The Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls are playing live on the NBA schedule for the playoffs on Saturday and the Game 1 matchup is from the United Center at 7 pm ET on ESPN and streaming from the WatchESPN website as Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah get their postseason started against Jason Kidd and the Bucks.
The Bulls were the third place team in the conference and the team comes in after winning 50 games this season. The team finished second to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the division this year after leading to start the year and that came after Derrick Rose dealt with injuries. Rose played 10 minutes in the final game of the season after coming back from knee surgery and he is hoping to stay on the court longer in the postseason.
Noah has been dealing with some knee issues and Taj Gibson has also been banged up, but everyone is expected to be ready for the first matchup. Kirk Hinrich is out for Game 1 and injuries could be the biggest factor in how the Bulls end up this postseason. The Bulls won the season series 3-1 against the Bucks and Milwaukee has been impressive after Jason Kidd took over and after the injury to Jabari Parker. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a star in the making and he is the player to watch for the Bulls against the Bucks. Hinrich is out after dealing with a knee injury and missing the last two games of the season, while Parker has been out with an ACL suffered earlier in the season.
The Bulls were one of the top offensive teams in the league this season and they averaged over 100 points per game and the Bucks were solid on defense, making it a good matchup. The Bulls have had players in and out of the lineup all season and they need their best players to stay healthy to get through the playoffs. The Bulls come into the postseason after winning four of their final five games of the regular season.
Rose is healthy for the playoffs after dealing with a knee injury and this is his first postseason in a couple years after missing out the past two times the Bulls made it. The Bulls have a strong record when they have all of their starters healthy and that is the key for the team if they want to last into the deeper rounds. Rose has not been able to stay healthy for a full season, but he might be able to pull it together for this playoffs run.
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