Bucks vs. Bulls preview, start time, TV schedule and injury report

The I-94 rivalry has another chapter to write as the Milwaukee Bucks will host the Chicago Bulls in the Bucks' home opener. The Bucks come into the game after a win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, while the Bulls lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in their season opener in the Big Easy.

Where we are

Wednesday was the best possible start for the Milwaukee Bucks. They defeated an undermanned Philadelphia team 124-109 against Joel Embiid and Paul George. Two of the freshmen, Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince, had impressive Bucks debuts, with Trent scoring 11 points and playing excellent defense against Tyrese Maxey. Prince was perfect from the field at one point (6/6) and finished the night with 16 points on four made three-pointers, five rebounds and three assists. Damian Lillard looked like the lady we hope to see more of this season. He scored 30 points on the night, including 15 in the third quarter, without missing a shot from long range. Giannis dominated in his usual manner, especially against Andre Drummond, scoring 25 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.

The Bulls finally got some value out of this current core of players, loaning two of them out in the offseason: DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso. Aside from a few second-round picks and Chris Duarte, the Bulls didn't get much from the DeRozan transfer, but their hope lies in the piece they got from the trade of Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder: former lottery pick Josh Giddey. Other than that, the roster is very similar to a year ago, with the exception of the return of Lonzo Ball after not playing since January 14, 2022. The Bulls held on to Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic despite rumors of trading one of the former All-Stars in the offseason. In the draft, Chicago took promising rookie Matas Buzelis with the 11th pick from the G-League Ignite.

It was an up-and-down opener for the Bulls against the Pelicans, as LaVine scored 19 points in a tight first-half contest. He finished with 27 but had seven turnovers and as a team Chicago had 21. The Pelicans took full advantage of these mistakes and scored 30 points off of these turnovers. Ball did score five points in his comeback and Vucevic posted his usual double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to defeat New Orleans as they lost 123-111.

Player to keep an eye on

On Wednesday, Gary Trent Jr. was everything the Bucks hoped for when they signed him as a veteran minimum player. He was tenacious and had active hands on defense all night while still providing strong leverage for the Bucks' stars. A significant improvement (so far) over Malik Beasley, who shot fantastic three-pointers but often found himself on the defensive. With his ability to get his hands on the basketball and the Bulls' turnover issues (at least in the first game), expect a big day for Trent with potentially multiple steals.

Injury report

After returning to the regular season for the first time in over two years, the Bulls' Lonzo Ball will sit it out. Chicago is holding him back from playing in back-to-back games this year so he can play in the Bulls' home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Former first-round pick Dalen Terry will be available because he is suffering from left patellar tendonitis.

For the Bucks, Khris Middleton is out again as he recovers from offseason ankle surgeries. There is no timetable for his season debut yet. Giannis and Lopez are both likely, as both are listed with right patella tendonitis and right quadrant contusion, respectively.

Here's how to watch

Fanduell Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. CDT.

Playback streaming

We have our first guest of the season on our Playback channel: Brian Sampson from Forbes and @BucksFilmRoom! Join us when the stream goes live at 6:45 pm CDT.

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