Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons they will make the playoffs in 2017-18

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3. The Eastern Conference should be terrible

Last season, all it took to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference was a 41-41 record — mere mediocrity. Three teams qualified for the playoffs despite a negative point differential, and only the Toronto Raptors had a point differential above +3.1. By comparison, the Western Conference had five teams with at least a +3.9 point differential.

Milwaukee Bucks /

Milwaukee Bucks

Then this offseason, Paul Millsap, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, P.J. Tucker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brook Lopez, Carmelo Anthony and Jeff Teague all moved to the Western Conference. While the best in the East held steady, the middle class appears to have melted into the floor.

It will be a surprise if the East requires even 40 wins to make the postseason, and it’s very possible that line drops into the upper 30s. Not only will Milwaukee have a lowered bar to clear, but their most frequent competition will be lower quality as well. Add in an extended schedule with more periods of rest, and the Bucks are set up for success by the teams around them.

The question for the Bucks will most likely not be “Can we make the playoffs?” but rather, “Can we host a playoff series?” as the team sets its sights on the top. The Cleveland Cavaliers have an ailing Isaiah Thomas leaving a hole at point guard, the Boston Celtics turned over all but four players on their roster, the Washington Wizards still have one of the worst benches in the league and the Toronto Raptors look like a paper house ready to collapse.

The Milwaukee Bucks will be fighting for postseason positioning with one of the softer conferences in recent memory. If they can’t shake off their in/out playoff pattern with these teams around them, they don’t deserve the playoffs.

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