It has not been a fun season for basketball in the Great Lakes area. Both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls are currently outside the play-in picture, and their hopes are fading fast. Now that March is upon us, they’ll need to put together some wins — and fast.
Milwaukee is a 3.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Chicago sits as a +136 underdog. The total is set at 227.5 points.
Let’s get into a prediction and pick for this Sunday matinee matchup between the Bucks and Bulls.
Bucks vs. Bulls preview
This has not been the year for the Milwaukee Bucks. They dropped below .500 just before Thanksgiving, and have yet to get back in form. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injuries and the “will-they-won’t-they” trade rumors have loomed large over their season, and the superstar remains out of the lineup. Now two games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot, Milwaukee’s season is on life support.
It’s not much better for the Chicago Bulls. After years of lingering around in the play-in tournament, they’re plummeting to rock bottom. Chicago has lost 11 straight games and somehow failed to win a single game in February. Trading Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu was an admission that this wasn’t working. And it was finally time.
Before breaking down this matchup, we have to be cognizant of the injury report. As previously mentioned, Milwaukee will be without Antetokounmpo. But Chicago’s offensive engine, Josh Giddey, is back from his injury and ready to go. There are a few players on Chicago’s side that are on the borderline of playing, but they’ll have key guys like Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Tre Jones, and Collin Sexton ready to go.
The key to this game is the backcourt play. Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins stir the drink for the Bucks, creating opportunities for Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma to finish plays. Chicago is somehow all guards after the deadline; led by Giddey, they have a lot of creation with Jones and Sexton as well.
Matas Buzelis is the swing factor here. With 15 or more points in four straight games — including 32 against the Hornets — he is capable of great things on a nightly basis. If he can light it up against the Bucks, it could mean the end to Chicago’s abysmal losing streak.
Bucks vs. Bulls pick, best bet
It does feel strange to have confidence in a team riding a winless month. But this Bulls team might have the two best players on the floor on Sunday between Giddey and Buzelis.
Neither team can really defend, so it should be a high-scoring affair. My money is on Chicago’s deep backcourt carrying the day.
