NEWSLETTER
This series feels a whole lot different after a Game 2 victory in Milwaukee and the Bucks loss of Khris Middleton for the series with a sprained MCL. Maybe we’re setting ourselves up for the fall, or perhaps the Bulls have rediscovered the formula they thrived in before their post-ASG slumber.
They gotta come through Chicago. pic.twitter.com/mliscUKXuY
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 22, 2022
Game Info
Milwaukee Bucks (51-31) at Chicago Bulls (46-36) – 7:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV), ABC (TV), and 670 The Score (Radio)
Chicago Bulls
1. Alex Caruso
2. Zach LaVine
3. DeMar DeRozan
4. Patrick Williams
5. Nikola Vučević
Injury Report: Lonzo Ball OUT (knee), Matt Thomas OUT (leg)
Milwaukee Bucks
1. Jrue Holliday
2. Grayson Allen
3. Wesley Matthews
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
5. Brook Lopez
Injury Report: George Hill DOUBTFUL (abdominal), Jordan Nwora DOUBTFUL (back), Khris Middleton OUT (knee)
Bucks’ Khris Middleton is Expected to Miss the Remainder of This First-Round Serieshttps://t.co/5WxCT8yWcm pic.twitter.com/VSIiEdWRWs
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 21, 2022
Odds
The Bulls walk into tonight as +3.0 underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks at PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and at the FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook. Click on either link to sign up and pick the Bulls to cover (… or pick the opposite, I guess …)!
With the Bulls’ Game 2 victory and the loss of Khris Middleton for the Bucks, the Bulls have made up seven points from their 10-point underdog play in Game 2.
What to Watch For …
• Can the Bulls build on their Game 2 momentum? They’ve got plenty working for them tonight after stealing a victory in Milwaukee. The United Center will be rocking, and the Bucks will be without Khris Middleton tonight and the remainder of the series. The Bucks are a top-heavy team, and the loss of Middleton should not be looked at as anything other than a massive loss for Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee has struggled to hang on to the basketball in this series, and the Bulls capitalized on it in Game 2, charging out to a nine-point lead on four straight Bucks turnovers to open the game. Milwaukee turned the ball over 21 times in Game 1 (compared to the Bulls 11) and 15 times in Game 2 (compared to the Bulls 12).
• After a dismal shooting effort in Game 1, DeMar DeRozan became the fifth Bulls player in franchise history to score 40-plus points in a playoff game with a career-high 41 and the first since Derrick Rose scored 44 in Game three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks in May of 2011. DeRozan was 16-31 from the floor and 9-9 from the free-throw line. DeMar has logged 40-plus minutes in each of the first two games of this series, and with Billy Donovan keeping the rotations short, the Bulls will go as DeMar goes in this series.
• In his first-ever postseason game, Zach Williams delivered a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1 in Milwaukee after not recording a double-double during the regular season. LaVine followed up with 20 points on 7-13 shooting in Game 2, but if the Bulls want to knock off the defending champions, I think LaVine will have to have a big night to take some of the load off of DeRozan, one of these next two games.
• A lot more in the posts below:
DeMar DeRozan Put in Another Late-Night Shootaround Before Game 3https://t.co/DTRy9UdyFc pic.twitter.com/HNtSPr2I8I
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 22, 2022
“This Is Home” – Zach LaVine Is Ready to Defend Your Honor in His First Playoff Game in Chicagohttps://t.co/cAcKt0Ijok pic.twitter.com/jJR8aXeOLw
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 22, 2022
Ready for a Rowdy United Center, DeMar Works Giannis, What to Make of Middleton’s Absence? And Other Bulls Bulletshttps://t.co/N3yunzd8dg pic.twitter.com/SEPEzjSN2C
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 22, 2022
