BTBP Roundtable #1: Uniforms, Playoffs and Rotations
By Adam McGee
Feb 2, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Lou Williams (23) dribbles the ball between Milwaukee Bucks forwards Jared Dudley (9) and John Henson (31) in the fourth quarter at Air Canada Centre. The Bucks won 82-75. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
How do you see the Bucks playoff chances? What represents Milwaukee’s current best case scenario?
Adam McGee (@AdamMcGee11): It’s important for Milwaukee to stay away from the seventh and eighth spot, because come Playoff time I don’t think the likely matchups with Cleveland or Atlanta is where many teams would want to be.
If somehow the Bucks could find their form again and get into the fifth seed, I’d like the idea of a 4-5 matchup with the Wizards, but the Raptors/Bulls seems like the most likely scenario. Out of the two, Toronto is definitely the more appealing.
Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch): I could see the Bucks either staying in the sixth seed or moving up to the fifth and passing Washington. The Bucks are two games back right now, but the Wizards have been terrible lately and their coach might not even see the postseason.
Their best chance to win a series I think would be meeting up with the Raptors in the playoffs. The Bulls’ frontcourt is just too big for Milwaukee to handle, but the Bucks have done pretty well against the Raptors this season, especially in their last game against them. Honestly I would be pretty surprised if Milwaukee managed a series win at this point though, because they’ll probably end up playing one of the three or four best teams in the conference.
Jeff Herrmann (@bangocrossing): This one’s easy. The Toronto Raptors. You could make the argument for the Chicago Bulls, but considering how well their fan base fills out the Bradley Center I don’t think that would be an ideal situation for the Bucks or their fans. No one wants to play the Hawks or the Cavaliers. So Raptors it is.
Jordan Treske (@jtresk26): Going against Toronto in the first round would be the Bucks’ best scenario come playoff time. They’ve matched up well against the Raptors, besides the first game blowout early in the year and, while the Bucks are obviously a different team since the last time both teams have played each other, I think the addition of MCW makes for bigger problems for Toronto’s backcourt. I don’t think the Bucks will advance past the first round but the Bucks’ best chances will be against Toronto and I can see them going the full distance too.
Antony Ludwig (@Antony Ludwig): Well, the Bucks are making the Playoffs for sure. I have complete confidence. While they’ve struggled since the All-Star break, nothing about their play has made me so worried to think they’d miss the playoffs. Best case, they get the 5-seed and upset the Raptors in the first round before getting bounced by a superior team in the second round.
Daniel Glassberg (@OffTheGlassberg): Looking at the schedule, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Bucks can go .500 over the next bit of time. That would put them at around 41 or 42 wins, and in the Eastern Conference, a .500 record gets you into the playoffs.
The Knight trade looks to be more-or-less a bet that Middleton can be a bigger focal point of the offense, and he’s definitely looking the part over the last few games. Per Basketballreference.com, since the trade, Middleton is scoring more (11.4 points per game to 18.9 points per game) and increasing his usage rate (18.7 percent to 22.7 percent) while maintaining a similar true shooting percentage (57.4 percent to 57.8 percent).
The Wizards have a comparable schedule in terms of difficulty to the Bucks, and I can’t imagine the Bucks gaining three games on them between now and the end of the season. That said, the only major threat to the Bucks keeping the 6th seed would be Indiana, who have won seven straight.
I can not for the life of me figure out Charlotte, Miami has an easy schedule, but looks to be running out of gas, and despite the brilliance of Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens, the Cs only really have a reasonable chance at the 8th seed. So if the Bucks get the 6th seed, that will probably leave them facing either Toronto or Chicago.
Next: Is It Time For New Bucks Uniforms?