Which first-round opponent is the most ideal for the Milwaukee Bucks?

As a near-lock for the first seed in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks have three potential opponents for the first round of the 2020 playoffs.

For the second season in a row, the Milwaukee Bucks have set themselves up for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. In an ordinary season, this would play a major part in their pursuit of an NBA championship. Perhaps playing in front of that homecourt crowd would energize the group, ushering them to their first Finals appearance with this core.

Unfortunately for them, this isn’t an ordinary season. There won’t be a hometown crowd unless you count the plastered faces of fans that surround them on an electronic board or the cheers inserted by the NBA’s sound system. Inside the Orlando bubble, the only factors that truly count in the outcome of these games are health and execution.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Therefore, the Bucks’ first-round draw will be motivated to make a statement on a neutral court. Currently, Milwaukee is slated to face a depleted Brooklyn Nets team led by the young duo of Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. Considering the scarcity of its roster and concurrent injury issues inside the bubble and beyond, one might think that this is the best draw for Milwaukee.

The primary reason to note is that reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s matchup at the power forward spot is… Lance Thomas?! A career 38.2 percent 3-point shooter, Thomas is shooting 28.6 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from 3-point-land thus far in the restart. The majority of his career was spent as a veteran presence on the New York Knicks and has since been picked up as a fill-in for Taurean Prince, who opted out of the Orlando restart after testing positive for the coronavirus just a few short weeks ago.

However, there are still a few reasons to avoid the Nets. Allen has only scraped the surface of what he can be in this league but to this point, his rim protection has been a feat to discover. His length and athleticism could give the Milwaukee Bucks some issues on the interior, giving the Nets a chance to use their speedy perimeter players to generate buckets from the wing.

There’s also a case to be made that Caris LeVert is the best player of the three remaining eighth-seed contenders. Every year, LeVert seems to add to his wide range of skills as a ball-handler, natural scorer and shot creator. Granted, most of his best moments have come in losses, LeVert has been sharp inside the bubble and could cause some real headaches for the Bucks’ perimeter defenders.

The same can be said for the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic. If not for his catastrophic season-ending injury suffered against the Sacramento Kings, forward Jonathan Isaac would be far and away the best option from these four teams to defend Giannis. A borderline All-Defensive team candidate in his third season out of Florida State, Isaac paired the defensive intellect and physical mold of a player who could cause trouble for the MVP.

Even without Isaac, Orlando is a tough first-round draw. Former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz has begun to show the excellence as a floor general that he displayed in college. Meanwhile, Aaron Gordon has spent the latter portion of the season flirting with the idea of becoming a legitimate NBA leader. The steady presence of their veterans — Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier. D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross — provide leadership and experience that prove pivotal in crucial moments under the steady watch of head coach Steve Clifford.

Therefore, the Magic are still the toughest opponent of the bunch, leaving the diminished Washington Wizards as the clear option for the Bucks in the first round. Though Milwaukee had some trouble with the Wizards’ up-tempo offensive style in the regular season, All-Star Khris Middleton cooked them each time they faced off.

For the Wizards, the Orlando restart is a chance to develop some of these young players and get reps instead of staying at home and letting the league resume without them. For rookie Rui Hachimura, it’s an extension of the Summer League where he’d get a feel for being the team’s go-to guy. It’ll allow them to get a better sense of which players fit in with their core of John Wall and Bradley Beal when the league resumes as a whole for the 2020-21 season.

If the Wizards made it to the play-in tournament and won both games against the Nets, that first-round series would be an Ish Smith exhibition that would leave the few people who tune in thinking “Wow that guy is pretty good! He should play for a contender.”

For as much as I appreciate the Ish Smith stans of the world, Giannis could probably sit that series out and the Bucks would still take it in four games. Washington is the ideal draw for the Milwaukee Bucks.