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Brook Lopez and Jae Crowder
It all comes down to this… again.
There’s one week left in the 2022-23 regular season, and the Milwaukee Bucks are in a fight to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The last few seasons have seen the Bucks in a similar position, however, they were generally looking up at the top of the standings. This year, however, Milwaukee comes into the last week of the year holding onto a two game lead over the Boston Celtics. Each team plays four games this week, and it could come down to Sunday afternoon, when both teams play at 12 p.m. to decide their playoff seed. Milwaukee is in the driver’s seat, but they’ll need to keep things moving forward for just a little bit longer to finish with the best record in not only the Eastern Conference, but all of the NBA.
If there is one thing working in the Bucks’ favor, it is definitely the schedule. Milwaukee is a combined 6-4 against their opponents this week, including beating the Toronto Raptors three times already this year. Two of the four games where Milwaukee is most likely to clinch the division, on Wednesday and Friday, are at home, where the Bucks have a much better record than on the road this year. Any combination of three Bucks wins and Celtics losses means that the Bucks would clinch the top playoff seed, so even if Boston won all of their games, Milwaukee could still win the regular season title by simply winning out. We’ll see what is on the table for the Bucks to get the job done.
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Tuesday, April 4 at Washington (6 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The Bucks open the week on the road, against a team that they’ve beaten twice this year and lost once to in the Washington Wizards. The last win came in D.C., as the Bucks knocked the Wizards off 117-111 in early March thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s fourth triple-double of the season. The one loss came in a game where Giannis sat due to his knee issue, and Milwaukee came back to win against Washington the next night, where he was back in the lineup. The Wizards come into the week in a distant 11th place, just outside of the league’s play-in tournament for the postseason, so they have plenty of motivation to pick up a big win. However, all indications are that Giannis will be in the lineup on Tuesday night, and Milwaukee should hopefully pick up an important win to start the week.
Wednesday, April 5 vs. Chicago (6:30 p.m., ESPN)
The middle of the week sees a back-to-back game situation for the Bucks, as they’ll fly back overnight for a return to Fiserv Forum against the Chicago Bulls on national television. Milwaukee is 1-2 against the Bulls this year, and it will certainly be a tough contest against a division rival. Chicago is sitting in 10th place, the last spot for the play-in tournament, and needs to ensure that spot by winning this week. Chicago also comes into the week winning seven of their last 10 games, and could actually end up facing the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs if they advance through the play-in tournament and Milwaukee takes one of the top two seeds. There’s certainly a lot of factors that make Wednesday’s game a must watch.
Friday, April 7 vs. Memphis (7 p.m., NBA TV)
The final home game of the regular season is Friday night, when the Bucks will welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to town. Memphis, despite recently dealing with off the court issues from star point guard Ja Morant, are in a similar situation to Milwaukee in the Western Conference. A combination of three wins and Denver Nuggets losses will give Memphis the second seed in the West, and they’ll need to win just about every game this week to have a shot at clinching the regular season title. If the conference titles aren’t figured out by Friday night, expect a tough, physical game with a playoff atmosphere as both teams look to finish on top of their respective conferences.
Sunday, April 9 at Toronto (12 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The 2022-23 regular season concludes with a road game against the Toronto Raptors, whom the Bucks have already beaten three times this year. Both Milwaukee and Boston play at the same time on Sunday, and their playoff seeds could very well come down to the outcomes of their respective games. The Raptors are guaranteed to finish between 7th and 10th in the Eastern Conference, meaning that they have two extra games in the play-in tournament in order to make the postseason. With that in mind, there is at least a possibility that Toronto rests their players in order to make up for the extra win-or-go-home games in their immediate future. However, no team wants to end the season on a loss, especially if they are looking to build momentum heading into the playoffs. Milwaukee can sweep the season series, and possibly clinch the top seed in the East, if they win on Sunday afternoon.
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