The Milwaukee Bucks (38-25) head to the Windy City Friday to play the Chicago Bulls (39-24) in a Central Division showdown. Tip-off at United Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bucks vs. Bulls odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Milwaukee pulled out a thrilling 120-119 victory at home versus the Miami Heat Wednesday but couldn’t cover as a 4.5-point favorite. The Bucks are 2-1 straight up (SU) and 1-2 against the spread (ATS) since the All-Star break.
Chicago lost Thursday to the Hawks 130-124 in Atlanta as a 2-point road underdog. The Bulls are 1-3 SU and ATS following the All-Star game.
The Bucks beat the Bulls in a 94-90 rock-fight Jan. 21 in Milwaukee but failed to cover as 11.5-point road favorites.
Bucks at Bulls odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:24 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Bucks -205 (bet $205 to win $100) | Bulls +165 (bet $100 to win $165)
- Against the spread: Bucks -4.5 (-120) | Bulls +4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 240.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Bucks at Bulls key injuries
Bucks
- SG Pat Connaughton (finger) out
Bulls
- PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- SG Alex Caruso (wrist) out
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Bucks at Bulls odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bucks 120, Bulls 111
Money line
PASS even though Milwaukee should win this one handily because the -205 tag is just too far out of my price range.
For what it’s worth, Milwaukee is 14-6 SU as a road favorite and Chicago is 3-5 SU as a home underdog.
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Against the spread
“LEAN” to the BUCKS -4.5 (-120) for a half-unit only because we are getting to the party way late.
This game opened with Milwaukee favored 1.5 points according to VegasInsider but has been steamed all the way up to the current number. However, I still think there’s value with the Bucks at this number since they are 13-7 ATS as road favorites.
Chicago is 21st in adjusted defensive rating, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG) and Milwaukee tears up bad defenses on the road. The Bucks are third in adjusted net rating (plus-10.9) on the road versus bottom-10 defenses with the fifth-best ATS margin (plus-4.5), per CTG.
Even though we are getting the worst of the number, the BUCKS -4.5 (-120) is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” to the UNDER 240.5 (-110) for a small wager because this Bucks-Bulls total is 13 points higher than their previous meeting and the Under has cashed in Milwaukee’s last four games versus teams with a winning record.
However, I’m not in love with this play because all three referees assigned to this game have officiated more to the Over, Milwaukee is 9-1 O/U in the last 10 games and Chicago is 10-3 O/U in the second of a back-to-back.
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