4. Looking ahead on the schedule, what do you think the Bucks should look to achieve in terms of record from their next 10 games, and what may be the obstacles to them achieving that?
DL: A 7-3 or an 8-2 record is not a difficult ask given their upcoming schedule, even with Khris Middleton being out for basically that entire stretch of games.
They have several winnable games coming up where they’ll be heavily favored (Chicago twice, Detroit, Atlanta twice, and Cleveland). They’ll also have a chance to get back at Utah a few days before Thanksgiving.
If they’re going to secure the league’s best record, which they certainly possess the capabilities of getting, they need to feast on stretches like this. This should be a run of 10 games where they play their opponents off the court on most nights. We’ll see if they can set a new marker over this favorable stretch.
BR: I don’t think it’s too much to expect an 8-2 record over the next 10 games. Despite Khris Middleton expected to miss the next three-to-four weeks, their schedule looks pretty soft between now and mid-December. Some of the tougher matchups over the next 10 games are Portland and Utah, though the Blazers have struggled with Whiteside filling in at center, and I’d imagine the Bucks will be hungry for revenge when the Jazz come to Fiserv Forum in a couple weeks. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Bucks managed to escape this next stretch without adding to their loss column, though the Middleton injury makes it understandable if they let a couple slip.
LB: I would expect them to take every game at home and at worst split on the road. That should get them to 8-2 during that stretch. The upcoming home schedule is a little light in the loafers, and the biggest road test will be a meeting with an old friend in Indiana. Not having Middleton during this stretch will hurt some, but I’m excited to see what Coach Bud decides to do with the rotation. Will Sterling slide into the starting rotation? Will he go big and go with Giannis at the 3 and Ersan at the 4? I would expect a lot of experimentation with our rotations and lineups these next ten games.
JT: The Middleton injury certainly casts a cloud over this coming 10-game stretch and beyond. Luckily, it’s a little more friendly to the Bucks with a home-heavy slate, though there are two weird road-and-home back-to-backs like playing the Atlanta Hawks and hosting the Portland Trail Blazers the next day. As we’ll get into and uncover, this stretch and next month of games as a whole will give us answers to the questions we have in regards to the Bucks’ depth and while I expect the Bucks to take care of business, there could be some unforeseen complications up ahead as well.
AM: I would have said 8-2 would have seemed like a reasonable goal before Middleton went down. Even without him, as all of you have noted, a friendly schedule means it could still be in play, although it may not be quite as comfortable. If they do manage to achieve that, in spite of an unconvincing couple of games early on, they would be ahead of the pace they set last year when they started with seven straight wins. With that considered, even a 7-3 run would see the Bucks match where they were through 20 games last year.