The Chicago Bulls have secured a seat in the Play-in Tournament, but they still need to win games to get to a less precarious spot. Will they get one this Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks? The Bucks can lock up the No. 1 seed in the East with a win.

Catch this game live on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Chicago Bulls (38-41/17-22 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: Patrick Beverley
• SG: Alex Caruso
• SF: Zach LaVine
• PF: DeMar DeRozan
• C: Nikola Vucevic

The Bulls missed out on a great opportunity to score a win on Wednesday against the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks at home. Instead, Chicago fumbled the chance and lost, 123-105. Zach LaVine led the Bulls in the Hawks game with 26 points on 11/21 shooting, while DeMar DeRozan went 7/17 for 21 points. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

A meeting up next against a loaded Bucks squad isn’t always ideal for most teams, especially coming off a loss, but Chicago seems to have the formula to cut Milwaukee down to size. After all, the Bulls are 2-1 SU this season versus

Milwaukee. The Bulls also won the last time they were at Fiserv Forum, scoring a 119-113 OT win there last December with DeRozan exploding for 42 points. For what it’s worth, the Bulls are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 trips to Milwaukee.

Home: Milwaukee Bucks (57-22/31-8 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: Jrue Holiday
• SG: Joe Ingles
• SF: Khris Middleton (DTD)
• PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
• C: Brook Lopez

Unlike the Bulls, Milwaukee is fresh off a win. The Bucks humbled the Washington Wizards Wednesday in a 140-128 road win. The Bucks gave a nice lecture about how they can play bad defense at times and still power their way through for a lopsided victory. Milwaukee had four players scoring at least 19 points, led by Jrue Holiday, who fired 26 points on 12/21 shooting. 

More firepower could be added to the arsenal of the Bucks for this matchup versus the Bulls, with Khris Middleton expected to play after missing the Wizards game for a customary rest. Middleton has yet to play against the Bulls this season, so an appearance from the former Texas A&M Aggies star should make life harder for Chicago’s defense. Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, has put up an average of 27.7 points and 13.3 rebounds in three games against the Bulls this season. The Bucks are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games after playing the previous night.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Bulls (+8) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (231.0) hits the Over.