Follow Us
An extravagant Eastern Conference matchup will be played on Tuesday evening between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls. This highly anticipated contest has heavy playoff implications, with seeding and a sense of positive momentum on the line in this one. It is that time to visit our NBA odds series, where our Bucks-Bulls prediction and pick will be made. Let’s break down one of the biggest matchups on the NBA Tuesday night slate!
Entering Tuesday’s prime-time game, the Bucks have been one of the hottest teams in the last month and will look to wrap up their season series versus the Bulls by sweeping the four matchups against them. The defending champion Bucks still mathematically have an outside shot at the one-seed in the east but are more realistically to end up in the two spot by the season’s conclusion. Milwaukee currently sits 2.5 games back of the Heat in first place and our .5 of a game behind the Boston Celtics with a record of 48-30.
Chicago is trying to clinch a playoff berth for the first time in nearly five seasons, as the Bulls are in an all-out war for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and are currently tied with the Raptors at 45-33. A big reason for this success has been their dominance at home, as Chicago has flat out overwhelmed the visitors with a record of 27-11 inside the United Center.
Here are the Bucks-Bulls NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Bucks-Bulls Odds
Milwaukee Bucks: -6 (-110)
Chicago Bulls: +6 (-110)
Over: 233.5 (-110)
Under: 233.5 (-110)
*Watch NBA Games Live with fuboTV (click for free trial)
Why The Bucks Could Cover the Spread
After blowing out Chicago by a final score of 126-98 back only a couple of weeks ago on Mar. 22nd, the Bucks have played .500 ball since then, going 3-3 including a brutal loss at home versus the Mavericks 118-112. Milwaukee had no answer for Luke Doncic, who outplayed Giannis on route to 32 points and 15 assists. It was no doubt a blow to the Greek Freak’s MVP chances, but surely Giannis would be the first one to tell you about how little he cares for the award and more about winning basketball games, unlike another MVP candidate big-man in the city of Brotherly Love.
All jokes aside, there should be no concern for the Bucks moving forward. In their loss to the Mavs, Giannis and Khris Middleton struggled shooting from the floor, combining to go 15-36 from the field including uncharacteristically not connecting on a three-point make. Expect this to change on Tuesday in the Windy City, as it is not often Milwaukee follows up a poor shooting performance with another one.
Milwaukee’s calling card is still the fact that they are a top-five team in scoring and rebounding, an amazing recipe for success that translates into wins at a high rate. The Bucks will cover the spread if they take control of the paint like they usually do and limit the Bulls’ second-chance points.
Why The Bulls Could Cover the Spread
After five long seasons of playoff basketball being absent in Chicago, the six-time NBA champion Bulls are one win away from clinching a postseason berth for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. It has been a long time coming for the historic NBA franchise, and the only question now is what seed the Bulls will occupy heading into the playoffs.
Tied with Toronto, the Bulls are inevitably on pace to square off with either the same Bucks bunch that they are playing against on Tuesday or the Philadelphia Sixers, who currently represent the four-seed. The one concerning statistic for sports bettors and Bulls fans alike is Chicago’s struggles in coming out victorious against the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are only 2-19 versus the conference’s top four squads, and will no doubt need to find a way to change the tide of that trend to make some noise.
In regards to this specific matchup, the Bulls will need big-time performances from DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, who combined for 59 points in their latest loss vs Miami. Chicago will need to find an answer in defending the talented wing players of Milwaukee, who have tormented the Bulls this season by edging them out by +11.3 in rebounding margin. Additionally, Chicago cannot afford to turn the ball over, as the Bucks have a +2.7 turnover margin in their three meetings this year as well.
Final Bucks-Bulls Prediction & Pick
Until the Bulls can consistently show that they can compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference, then it would a no-brainer to side with the Bucks and the -6 point spread. Milwaukee is 16-9 ATS as road favorites, while the Bulls are only 4-6 ATS as home underdogs and are an abysmal 1-10 ATS when matching up with teams that have at least a 60% winning percentage. The Bucks will roll in this one.
Final Bucks-Bulls Prediction & Pick: Bucks -6 (-110)