The latest set of NBA Power Rankings came out yesterday and after a solid but unspectacular week, there was little surprise in how the national media ranked our Milwaukee Bucks.
Although not necessarily the toughest spell in terms of schedule strength, the demands of five games in seven days shouldn’t be underestimated, and Milwaukee dealt with it admirably.
They took care of business against the teams they should now be expecting to beat, dispatching of the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers on the road, as well as coasting past the Minnesota Timberwolves at home as part of the franchise’s London night.
The week’s two other games may have ended in defeat, but then again, there’s nothing to be ashamed of in losing to teams of the caliber of Chicago and Phoenix. In both games, the margin was less than double digits too as the Bucks fought to the end but were just unable to get over the hump.
Taking all of that into account, let’s take a look at what everyone else thought about the Bucks’ week.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com has the Bucks in 15th place, just as he did last week. Schuhmann also made special mention of one of Milwaukee’s improvements that may have gone under the radar recently, as the Bucks’ defense has been excellent.
"The Bucks have the league’s best defense (90 points allowed per 100 possessions) since Christmas, and not just because five of the 10 games have come against bottom-six offenses. But they get the Knicks for the second time in 12 days in Londay on Thursday. Hopefully, they saved some dunks (like this one, this one and this one) for the Brits."
Moving on to Matt Dollinger’s rankings for Sports Illustrated, Bucks fans will likely be disappointed. Dollinger moved Milwaukee down two places to 17th, despite making a special mention of how injury stricken the squad currently is. If anything, does that not make three wins out of five for the last seven days even more worthy of reward?
"How shorthanded is Milwaukee? Not only are Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders, Jabari Parker and Damien Inglis all out, but Kenyon Martin, who signed a 10-day contract last week, left his first game as a Buck with a chest contusion."
Marc Stein of ESPN is another writer who has the Bucks staying pat from last week’s standings, ranking the Bucks smack bang in the middle of the pack at 15. Stein makes note of the Bucks’ early success being particularly remarkable when you consider the significant number of road games they have played.
"The East standings on this Monday morning were quite astonishing. It shows the young Bucks (A) one spot ahead of sixth-seeded Cleveland and (B) at 23 road games already (12-11). Which is just one less than league-leading Orlando and Phoenix … heading into a home game in, uh, London."
Yahoo’s Marc Spears has left the Bucks in the same spot he had them last week, which in his case was 16th. Spears notes the unusual nature of Martin’s ten-day contract with the Bucks schedule particularly light this week, whether that proves to be good or bad or bad for the veteran remains to be seen though.
"With only one game this week, new forward Kenyon Martin will get plenty of practice time during his 10-day contract to try to impress Milwaukee."
Matt Moore of CBS Sports always has some of the funniest and most entertaining power ranking tidbits, but on top of that he was particularly appreciative of the Bucks this week. Moore ranked the Bucks 13th, highest of any of the writers on this list, and in the weak East he sees no reason why the Bucks can’t continue to succeed, even with such injuries.
"Injuries (and whatever Larry Sanders is) are starting to complicate their situation. Against the Bulls, they sure could have used Sanders to counteract Pau Gasol, who went off for 46 points Saturday. They can’t lose anyone else and keep pace. Wait, they’re in the East. Never mind, they totally can."
Last but not least, we have Drew Garrison of SB Nation. Garrison saw reason to move Milwaukee up a spot to 16th from where he had them placed last week, but like many of his peers, he remains concerned about the Larry Sanders situation.
"You have to wonder if the Bucks missed having Larry Sanders while Gasol poured in 46 on them Saturday. They’ll have some time to figure that situation out this week with just a single game (Thursday vs. New York Knicks) on deck."
All in all, the Bucks are averaging out at a respectable 15th. Regardless of conference strength, that shows that Milwaukee are getting the sort of plaudits they deserve for their solid play, and at the moment they appear to be a lock for the Playoffs.
Considering where this team was last season, this is an incredible rise, and one that Bucks fans should revel in for another while yet.