It’s finally here. The time has come for the Milwaukee Bucks to defend their crown, and there are many viable contenders looking to take the throne, such as the Celtics, Suns, Nets, and Heat, just to name a few. But the Bucks cannot afford to look ahead to tougher opponents, as the Chicago Bulls are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and hungry to prove themselves as contenders in the Eastern Conference. Here are three things the Bucks must do to defeat the Bulls and advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Milwaukee Bucks must come out firing in Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls
In last year’s playoffs, the Bucks seriously struggled in Game 1s, going 1-3, and were a Khris Middleton buzzer-beater away from going winless. Although the Bucks won the championship last year, it’s probably a good idea to get out to a good start in the series this year.
This point in particular stands against an inexperienced team such as Chicago. If you are the Bucks and don’t come out with a purpose in Game 1, the Bulls are absolutely capable of coming in and stealing a game, especially with their duo of tough shot makers in Zach LaVine and Demar DeRozan.
You also don’t want to give the Bulls a glimmer of hope going back to Chicago, where you are put in a position where you have two must-win games there. This played out especially in the Atlanta series last year, where it was fairly obvious the Bucks were the better team, but they let Trae Young go off in game 1, and then dropped one in Atlanta, and let the series get to 2-2, where the Bucks eventually pulled away to win in six. Point being, if you give an inferior team confidence at the start of the series, you are playing with fire and might cause the series to go longer than it otherwise would.