Bucks vs. Bulls Eastern Conference First Round Series Odds, Prediction

The Milwaukee Bucks path to back-to-back championships starts against a division rival.

The 2021 NBA Champions earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the No. 6 seed Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

The Bucks had little issue disposing of the Bulls this season, winning all 4 matchups and both in the last month by north of 20 points.

Let's check out the series odds from WynnBET Sportsbook and figure out how to bet this series. Can Chicago pull a miraculous upset or will Milwaukee roll?

Bulls vs. Bucks Series Price

• Bulls: +600
• Bucks: -900

The odds indicate what we already know, the Bucks are overwhelming favorites to take care of the Bulls in the first round of the postseason.

Chicago has been trending downwards for the past two months, nursing injuries across the roster and struggling to beat the class of the East all season.

The team won 2 games against the Celtics and proceeded to lose every other game against the Heat, Bucks and Sixers, giving them a record of 2-12 vs. the top 4 seeds in the conference. Since the All-Star break, the team is 8-15 with a -7.1 net rating, which is 28th in the league.

It likely won't get better for the Bulls against Milwaukee. The defense has fallen off a cliff without Lonzo Ball, who is out for the year after having a setback in his recovery from knee injury. The Bulls allow 8.6 less points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor, good for 96th percentile across the league per Cleaning the Glass.

Not to mention, Zach Lavine has been battling a knee injury over the course of the season and looks banged up heading into the postseason.

Chicago will struggle to slow down the Bucks, who have MVP contender Giannis Antetokounmpo playing at a high level and one of the hottest offenses in the league, top 5 in offensive rating since the break.

There is not much to get excited for when looking at Chicago's prospects of pulling off the upset, but we know that with the Bucks laying a crazy price. To me, betting on Milwaukee to win by a sweep or 4-1 with a gentlemen's sweep is the way to go. Chicago has a high powered offense with DeMar DeRozan to win one game at home, but this is going to be a formality. Bucks roll and move onto the second round in pursuit of back-to-back rings.

PICK: Bucks -2.5 games

You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!