Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Assessing the mixed start to the season

5. The Bucks are now headed into a crucial stretch of their season, with an absurd seven of their next eight games coming on the road. How do you think they’ll fare?

JT: Obviously, the meeting with the LA Clippers will headline the Bucks’ road trip out West, but facing off against the Utah Jazz is one to watch, given their early issues to start the season and Utah being a house of horrors for the Bucks as it’s been 18 years since they last won in Utah. Luckily, the Bucks will face off against the Chicago Bulls twice over this stretch and despite the standout play of Malcolm Brogdon, the Indiana Pacers have stumbled out of the gate.

With all of the issues surrounding the Bucks’ early performance this season, being forced to figure out their woes on the road may be the salve they’re looking for. Or it could only put all of these questions under a great spotlight, who knows. If the Bucks take two wins, at minimum, out West, that’d be huge for them moving forward and taking care of business against struggling teams like the Bulls and Pacers will be critical to at least maintaining their pace in the East so far this year.

RD: I am more excited than nervous about this long stretch of road games. The Bucks had one of the best road records in the NBA last season and I have a feeling, based on the season opener against the Rockets, the Bucks will yet again be a powerful road team. I am very curious to see how the Bucks fare in this difficult stretch. It is obvious that all eyes will be on the matchup between the Bucks and Clippers, as a rematch of Giannis and Kawhi will be sure to excite. One of the other games I am interested to watch is the matchup between the Bucks and the Pacers. This will be an early reunion game for former Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard, Malcolm Brogdon. Although the Pacers have struggled out of the gate this season, Brogdon is proving to many NBA fans just how good he is. I am interested to see if the Bucks will be able to dominate struggling teams like the did last year. I believe that the Bucks will do quite well over this tough stretch and be rewarded with a four-game homestand after that.

LB: It should be a strong test for the Bucks. Minnesota and OKC have been somewhat feisty to kick off the NBA season, and Utah and LA are going to be marquee matchups. Luckily for Milwaukee, they have the luxury of no back-to-backs during this gauntlet test so we shouldn’t have to worry about schedule losses. I’m always happy with a split on a West Coast trip and I think the Bucks can do exactly that. If they can go 2-2 against L.A., Minnesota, Utah, and OKC I fully expect them to take 3 of 4 from Chicago, Indiana, and Atlanta. They’ll be the benefactors of some injury (and melee luck) as Minnesota will be without Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young is battling back from an ankle injury. It’s still very much up in the air if Young can return by their matchup against the Bucks.

JC: This will be a great early season test for the Bucks that should give us some really fun games to watch. I think the Bucks go 6-2 which will put them at 10-4 on the year. The Bucks catch a break with Karl Anthony-Towns being out due to suspension, so I think they win that game pretty comfortably. My two predicted losses come at the hands of the Clippers and Jazz. The Bucks could catch a break against the Clippers with a load management day for Leonard, but I’m actually hoping and excited to see a Kawhi and Giannis rematch. The Jazz are a very good team, and the Bucks historically and recently have really struggled in Utah so I wouldn’t be surprised at a loss. The Thunder are not a very good team, so I think the Bucks roll against them. The Bulls then come into Milwaukee for the only home game in eight games, so I think the Bucks dominate the whole way. The Pacers have been off-and-on all season long, but I think the Bucks come out on top in this game.

I’m also looking forward to Bucks Twitter during the Pacers game because of the huge Brogdon debate that has been going on. The Bucks then run into another game with the Bulls that I think they will win, but I expect a closer one in this game. The Bulls are not terrible! The conclusion of this eight-game stretch comes in Atlanta. Trae Young is on track to miss this game with an ankle sprain, so I think the Bucks do not really have any big challenge here. We also get to have a look at Jabari Parker in a Hawks uniform. Yes, this stretch is a brutal one by having seven away games, but there is a lot to look forward to.

DL: How they’ll fare is a great question.

Realistically, given who they’re playing in this stretch, a 5-3 run in these eight games would be acceptable. They’re going to have some real tests, especially against the Clippers, Jazz, and the Pacers. Chicago could be tricky too given that they’ve improved a bit over the summer. Winning five of the seven games they have on the road in a run like this is perfectly normal for a good team.

Some people might be dreading this slate, but I’m excited to see if they can respond to some of the volatility they’ve shown early by making the most of what would otherwise be a difficult stretch of games. We’ll have a much better feel for where they’re at three weeks from now given the test that lays ahead of them.

AM: Last year’s Bucks would have been no worse than 6-2, and likely would have gone 7-1 through this stretch. I’m confident they’ll fall within that range this time around and this will act as something of a reset after a somewhat erratic start to the year.

We’ll likely have our next roundtable when the Bucks come out of the other side of this stretch, so watch out for that in the future.