Milwaukee Bucks: 76ers game gives opportunity to leave a marker
By Adam McGee
As the Milwaukee Bucks prepare to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day, they have a chance to damage the aspirations of a major rival.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers’ Christmas Day matchup is not what most expected it to be.
It’s still early enough in the season that the two teams must be considered as potential playoff rivals, but the expectation when the schedule was released was that this would be a clash of two titans, and the Eastern Conference’s two clear best teams.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
The Bucks have done their part to spoil that dynamic by being even more dominant than a year ago, separating themselves from the East’s chasing pack to this point. The 76ers have also ensured that gap is even greater, though, thanks to their underwhelming play to this point in their campaign.
Instead of being a meeting of the East’s top two ranked teams, this is the Bucks getting a chance to go up against the fifth ranked team in the conference, and one which currently trails Milwaukee’s lead by a not insignificant 5.5 game margin.
In many ways, though, that shouldn’t do anything to reduce the intrigue and potential impact of this game, even if it won’t quite have the obvious top line appeal that most would have anticipated.
In fact, the stakes may even be higher because the two teams find each other in very different spots to this point in the campaign.
If the Bucks can avoid missing a beat, go into the City of Brotherly Love on Christmas Day, put together a dominant performance and win by a sizable margin, they’ll only pile further pressure on a Sixers team that’s already feeling the heat.
That could make Brett Brown’s seat increasingly hot as head coach, and could also force Elton Brand and the 76ers’ front office into considering exactly where they are and what they may need to do to get back on track between now and the postseason.
In other words, if the Bucks can simply do to the Sixers what they have done to almost all of their opponents for the best part of two months, they could force one of their more notable rivals into the kind of tough spot that could ultimately reduce the threat they pose down the line.
On the flip side of that coin, if the 76ers were to defeat the Bucks, it could act as a true turning point that rights the ship for their season. A strong performance and a positive result against the Bucks could render a lot of the other issues Philadelphia has been dealing with moot. If the Sixers know their roster and philosophies are capable of beating the Bucks, a lower seed than expected would become less troubling.
Next. Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken the next step with his shooting. dark
All of that combines to set up what should be a fascinating encounter on Wednesday afternoon. From a Bucks’ perspective, the opportunity to put a further dent in the Sixers’ so far tumultuous season should be too good to pass up. If they can’t deliver on that front now, it could yet be something they end up regretting down the line.