Milwaukee Bucks: Top 5 games from the 2018-19 schedule

3. April 4 at Philadelphia 76ers

Realistically, the Milwaukee Bucks would have to significantly surpass expectations to finish above the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics were a better team than Milwaukee last season, and Gordon Hayward is a better addition than Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova.

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Yet if the Bucks want to get the inside track for a top seed, the rival team to target is the Philadelphia 76ers. Teams that make a huge leap from one season to the other are often hard-pressed to maintain it, especially a team such as Philadelphia that lost rotation players in Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli that were key to their late-season success.

If the Sixers falter during the season, the Bucks could push past them in the standings — an unexpected outcome from where we stand this summer, but completely in the realm of possibility, especially giving that the Bucks made a huge upgrade in the head coaching department.

Fast forward the season to April 4, the last meeting between these two teams and the Bucks’ final road game before returning home to Milwaukee to play their final three contests. There will be plenty of star power with Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Both teams will be jockeying for playoff positioning, and whether the Bucks are trying to push past Philadelphia or simply win a game to hold off another team, this could be a matchup to watch.