Photo via Twitter / Bucks
Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton
If you watched any of the NCAA Tournament games this weekend, you likely saw advertisements for the NBA Playoffs. We are now less than a month away from the postseason, and the Milwaukee Bucks are amongst the teams jostling for the top position in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks come into the week holding the 2nd playoff seed, chasing the Miami Heat, who have been for the most part stringing together wins since the beginning of the calendar year. Milwaukee has also been racking up wins, taking eight of their last nine overall. There is also a neck-and-neck race with the Philadelphia 76ers, who have begun to gel with the addition of James Harden to their roster. Milwaukee are a solid team in their own right, so it is truly anybody’s race in the East.
The slow but sure reintroduction of center Brook Lopez into coach Mike Budenholzer’s rotation is a welcome addition. Alongside Giannis, Bobby Portis and Serge Ibaka, Milwaukee now has plenty of options in the middle of the court to battle it out with the big men of the NBA. Giannis can easily slide into the power forward position, as can Portis, and any combination of the four men in the middle will force defenses to adjust, likely leaving Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton open on the perimeter. Milwaukee’s offense is solid, and they’ve proven to be dangerous no matter where they have the ball on the floor.
This week, the Bucks return to Fiserv Forum for a pair of games before their last extended road trip of the regular season. Here’s what is in store.
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Tuesday, March 22 vs. Chicago (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
By virtue of NBA scheduling, the Bucks and Chicago Bulls have only met once so far this season, in a 94-90 win on March 4. They’ll see Chicago two more times before the postseason, with a home game this week and an away contest on April 5. Three matchups in five weeks is enough to create some tension, especially when the Bulls are battling their way back up the standings, which they were once on top of just a few short weeks ago. Dropping eight of their last 10 games has not helped Chicago in the slightest, as they’re now looking to avoid the play-in tournament to claim the final playoff spots. That’ll fuel Chicago, in a matchup that could also potentially be rehashed in the first round of the postseason, depending on how things shake out. In any case, Tuesday night will certainly be a primer of things to come.
Thursday, March 24 vs. Washington (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The Washington Wizards will be the next team to show up at Fiserv Forum, and while they are not currently in a postseason position, they haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, either. The Bucks and Wizards have split their season series this year so far, with Milwaukee taking the most recent game at home on February 1. The loss to Washington came as the Bucks were struggling out of the gate on November 7, and was driven by a 30-point showing from Bradley Beal for the Wizards. In order to keep consistent, the Bucks won’t be able to coast through Thursday night. Every game matters at this point, and both teams have something entirely different to play for.
Saturday, March 26 at Memphis (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The week ends with the start of a three-game road trip against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Memphis is currently in the 2nd playoff spot in the Western Conference, but there is a sizeable gap between them and the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee’s opponent in the 2021 NBA Finals. Morant is certainly the story for Memphis this year, averaging 27.6 points per game as the 7th highest scorer in the NBA. For reference, Giannis is 2nd, just behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and just above LeBron James for the Lakers. Milwaukee has more depth in terms of scoring the ball, though, which should bode well for the Bucks, provided that they spread the ball on offense. Morant was also listed as day-to-day with injury concerns over the weekend, but will likely suit up for Memphis in a big game situation Saturday night. Milwaukee did win the only prior meeting between the teams back in January, but the Grizzlies were without Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane, the supporting cast for Morant. With them back in the lineup for Memphis, get ready for plenty of high-scoring on Saturday night.
