The No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks will take on the No. 6 Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The series gets underway this weekend with Game 1 tipping at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16.
Milwaukee will be defending its title 2021 as it meets up with the Bulls, who are making their first playoff appearance since 2017. Chicago spent a good chunk of time at the top of the Eastern Conference this season, but began tumbling down the standings as it went 7-15 in the final 22 games.
It’ll no doubt be an exciting series as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton go up against the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. Let’s take a look at some of the best series props ahead of the action, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Bucks vs. Bulls series props
Series Total Games: 5 (+185)
The Bucks have been playing very well while the Bulls have done just the opposite to close out the regular season. Considering they swept the regular season series against Chicago, it’s easy to think that this one could be a sweep, too. Of course, the playoffs almost never go as intended, so it’s likely that the Bulls may get one or two games over Milwaukee. I’m sticking with five games for this one, making it a comfortable win for the defending champs.
Series Spread: Bucks -2.5 (-170)
Chicago will need to pull off a huge upset in order to cover the series spread, but as mentioned before, it seems a little bleak for the downward-trending Bulls. LaVine is carrying some knee injury trouble into the series as well, which is sure to slow him down from the first minute. The Bucks boast one of the top five offenses in the league since the All-Star break as they narrowly missed out on grabbing the No. 2 seed over the Celtics, who owned the tiebreaker over Milwaukee.
Series Correct Score: Bucks 4-1 (+190)
Even with the star power of DeRozan and LaVine, the Bulls will no doubt have a tough time against the reigning champs. Chicago has been in a downward spiral for a couple of months as it battled through injuries and poor form in general, losing Lonzo Ball (knee) for the season in the process. The Bucks swept the series in the regular season, winning all four meetings with the Bulls. Giannis averaged 26.8 points per game against Chicago this season, shooting 55.7 percent from the floor through all four meetings.
The Bulls might get one over on the Bucks, but I think Milwaukee takes this one fairly comfortably in five games.
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