Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Feb. 24 vs Utah Jazz

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Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) shoots the ball against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 104-88. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

Finale

With the Detroit Pistons winning their first post-break game on Thursday, the Bucks could slip to two full games behind Detroit if the Jazz come out on top on Friday.

The silver lining of Milwaukee being relatively quiet at the trade deadline is the team did not mortgage any future assets to improve now. The Bucks would be better down the road if they could sneak into the playoffs this season, but it’s not imperative.

We’re still not quite into must-win game territory, but even a brief slump could make it very difficult for Milwaukee to qualify for postseason play this season. Even with injuries to Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton, that would feel like a disappointment for the Bucks given how damn good Giannis has been.

Predictions and Leaderboard:

Adam Coffman: Jazz by 8 — 32-23, 644 point differential

Lukas Harkins: Jazz by 4 — 31-24, 633 point differential

Ti Windisch: Jazz by 5 — 31-24, 654 point differential

Rohan Katti: Jazz by 2 — 31-24, 685 point differential

Adam McGee: Jazz by 6 — 30-25, 737 point differential

Tom Pheister: Bucks by 5 — 29-26, 728 point differential

Tim Wray: Jazz by 9 — 28-27, 658 point differential

Jordan Treske: Bucks by 7 — 28-27, 745 point differential

Next: Bucks Trade Roy Hibbert To Denver Nuggets

The game is on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Wisconsin.

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