NBA Power Rankings midseason reset: Milwaukee Bucks who we thought they’d be

Last week: Lost to Memphis 106-99, beat Chicago 126-114, won at New York 114-96

This week: Friday vs. Cleveland

The Washington Wizards are another team that is right around where it was expected to be. Washington was No. 26 in the preseason NBA Power Rankings and is slightly above that, combining a high-octane offense with an extremely leaky defense.

The Wizards have one of the most difficult remaining schedules — including three games with the Bucks — and an overall winning percentage of their remaining 29 games of .531, which is the fourth most-difficult in the NBA according to Tankathon.

Home (15): Feb. 21 Cleveland, Feb. 24 Milwaukee, Feb. 26 Brooklyn, March 6 Atlanta, March 8 Miami, March 10 New York, March 15 Oklahoma City, March 21 Milwaukee, March 23 Boston, March 25 Phoenix, March 28 Lakers, April 1 New Orleans, April 7 Toronto, April 15 Indiana
Away (14): Feb. 23 at Chicago, Feb. 28 at Utah, March 1 at Golden State, March 3 at Sacramento, March 4 at Portland, March 13 at Boston, March 16 at Philadelphia, March 18 at Brooklyn, March 20 at Atlanta, March 27 at Milwaukee, April 5 at Indiana, April 10 at Houston, April 11 at Charlotte, April 13 at New Orleans

Washington is still right in the thick of the playoff race, currently ninth in the East and three games behind the eighth-place Magic, but Orlando holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the Wizards in four games this season. Their defense could be what keeps them from putting together a sustained run of success.

Game of the first half: This one came early, as Bradley Beal put on a show in a losing cause on Oct. 30 against the Houston Rockets. Beal matched the second-highest scoring output of his career to that point with 46 points to go with eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in 41 minutes of a 159-158 loss at home to the Rockets.

Beal tied the game with three free throws with seven seconds left, but James Harden made one with two seconds to go and intentionally missed his second to seal with win for Houston. Beal hit 14-of-20 on the game, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range, and hit 11-of-12 from the line.

Last week: Lost at Philadelphia 118-111, lost at Washington 126-114

This week: Thursday vs. Charlotte, Saturday vs. Phoenix

At No. 24, the Chicago Bulls are marginally behind the No. 23 place they held in the preseason NBA Power Rankings. While some were calling for a potential playoff push for the Bulls, I remained dubious because frankly, I’ve been skeptical of the Jim Boylen hiring from the start.

Chicago has 27 games remaining and, according to Tankathon, holds the sixth-toughest remaining schedule with a winning percentage of .525.

Home (14): Feb. 20 Charlotte, Feb. 22 Phoenix, Feb. 23 Washington, Feb. 25 Oklahoma City, March 2 Dallas, March 6 Indiana, March 10 Cleveland, March 15 Boston, March 18 Miami, March 23 Denver, March 26 Philadelphia, March 28 New York, April 11 Brooklyn, April 13 Orlando
Away (13): Feb. 29 at New York, March 4 at Minnesota, March 8 at Brooklyn, March 12 at Orlando, March 14 at Miami, March 20 at San Antonio, March 21 at Houston, March 30 at Utah, April 3 at Denver, April 5 at Phoenix, April 7 at Lakers, April 8 at Clippers, April 15 at Boston

The Bulls trail eight-place Orlando by five games and have the Wizards between themselves and the Magic, but being below .500 both at home (11-16) and on the road (8-20) doesn’t bode well for a potential playoff push.

Game of the first half: Zach LaVine has had several memorable games this season, but he got it done at both ends on Jan. 18 in a 118-116 win over the Cavaliers at United Center that featured a comeback from a 73-56 halftime deficit. It was LaVine’s three-point play that put the Bulls up by two possessions, 117-113, with 16 seconds left.

He finished with 32 points on 19-of-31 shooting, while also posting six rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks in an all-around tour de force.