The Chicago Bulls' quest to take down the Milwaukee Bucks was already unlikely. The latest news on Zach LaVine makes it even more difficult.
The Bulls announced on Tuesday that LaVine has entered health and safety protocols. He ie reportedly unlikely to play in Wednesday's Game 5 at Milwaukee.
Before the news, the Bucks were a 10-point favorite. BetMGM re-opened the Bucks as 12.5 point favorites, -900 on the moneyline and a 217.5 total. The numbers on FanDuel are a little better with a 12-point spread and -770 moneyline.
The Bulls are +600 at BetMGM to win the game.
Milwaukee holds a 3-1 series lead and appeared set for a gentleman's sweep either way. In addition to LaVine's likely absence, Alex Caruso's status is also up in the air while in concussion protocol.
LaVine hasn't actually played up to expectations in this series. His scoring is down to 19.3 points per game compared to his 24.4 points per game during the regular season. He's shooting almost five percent worse from the field and has 12 turnovers in the first four games of the series.
However, his best game came in Game 4. He scored 24 points with 13 assists. Ultimately it didn't matter as the Bulls were blown out for the second straight game, losing 119-95.
LaVine scored 20 points in the 114-110 win in Game 2.
The winner of the series — likely the Bucks — will move on to meet the Boston Celtics in the second round. The Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.
The SuperBook already posted series prices for the Bucks and Celtics. The Celtics opened at -200 to win the series compared to +175 on the Bucks. That line has since moved to Celtics -180 and Bucks +160.
