Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for in Game 1 against Detroit Pistons

Discipline and focus

If Mike Budenholzer needed any help with his pre-game team talk, the Raptors, 76ers and Nuggets likely took care of it for him on Saturday night.

With three upset wins on the playoffs’ opening day, the remaining higher seeds should be on red alert and certainly a little more focused than they may otherwise have been.

The Bucks haven’t had a whole lot of problems in this department throughout the course of the season, and nothing has changed of late. Milwaukee has certainly painted a picture of a team that’s saying and doing all of the right things, entering the postseason assured, prepared and driven, while also taking with them the confidence of a terrific year.

Still, this is a new test.

This Bucks team does need to win a series. They do need to prove to themselves — nobody else — that they are everything they’ve purported to be over the course of 82 games. With that in mind, coming out firing from day one, and producing a convincing performance, will be key to Milwaukee’s confidence for the road ahead.

This should be the Bucks’ time. They’ve done everything possible to set themselves up for success. Now, all that’s left for them to do is to win.

The game will be televised on TNT, with tip-off from Fiserv Forum set for 6pm CT on Sunday night.