The Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks are set for Game 3 and Game 4 this week from the BMO Bradley Harris Center and the matchups for the first round series come as the Bulls are up 2-0 and the matchup on Thursday starts at 8 pm ET and is on NBATV as Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jason Kidd.
The Bulls come into the game after winning the first two matchups at home and now they will try and win on the road against the Bucks. The Bulls have Derrick Rose looking good and that could be the x factor in the entire eastern conference playoffs. The Cavs and the Hawks are the top two teams and the Bulls now could be in that mix if Rose can stay healthy for the duration. Rose has not been able to do that the past couple years and now is his chance.
The team finished the season with four straight wins and they won two of those games on the road and now they will try and win another one. Rose comes in after dealing with another knee issue, but he has been impressive so far in the playoffs. The Bulls have dealt with injuries all season and Kirk Hinrich could return for the team after dealing with an issue with his knee. Adding him back will help the rotation and the depth could be big if he stays healthy the rest of the playoffs.
The Bulls came into the season as a title contender and with Pau Gasol playing so well all year, the team is ready to get deep into the playoffs. The Bucks come into the game after keeping things close for most of the first two games, but by the end the Bulls were able to pull away. The Buck were impressive by finishing in the sixth seed and they have not won a playoff series in over a decade.
Jimmy Butler has been a key player for the Bulls all season and he has the chance to give his team a 3-0 lead with another good performance on Thursday. Butler had 31 points in the win in Game 2 and he was able to play in over 40 minutes of that game and he could try and do that again.
Rose comes in after putting up 23 points in the opening game of the playoffs for the Bulls and after that he was able to add nine assists in the second game. The second matchup saw the Bulls hold the Bucks to less than 20 points in two quarters, including the final frame.
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