3 key matchups in Milwaukee Bucks’ first round series with Chicago Bulls

Jrue Holiday versus DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine will be key matchups as the Milwaukee Bucks battle the Chicago Bulls

With Wesley Matthews likely taking on the assignment of guarding DeMar DeRozan right away, Jrue Holiday will be matched up against Zach LaVine. However, that does not mean Holiday will solely be glued to LaVine throughout the matchup, as he will likely see plenty of time defending DeRozan in various situations. Holiday’s defense on both All-Stars will be crucial, as he has the power to limit their contributions significantly due to his defensive excellence.

Throughout the four regular season games played between these two franchises, Holiday held DeRozan to 30 points on 11-of-27 shooting (40.7 percent) across 80.8 partial possessions. DeRozan was solid from behind the arc as well as he hit three of his five triple attempts. When Matthews is catching his breath or is defending someone else, Holiday must put pressure on the All-Star forward constantly. Given his excellence on that side of the basketball, Holiday has the necessary capabilities to match up well with a stellar scorer like DeRozan.

Given that LaVine only appeared in two of the four meetings between the Bulls and Bucks during the regular season, the sample size is smaller. During the 59.8 partial possessions Holiday was on LaVine, the latter scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting (50 percent), including 3-of-8 from three. Like DeRozan, LaVine is also a reputable scorer, and the Bucks will desperately need Holiday to do his part to keep him in check throughout the series. As one of the best guard defenders there is in the NBA, Holiday is capable, but it will be far from easy in this series.

Having such an incredibly versatile defender like Holiday will be crucial for the Milwaukee Bucks in this series as he can match up with a handful of different Chicago Bulls, but these two will likely be the most frequent of the bunch.

Be sure to tune in this Sunday when the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls square off in Game 1.