Chicago Bulls

Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Dec. 16 at Chicago Bulls

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:05 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ti Windisch/FanSided via Behind the Buck Pass

Deja vu strikes as the Milwaukee Bucks face off with the Chicago Bulls just one day after taking them down hard in Milwaukee.

Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson (31) grabs a rebound against Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks, it turns out, enjoy playing on national television. With TNT making the trip to Milwaukee for the first time in a long time, the young Bucks were dominant in front of a national audience.

The Bucks smashed the Chicago Bulls into the ground on Thursday. Milwaukee won by 11, but the game honestly wasn’t as close the final score makes it seem for much of the action. The Bucks ran off to a huge lead, and never looked back too hard, although Chicago made things slightly more interesting in the second half.

The Bulls will try to make Friday about revenge, as they host the Bucks in a bizarre home-home back-to-back that has become a more common quirk of the schedule this season. The games make for interesting “rivalry” match-ups at least.

If Milwaukee can take down Chicago two games in a row on consecutive nights, it’d be huge both for morale and for seeding purposes. Although the Bucks are coming off of a rough patch, the playoffs are still in view this season.

Getting wins over Eastern Conference teams helps with that, especially when they are teams that could be in direct competition with Milwaukee for spots. The Bulls, currently sixth in the East, are just half a game in front of the eighth-place Bucks.

If Milwaukee can creep into the playoffs this season without Khris Middleton, the team could build real momentum heading into next year with their standout shooting guard back in action.

The postseason is a long way off though, so for now we’ll focus on major keys to winning this next game with the Bulls.

Dec 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic (35) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) in the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Major Key For Milwaukee: Keep Shooting Threes

The Bucks did not get to the free throw line often in the huge win last night. What was the difference for the Bucks that allowed their big win, then? Without a doubt it was all the threes Milwaukee made early on.

Right from the opening points of the game, the Bucks were firing away from beyond the arc. Milwaukee’s first basket was a Giannis Antetokounmpo three, and Jabari Parker soon added some triples of his own.

Giannis ended the night two-for-four from deep, while Jabari made three of his five three-point attempts. Tony Snell, Jason Terry and Matthew Dellavedova both added a made three, while Mirza Teletovic added three of his own.

The Bucks made 11 of 20 attempted threes, while Chicago was 5-for-19. That’s a difference of 18 points in the final score, which more than accounts for Milwaukee’s victory. If the Bucks can win the three-point battle, they can be tough to overcome.

Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) battles for a rebound against Chicago Bulls forward Cristiano Felicio (6) and guard Denzel Valentine (45) in the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Major Key For Chicago: Dominate The Boards Better

The mark Chicago needs to hit is 50 rebounds. The Bulls are 8-1 when they bring down that many boards. Chicago managed just 41 rebounds against the Bucks, who pulled down 42.

With their lack of three-point shooting, the Bulls need to rebound better than that. If Milwaukee is going to grab more rebounds and make more threes, it’ll take superhuman efforts from Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade to win against the Bucks.

The Bulls likely won’t win the three-point battle, so they absolutely must rebound well. Every member of Chicago’s starting five recorded fewer rebounds than their season averages, which meant the Bucks did a good job on the glass.

Giannis led the Bucks in rebounding with 14 boards, but John Henson deserves tons of credit for dominating the offensive glass. The Chicago Bulls grabbed six offensive rebounds as a team. Henson grabbed that many by himself.

Milwaukee grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the last game between these teams. Chicago can’t afford to get dominated on the glass like that again–the Bulls are built to be big. If they can’t leverage that size into rebounds, then it’s not worth it to give up the three-point shooting that Chicago does.

Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) drives for the basket against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Player To Watch: Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler is doubtlessly a great player. He didn’t look entirely the part on Thursday, shooting just six-for-16 from the field and adding only three rebounds, three assists and two steals to his 21 points scored.

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For most players, that’s a damn good night. For Butler, it’s unspectacular. If his team is going to rebound poorly, Butler needs to be tremendous for the Bulls to come out with a victory. Wade adds a lot to Chicago, but it’s obvious who the top dog is here.

Butler doesn’t have to do it all himself. Wade, plus Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez, have had good seasons here with the Bulls. Butler needs to lead the way though, or the Bulls won’t be able to run with the good teams in the NBA.

Interestingly enough, for stretches on Thursday it was Jabari Parker who found himself on Butler. Jason Kidd has continued to challenge the young Parker on defense with tough assignments, and he did well against Butler! It will be interesting to see how often that happens on Friday night.

Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and forward John Henson (31) tries to block a shot by Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Finale

It would be a very impressive two-day stretch if the Bucks manage to beat the Bulls again on Friday night. This time around the game is in Chicago, meaning it will be hostile territory to most of the Bucks.

Jabari Parker might feel right at home though. Jabari said after the game that he “plays with another edge” and circles the calendar every time he plays the Bulls. It seems like the young Buck isn’t pulling any punches against his hometown team!

Hopefully he can keep up that attitude and momentum for the re-match! It’s never easy to beat a game two games in a row, but it’s not impossible. The Bucks will have a chance to do just that in Chicago on Friday!

Predictions and Leaderboard:

Adam Coffman: Bulls by 8 — 17-6, 231 point differential

Rohan Katti: Bucks by 5 — 17-6, 249 point differential

Tom Pheister: Bulls by 7 — 16-8, 258 point differential

Jordan Treske: Bulls by 13 — 16-8, 277 point differential

Adam McGee: Bucks by 2 — 15-9, 245 point differential

Lukas Harkins: Bulls by 4 — 14-10, 252 point differential

Tim Wray: Bulls by 10 — 14-10, 266 point differential

Ti Windisch: Bucks by 5 — 13-11, 239 point differential

The game is on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. CT, and will be televised on Fox Sports Wisconsin.