharacteristic since Chicago ranked third in the entire NBA in FG percentage during the regular season at 48%. Aside from that, they were also outscored 42-32 in points in the paint which is huge considering they lost the game by just seven points.

DeMar DeRozan shot just 6-25 from the field and finished with 18 points while Zach LaVine also went 6-19 and also scored 18 points. Nikola Vucevic led Chicago but he made only 9 of 27 shots. Chicago also got only 14 points from their bench with 12 of those coming from Coby White.

Despite that, the Bulls kept themselves in the game by playing good defense, holding the Bucks to only 93 total points. Chicago also forced 21 turnovers while only committing 11 but the Bucks still outscored them 15-14 on points off turnovers.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks also shot poorly from the field at only 40% but were at least better than the Bulls. Milwaukee also shot just 27% from deep after ranking 5th in three-point shooting during the regular season. But like the Bulls, they played excellent defense and held Chicago down to only 15 points in the final period to hold on for the Game 1 win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a big game with 27 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 10-19 from the floor. Khris Middleton struggled with only 11 points while making 4 of 13 shots and Jrue Holiday added 15 on 6-16 shooting. Thankfully, Brook Lopez came up big with 18 points and 5 rebounds to help Antetokounmpo lead the Bucks to victory.

The Bucks outrebounded the Bulls 58-53 while clamping down on defense. The Bucks ranked only 19th in scoring defense during the regular season but they forced Chicago to score just 22 or fewer points in three of the four quarters in Game 1.

Who Wins?

Chicago is 1-5 SU in their last six games played. The Bulls are 0-5 SU in their last five games against the Eastern Conference and 3-2 SU in their last five road games.

Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in their last five games played. The Bucks are 12-1 SU in their last 13 games against the Eastern Conference, 6-1 SU in their last seven games against the Central Division, and just 2-2 SU in their last four games played at home.

Chicago’s poor shooting was one of the main reasons why they lost Game 1. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic combined to shoot just 21-71 from the field, or 29.6%. Vucevic led the Bulls with 24 points and 17 rebounds but he was just 9-27 from the floor. The Bulls also shot just 7-37 from behind the three-point area, their worst shooting performance from deep since January.

DeRozan has guaranteed that there will be no repeat of his Game 1 shooting struggles but Chicago fixing their offensive problems is just one of their issues. The other is stopping Giannis Antetokoubnpo.

Giannis has recorded 19 double-doubles and one triple-double in his last 22 playoff games played. Antetokounmpo has averaged 30.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game during that span while the Bucks have posted a 15-7 SU record. In Game 1, Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 16 rebounds on 10-19 shooting.

Unless the Bulls find a way to stop Antetokounmpo, which no team has done in the last 22 playoff games played by the Bucks, it’s going to be another long night for the Bulls. Chicago will play much better but not enough to stop Giannis and the Bucks.

Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks

Other Bets to Make

The Bulls are 7-16 ATS in their last 21 games played. Chicago is 19-39 ATS in their last 58 games against an opponent with a winning percentage better than .600, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games after an ATS win, 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 7-19 ATS in their last 26 games as betting underdogs, 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games after a straight up loss, 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as road underdogs, 1-4 ATS in their last five playoff games as betting underdogs, 1-4 ATs in their last five conference quarterfinals games, and 2-6 ATS in their last eight April games.

The Bucks are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played overall. Milwaukee is 1-4 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 0-4 ATS in their last four home games as favorites, 0-4 ATS in their last four games as betting favorites, 2-5 ATS in their last seven April games, 25-28 ATS in 53 games against the Eastern Conference this season, and 11-16 ATS in 27 home games against opponents from the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee is 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 Conference quarterfinals games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as playoff favorites, and 7-2 ATS in their last nine playoff games after an ATS loss. Milwaukee is also an impressive 7-2 ATS in their last nine games as double-digit favorites at home in the playoffs.

The Bucks playoffs ATS trends look good but remember that the Bulls were able to win the ATS battle in Game 1 despite shooting only 32% from the field. I don’t think that the Bulls are going to shoot any worse than that and having said that, I also expect a better shooting game from DeRozan and a bounce-back performance from LaVine.

There is no question though that the Bucks have the better team and the deeper lineup. The defending champions have the depth to go on another title run and there’s no way Chicago’s improved 2022 team can match them in a seven-game series. However, I’m not sure about laying 10 points against the Bulls, especially right after watching them cover in Game 1. Give me the Bucks to win, but I’ll take the plus points and the Bulls to cover the spread.

Prediction: Bulls +10

The total has gone under in five out of the Bulls’ last six road games against an opponent with a winning home record. The under is 4-1 in their last five playoff games, 4-1 in their last five Conference Quarterfinals games, 4-1 in their last five road games against an opponent with a home winning percentage better than .600, 4-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 4-1 in their last five road games, 6-2 in their last eight games after an ATS win, 5-2 in their last seven games against a team with a winning percentage better than .600, and 17-8-1 ATS in their last 26 games as road underdogs.

The total has gone over in six out of the last seven games played by the Bucks. The over is 4-1 in their last five games after a straight up win, 6-1 in their last seven games as betting favorites, 4-1 in their last five games after an ATS loss, 5-2 in their last seven Wednesday games, 12-5 in their last 17 home games, and 20-9 in their last 29 games as home favorites.

The under is 3-0-1 in their last four games as playoff favorites, 7-1 in their last eight games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, and 5-1 in their last six home games against an opponent with a losing road record.

These teams have combined to score an average of 214.2 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 212 points per game in their last three head-to-head matchups, including 179 in Game 1. Interestingly, however, the Bulls ranked only 16th in scoring defense during the regular season while the Bucks were even lower at no. 19. But this is the postseason and as we saw in Game 1, it’s a grind with no easy baskets for either side.

As stated above, I don’t expect the Bulls to shoot any worse and their shooting should be better in this Game. The Bucks too should make more baskets on Wednesday than they did in Game 1. Still, I don’t think these teams are going to get involved in a track meet, even if they have plenty of scorers who can light up the scoreboards quickly.

Defense will still be the name of the game and the Bucks should be able to hold down the Bulls’ scorers here. I like these teams to hit the under.

Prediction: Under 224.5

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