The Milwaukee Bucks have a chance to become the third team to advance from the first round in the NBA playoffs as they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday holding a 3-1 lead in the series.
The defending champions are big favorites for the contest and bookmaker BetOnline has the Bucks’ points total at 115 with the odds for both the over and the under at -110. Chicago’s total is only at 103 points with the odds for the over and the under also at -110.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 27th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
Milwaukee has picked up two dominant wins ahead of Game 5 and they are expected to finish off the series especially with the Bulls set to take the court without Zach LaVine who entered COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday and will likely miss the game.
The series started with the Bucks losing a key player in Khris Middleton and it looked like his absence would boost Chicago’s chances in the match-up, but the loss of the three-time All-Star appears to have actually given Milwaukee a lift and they have put in a couple of very impressive performances without him while limiting the Bulls to just 176 points across two road games.
The Bucks always play very good team basketball and it was fully on show in Chicago. Giannis Antetokounmpo needed to get just 18 points in Game 3 to help the team to a 111-81 win and he superbly led the charge with Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen in a 119-95 win in Game 4.
LaVine led the Bulls in both points (24) and assists (13) in Game 4, so losing him is a massive blow even with DeMar DeRozan playing out of his skin this season.
DeRozan averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game during the regular season and led the Bulls to a 114-110 victory in Game 2 against the Bucks with a 41-point effort. He went on to get just a total of 34 points in Game 3 and 4 and the Bulls clearly need a lot more from him in Wednesday’s elimination game.
Chicago’s chances also rest on their defense. They have given up 113.3 points per game in their last three meetings and it’s made it very difficult for them to hang around long enough to snatch a victory in the end. Head coach Billy Donovan has to find a way to tighten things up on the defensive end and the team needs to rally together and make up for the loss of LaVine by committee.
