The Bucks managed to keep their win streak alive at 11 by overcoming a flat spot against the short-handed Celtics in their last outing. The plummeting Bulls lost their fifth straight after squandering a 24-point lead at Indiana on Wednesday. Although Giannis Antetokounmpo is active, it wouldn't be a surprise if he and some other Bucks were given some extra rest heading into the All-Star break. The Bulls have depth and other issues but should still be the more motivated team Thursday.

Williams seems to have fallen out of some favor with Billy Donovan -- this number seems rather high, but I'm guessing oddsmakers think Williams will play a lot because the Bulls are down so many injured players. I'm not so sure, plus he will be the primary defender on Giannis, so that won't leave much energy for scoring. This month, the former No. 4 overall pick (yet another Bulls mistake) is averaging 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds.

With Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton both out along with Bobby Portis, Allen should get a lot of minutes and shot attempts unless this is a blowout. In theory, he could top this in points alone. Have to say it completely irks me to root for Allen considering what a total clown he can be in terms of cheap shots on other players. Still surprised he hasn't had his clock cleaned yet in a game going back to his Duke days.

The Bulls don’t have many healthy players available for this game. DeMar DeRozan (quadriceps), Alex Caruso (foot), Goran Dragic (knee) and Derrick Jones Jr. (groin) have all been ruled out. With DeRozan, Dragic and Jones out Wednesday against the Pacers, Dosunmu chipped in five assists over 43 minutes. He could push to play 40 minutes again in this game, leaving him with significant opportunities to reach the over.

After four lackluster losses, the Bulls came out to play Wednesday but still lost 117-113 at the Pacers, and still didn’t cover. The Bulls are 1.5 games behind the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Meanwhile, the Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA with 11 straight wins, one game away from tying for the East lead. There are too many problems with the Bulls. Back the Bucks to cover.