Bucks at Bulls Preview and Pick

Bucks at Bulls Preview and Pick: Central Division rivals meet up on Friday night at the United Center in Chicago when the Bulls host the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are trying to improve their playoff seed in the East while the Bulls are just hoping to make the field.

Milwaukee comes into this game with an overall record of 38-24, and they are the clear leaders of the Central Division. The Bucks have gone just 3-4 in their last seven games, including a disappointing loss to Houston on Thursday.

The Chicago Bulls have gone 4-3 in their last seven games, but it still might not be enough to get them into the playoffs. Chicago sits just outside the top-10 teams in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 26-36.

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, every game is extremely important.

Bucks at Bulls Preview and Pick: Milwaukee Scoring at Will

The Milwaukee Bucks are the highest-scoring team in the NBA this season, averaging 119.2 points per game. Having one of the best players in the NBA on the roster definitely helps these numbers, but the Bucks have been getting big contributions from up and down the roster.

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 28.5 points and six assists per game, and he remains unstoppable around the rim. The “Greek Freak” did suffer an ankle injury in the loss on Thursday night, and it’s not likely that he will be available for this game on Friday night.

Khris Middleton has chipped in with 20 points per game this season, and he will need to step up without Antetokounmp. Milwaukee plays extremely fast on both ends of the floor, and they can wear down the Bulls with their depth.

Milwaukee does give up nearly 113 points per game, and they were torched for 143 points against Houston. The defense should be able to recover nicely on Friday night as Chicago doesn’t have an explosive offensive attack.

Bucks at Bulls Preview and Pick: Loss of Lavine Hurting Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have a potential superstar in Zach LaVine, but he has been out of the lineup for the last several. Chicago has struggled to find enough offense without him, and the Bulls are now just averaging 111.3 points per game.

LaVine leads the way with 27.5 points, but he also leads the team with 5.1 assists. This is not a team that is loaded with offensive weapons, and it will need to be a surprise player step up if the Bulls win this one.

All-Star center Nikola Vucevic has been playing well since being traded to Chicago, and he could be in for a big game on Friday night.

Chicago is allowing 114 points per game, and that could be another issue against the Bucks. The Bulls have been getting better on that end of the floor, but they just aren’t consistent enough to win on most nights.

Bucks at Bulls Preview and Pick: Bucks Blast Bulls in Chicago

Both of these teams could be missing their best player for this matchup, and that could potentially give the Bulls a slight chance. Giannis Antetokounmpo does everything for the Bucks, but there is still plenty of talent remaining.

Chicago has really struggled to score points without LaVine in the lineup, and they just aren’t going to have enough offense to keep this game close. The Bulls have been a much better defensive team of late, but stopping the Bucks is no easy task.

This game will be closer than it would have been with a healthy Bucks team, but it won’t matter for Milwaukee. The Bucks need to continue picking up wins, and they get one over their division rival on Friday night.

Final Score:
Milwaukee Bucks 114
Chicago Bulls 106