Milwaukee Bucks: Muddled East Means Many Possible Endings
The Milwaukee Bucks could finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the Eastern Conference. With two weeks left in the regular season, what are the possible outcomes?
The Milwaukee Bucks have defied expectations since early February, dominating a road-heavy schedule — including a six-game West Coast trip — to climb to sixth in the Eastern Conference. From their vantage point two months ago at 11th, that’s a heady rise.
The play of the Bucks has been a major factor for that climb up the standings and cannot be ignored. Khris Middleton has returned from injury and returned almost immediately to his former level of excellent play. The bench forwards have come together to provide value in platoon form.
Malcolm Brogdon could be the most unexpected Rookie of the Year in modern NBA history.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been magnificent, dominating opposing teams on both ends of the court. Blake Griffin couldn’t score on him during Milwaukee’s season sweep and no one on the Portland Trail Blazers or Sacramento Kings could stop him.
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When he ignites the afterburners, perhaps no defender in the league could stop him in transition.
But concurrent with this hot streak has been the inconsistent collapse of the Eastern Conference’s tiers. There are now four muddled groups of teams in the East where before there was significant space between squads.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer out in front of the pack, but have fallen into a virtual tie with the Boston Celtics for first place. The Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors are each just two and three wins back respectively of the defending champs.
Any of those four teams could finish anywhere in the top four — they have the talent and all are within striking distance.
At the bottom, the Brooklyn Nets are in a tier of despondence all to themselves. Although they are a respectable 5-5 in their last 10 games, they are 11 wins behind the Orlando Magic for last in the conference.
And, importantly for the Boston Celtics, they are five games behind (ahead of?) the Los Angeles Lakers for the worst record in the league with just nine games to go.
Just above the Nets are those teams effectively eliminated from the postseason. The New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic are all focusing more on their draft preparations than scouting their next opponent.
What that leaves in the middle of the conference are seven teams jockeying for four playoff berths, all squeezed together. Milwaukee is currently near the top of that group, but anything could happen in the coming days.
The Atlanta Hawks are now tied with the Bucks after losing to host Milwaukee on “Bachelor Night” Friday, with both teams losing Sunday and winning in the middle of the week to maintain the status quo.
Atlanta has now lost seven straight games to slip from a certain lock for the postseason to a more tenuous uncertainty.
Milwaukee Bucks
With All-Star forward Paul MIllsap to miss at least a few more games with a knee injury, Milwaukee has an opportunity to climb to the top of the group and finish the year in fifth place.
That accomplishment would have sounded unbelievable two months ago, but it’s within reach for a Bucks team that has scrapped its way to this point.
The problem is that the rest of the East is directly behind Milwaukee, waiting for them to make a mistake. Two losses have the Indiana Pacers now behind the Bucks, but in Paul George the Pacers have the most battle-tested player in this group.
While Milwaukee owns the tiebreaker, Indiana gets an one more home game than Milwaukee over the final stretch and something so small could prove to be the difference maker.
More worrisome than dropping to seventh is the prospect of dropping back out completely. Miami, Chicago, Detroit and Charlotte are all lurking just behind the Bucks and three of the seven teams in this group have to miss the playoffs.
While Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in the group, each of those teams have All-Star level talent and a desire to play basketball past April 12.
The Bucks have two weeks remaining with which to decide their season. If they make the postseason, then games will extend further, but that will be icing on the cake for Milwaukee.
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After losing Middleton before the season to a gruesome hamstring tear and Jabari Parker to another ACL tear, this team was expected to disappoint.
What they have done instead is fight their way into the playoff picture. If they take care of business down the stretch they will qualify for the playoffs, a surprise boon for a fan base ready to call it quits.
Yet after extending the hope, it will be crushing to yank it back. This team does not need to win a playoff series, but they do need to play in one.
With the pressure mounting, four of seven games remaining on the road and key matchups against the Pistons, Pacers and Hornets remaining, the next two weeks decide it all.
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It is up to Giannis Antetokounmpo and company to rise to the challenge or fold under the pressure.