Who presents the tougher matchup for Bulls: Bucks or Wizards?

After the Bulls took care of Brooklyn on Monday, Derrick Rose was asked about potential playoff seeds and opponents.

"I just want to play basketball," Rose said, according to bulls.com. "I don't care who we play, where, whenever. I'm just happy to be playing."

Rose may not care who the Bulls end up playing, but their first-round opponent is down to two choices - Milwaukee or Washington. Game 1 is likely to be on Saturday at the United Center.

Toronto lost to Boston 95-93 on Tuesday, which means the Bulls control their fate. If they can beat Atlanta on Wednesday at the UC, the Bulls will be the No. 3 seed in the East and play the Bucks. If the Bulls lose to Atlanta and Toronto beats Charlotte, then the Bulls could still drop to fourth and get a rematch with the Wizards.

With the scenarios getting simpler, this is a good time to consider the merits of each playoff opponent:

Milwaukee

Pros: Well, it's a short drive up I-94 to the Bradley Center and there would likely be a strong percentage of Bulls fans in the building. The Bulls have a history of playing well there, winning nine of the last 10 games in Bango Country.

The other advantage to playing the Bucks is their lack of playoff experience. Remember, this is a team that finished with the NBA's worst record last season, so even making the playoffs was an impressive feat.

Milwaukee's top three scorers - Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo - have a combined zero playoff games under their belts. The most playoff-savvy Bucks player is center Zaza Pachulia, who has 40 games of postseason experience with Atlanta.

The Bulls lost in Milwaukee on April 1, but that was without Derrick Rose.

Cons: Bucks coach Jason Kidd put it well before that April 1 game. Sure, Milwaukee hit a slump after trading point guard Brandon Knight to Phoenix. But Kidd said they're getting better every day with ex-Sixers guard Carter-Williams.

The Bucks have won five of seven games in April, with Carter-Williams averaging 18.3 points and 6.1 assists. The 6-6 Carter-Williams and 6-7 Middleton line up in the backcourt, and with 6-11 Antetokounmpo roaming the court, Milwaukee provides some matchup challenges with its length.

The Bucks aren't necessarily strong inside, though. Pau Gasol scored a career-high 46 points against Milwaukee on Jan. 10.

Washington

Pros: Sure, the Bulls got trounced by the Wizards in last year's playoffs. But look at it this way: Take the group that lost to Washington, swap Aaron Brooks for D.J. Augustin, then add Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and a higher-scoring Jimmy Butler. There's your 2015 rematch matchup.

The Wizards have also changed. Small forward Trevor Ariza, who might have been the best player in last year's series, moved to Houston. Washington also lost pesky power forward Trevor Booker. Before you say, "So what?" keep in mind Booker just scored 36 points for Utah a few days ago.

Paul Pierce brings plenty of playoff savvy to the Wizards, but he is 37. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau loves Pierce, but probably can't wait to match him against 6-10 Nikola Mirotic.

Cons: The Bulls' worst memory from last year was Washington power forward Nene averaging 17.8 points in that first-round series, even while getting suspended one game for head-butting Butler.

Coaches and general managers must love a guy like Nene, who followed the strong playoff showing by averaging 11.0 points and 5.1 rebounds this season … while getting paid $13 million.

So even though he qualifies as a big, burly waste of money, the Bulls have to wonder if he'll again find a higher gear for the playoffs.

Really, the greatest danger is in Washington's backcourt. John Wall is going to play well. Shooting guard Bradley Beal had some injury issues, missing 18 games this season and his scoring averaged dropped to 15.2 points.

Beal seems to be feeling better, though, and has averaged 20 points in April while shooting close to 50 percent from the field. That's probably the biggest reason why the Bulls would want to avoid the Wizards.

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