Everything Milwaukee Bucks fans must know about Chicago Bulls series

The regular season campaign has come to a close for the Milwaukee Bucks and they are getting ready to host the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

After another season as one of the league’s premier teams, the Bucks head into the postseason with championship aspirations. A lot of players for Milwaukee stepped up on both ends and looked great for the team all year. Their first-round matchup is against the Chicago Bulls, a team that the Bucks dominated during the regular season series with a clean 4-0 sweep.

You can expect more of the same from the Bucks in the first round.

Chicago isn’t equipped with the shooting of some other teams in the conference, so I think they will struggle offensively. Also, Chicago does not match up well with the length, speed, and size of Milwaukee. There is not a forward or center on their roster that can match up with the versatility of Giannis Antetokounmpo. This will allow baskets to come in abundant opportunities all series long. Whether it’s a 3-point shot or a basket down low, be expecting the Bucks to put up a lot of points. Here is everything you need to know about the series.

Everything Milwaukee Bucks fans must know about Chicago Bulls series

This year was a roller coaster for the Chicago Bulls. At times early in the year, they were in complete unison on the court, and it translated to the win column. Midway through the year, the Bulls’ struggles were evident, and they really lost their footing. Some injuries messed with the flow and chemistry they were playing with, and they just were not stepping up anymore. The Bulls had the fifth-worst record in the league after the All-Star break, which was 8-15.

Chicago is in no sort of rhythm heading into the playoffs, and they did not beat the Bucks in a single game this season, so you can expect Milwaukee to play some solid basketball and come out as a winning team. In my opinion, there was really no better first round matchup for us, and this one just fell into our laps. The third seed ended up being very beneficial for the Bucks, allowing them to dodge playing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. The one seed would have been nice with home-court advantage all postseason, but the seeding doesn’t really matter when you are talking about a championship potential team.

These two teams had some duels in the playoffs in the mid-2010s, and there has been a bit of a revival in terms of that competitive spirit, so do not be surprised if the series is a little chippy. The bulls will be playing with physicality at times due to this, but I don’t think it will be enough to stop us. This series is another opportunity for Milwaukee to start winning early and build confidence heading into the later rounds. If they can complete the sweep like I think they will, the postseason will start the same way it did last season.

Series Predictions

My series prediction for round one vs. the Bulls is a 4-0 clean sweep for Milwaukee. Like I said, this was arguably the best matchup/seed the Bucks could have gotten for round one. Chicago is ice cold right now, and they are 0-4 against Milwaukee and 0-15 vs. the top three seeds from each conference this year. They just do not play well against the top teams in the league. I believe that problem stems from Chicago’s interior defense. They don’t have a big body down low that also has mobility on defense. That is a huge problem if the opposing team’s big men are Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis.

The Bucks have had their struggles of their own on defense this year, but the Bulls rank 23rd in defensive rating this year, and they allow opponents to shoot 47.4 percent from the field, per NBA.com/stats. Of course, the percentage rises due to the number of easy shots Chicago’s defense gives up down low. Almost every time the Bucks push it in transition or feed it down low this series, they will have an advantage. There is too much favorable evidence here for me to conclude anything other than a sweep for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Game times

Game 1: Sunday, April 17th, 5:30 PM CT in Milwaukee

Game 2: Wednesday, April 20th, 8:30 PM CT in Milwaukee

Game 3: Friday, April 22nd, 7:30 PM CT in Chicago

Game 4: Sunday, April 24th, 12:00 PM CT In Chicago

Game 5: TBA (if necessary) in Milwaukee

Game 6: TBA (if necessary) in Chicago

Game 7: TBA (if necessary) in Milwaukee

With the series being in Chicago and Milwaukee, the Bucks do not have to travel much. Vice versa for the Bulls, but this could end up being a huge advantage for Milwaukee, especially if they close out the series early. This will allow the Bucks to be rested and prepared for the second round.