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6 reasons the Milwaukee Bucks will upset the Chicago Bulls

By Troy Foster

Jan 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (20) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (20) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 6 reasons the 6th seeded Milwaukee Bucks will upset the 3rd seeded Chicago Bulls.

Who are the Milwaukee Bucks? Who’s their top scorer? Why did they trade Brandon Knight? Where did all the wins come from? What is a Michael Carter-Williams?

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Even if you watch a lot of Bucks games all these questions are still pretty difficult to answer. If you don’t know the Bucks, you better get familiar because they are going to play the winner of the Cleveland(2) – Boston(7) series.

Yes, I’m penciling them to advance. Here are the 6 reasons this 6th seed will progress past the 3rd seeded Chicago Bulls.

1. Defense

The Bucks are 2nd in the league at Defense Efficiency via John Hollinger… let that sink in. They are 4th in defense rating and 8th in points allowed per game, per Basketball Reference. Those are the stats as they stand. It sounds nice, but also if you take a second to think about the personnel of the Bucks it become abundantly clear that these aren’t just stats. This team is overflowing with long defenders. The Bucks also have a defensive system in place that has been seasoning and becoming second hat for the young players as the year has progressed.

2. Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd does not deserve the label of “playoff coach” yet, but you can’t deny that last year he had success with a team that had no business being in a 2nd round. If Jason Kidd pushes this Bucks team to the second round, the title of “playoff coach” is going to start being thrown around. Kidd also has had a legitimate case for being part of our discussion for coach of the year. Jason Kidd has made gutsy moves organizing this franchise but he has had success with those decisions.

3. The Bulls as an offensive team

The Bulls under Tom Thibodeau have not been offensive minded team until this season. It is unclear if the Bulls can work this system in a playoff setting. If the Bucks are built for defense and the game slows down, the x-factor becomes the Bulls’ defense. If the Bulls defense can slow down the Bucks just enough to offset the how much the Bucks will disrupt the Bulls offense, it will be to their favor. If they can’t find a way to be productive in this play style during the pace change, it could spell disaster for the Bulls.

4. Khris Middleton

Have you watched much of this guy? Remember how Bradley Beal had a coming out party last year in the playoffs? Well, this is Khris Middleton’s time. This season has been good for him as his turnovers are down and assists, rebounds, and points are up. He has quietly shot very well from the 3-point line at 40.7%, good for 14th in the league. To answer one of those questions in the introduction, Khris Middleton is this year’s leading scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks. Expect Khris Middleton to be the bain of Bulls fans for at least a few games this series.

5. Pau Gasol

This is going to be a big question mark and probably his performance will dictate this series in a very large way. Pau Gasol in their January 10th matchup had 46 points and 18 rebounds. The subsequent two games had Pau taking a little more of a back seat and Zaza Pachulai played a little better defense. Pau has played at a level during the regular season that I don’t think even Chicago expected. Are we gonna see the January 10th Pau or will the Bucks find a way to neutralize him again? Is he going to a reason for a Bucks upset, the boat that takes the Bulls to the second round?

6. Giannis Antetokoumpo

What to do with this guy? So if you work at a major sports media outlet you have to have an opinion on Lebron, sports bloggers have their guy everyone has an opnion on too and it is Giannis. Such an abundance of information can sometimes bring more obscurity than clarity to who the player actually is. Know one thing and one thing only, Giannis Antetokoumpo is really good at basketballing!

Giannis over the course of the season has been an essential glue piece to their defense and his offensive explosiveness can provide hype for his team to go on runs. He will dunk, and he will block, and he will make the Bradley Center roar after an other worldly play on either end of the court. You cannot game plan for him, because Kidd uses him intelligently. His play won’t dominate the game as far as points, but he keeps the interior honest and has developed a mid-range game this year to make his cuts more effective.

This is going to be a slug fest. We are gonna see a United Center rocking, and a young passionate Bucks team with all 14 players on the roster in the biggest games of their lives. I’m confident in the Bucks ability to go to the second round, but I’m certain this is going to be a exciting series for fans of both teams.

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