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2022-23 Milwaukee Bucks
Last week, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, which didn’t really surprise many. They were also the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins this season, and come into the week leading the East by a game and a half. For comparison, last year the Bucks finished the season in third in the East, but only won 51 games total. While they won’t catch the franchise record 66 wins, set by the 1971 NBA Championship team, they certainly have a chance to top 60 wins, which would put this year in the top three seasons in Bucks history. If you go by winning percentage, 61 wins would put the Bucks at .743, which would result in the fourth best season in franchise history. That number is skewed, though, by the 2020 season, which only had 73 games due to the pandemic and restart at the NBA bubble.
For coach Mike Budenholzer and his team, though, chasing history is likely not the topic of conversation right now. They simply have to keep pace with the Boston Celtics at this point to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and while they have a small cushion at the top of the standings, they’ll also want to put themselves in a good position for the postseason. Milwaukee picked up a number of injuries last week, with the status of Brook Lopez, Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, and Goran Dragic all up in the air before Sunday night's win over the Toronto Raptors. The depth of the Bucks roster has been crucial to their dominance this year, so having a healthy lineup by April 10 when the postseason begins has now become paramount. Here is what’s in store in the immediate future:
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Wednesday, March 22 vs. San Antonio (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
With an extra day off after Sunday night’s game against Toronto, the Bucks are back in action Wednesday, when the San Antonio Spurs come to town. San Antonio are in dire straights at this point, tied for the second worst record in the NBA, and at the bottom of the Western Conference. A 16-game losing skid from mid-January to mid-February was responsible for mathematically eliminating the Spurs from the playoffs already, so look for Milwaukee to rest some starters here if the opportunity presents itself. That being said, games like these can all-too-easily become a banana peel, and San Antonio are hungry to get anything moving in their favor as the season winds down. The Spurs knocked off the Bucks back in November, but that was during a rough patch which saw seven Bucks players out due to injury, including the big three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. The scenario will be very different Wednesday night.
Friday, March 24 at Utah (8 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
A four-game road trip begins on Friday night, when the Bucks will head out to Utah to face the Jazz for the second and final time of the season. The Jazz are also lower in the standings, but have much more to play for than San Antonio, as they’re currently on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoffs. The Jazz are without two of their main offensive threats, however, with guards Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton missing time recently due to injury. Milwaukee won the first matchup between these two in December, with Bobby Portis posting a double-double in lieu of Giannis and Khris Middleton, who both sat that night. The Bucks took the lead in the second quarter of that game and never looked back, so hopefully they can get off to a hot start and bring home a win once again.
Saturday, March 25 at Denver (8 p.m., NBA TV)
The toughest challenge of the week comes on Saturday night, when the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets host Milwaukee. The Nuggets and Bucks come into the week as the only two teams to clinch playoff spots in their respective conferences, and it’s not unreasonable to think that these teams could meet in the NBA Finals this year. Of course, a lot has to happen in the interim, but the matchup with championship potential should be entertaining on Saturday night. The Nuggets are led on offense by a potential MVP candidate in center Nikola Jokic, who will give Giannis his share of work to do in the paint, but they also have a deep roster of scorers including Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon. Saturday night will certainly be a mile-high matchup that you’ll want to tune into.
