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Heading into Thanksgiving week, the Milwaukee Bucks will certainly have plenty to be thankful for when they celebrate the holiday with their families. To start, they’ve turned things around within the last week, picking up three consecutive wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic. Their stars have also returned to their full playing potential, with Khris Middleton coming out of COVID-19 protocols and Giannis Antetokounmpo no longer appearing to be plagued by an ankle sprain that left him out of a road game in Boston. Giannis finished with 32 points and 20 rebounds against Orlando on Saturday night, recording a double-double before halftime. It would certainly appear that things are trending upward for the Bucks.
As it stands heading into the week, Milwaukee is sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, with the winning streak pushing them back over the .500 marker. It’s still very early in the season, though, with plenty of twists and turns likely to propel the Bucks higher in the playoff race by April. A trio of games against the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings along with a similarly matched team out west should make for a likely happy holiday week, as well. Here is what’s ahead:
Monday, November 22 vs. Orlando (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The week begins at home for the Bucks on Monday, with a second consecutive game against the Orlando Magic. The Magic are currently sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference, with the third worst record in the league. In addition to Giannis’ impressive performance on Saturday, Bobby Portis also picked up a double-double, with 24 points and 15 boards. What won’t show on the box score, however, was that Orlando was able to pull things close down the stretch, playing largely against the Bucks’ reserve unit. While Monday night should be a comfortable affair once again, Milwaukee shouldn’t take things too lightly against a team looking for retribution.
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Wednesday, November 24 vs. Detroit (7 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The Bucks return to Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night, with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons, who enter the week with the second worst record in the Eastern Conference, only having one less loss than the Magic. In their first contest in Detroit just three weeks prior, the Bucks dominated the Pistons, winning by a 38-point margin. They also picked up that big win without the services of Khris Middleton or Jrue Holiday, giving Thanasis Antetokounmpo a rare start alongside his brother. With forward Kelly Olynyk out due to an MCL strain, the offense will rely mostly on Jerami Grant, who led Detroit with 21 points in their last meeting with the Bucks. Expect an early Thanksgiving feast in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Friday, November 26 at Denver (8 p.m., NBA TV)
The Bucks will travel over the holiday to Denver, before a marquee matchup with the Nuggets on national television. Denver, much like Milwaukee, stumbled out of the gate this season, but have a scoring powerhouse in center Nikola Jokic, who leads the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals so far this year. Denver is still putting together a supporting cast for Jokic, with the addition of Aaron Gordon last season when the Magic traded away much of their roster. They’ll also be without guard Jamal Murray, who has yet to return from an ACL injury. Jokic also sat out of Sunday’s contest with the Phoenix Suns due to a wrist injury, which could put a damper on a showdown between two of the NBA’s top international stars, but benefit Milwaukee.
Sunday, November 28 at Indiana (4 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin)
The Bucks will round out the weekend on the road, heading into Bankers Life Fieldhouse to face the Indiana Pacers, who have also struggled in the Eastern Conference. The offense for the Pacers relies on forward Domantas Sabonis, as well as former Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon. The Pacers have some other core pieces in place to make a run, but haven’t been able to get things clicking so far this season, sitting just above the Pistons and Magic at the bottom of the conference standings. In the first meeting between the Bucks and Pacers last month, Giannis and Middleton teamed up for 30 and 27 points respectively, with Grayson Allen kicking in 19 points to pull away with a 119-109 victory. While Indiana could make things tough, a hopefully rolling Bucks offense should be able to handle the Pacers.
