The Milwaukee Bucks have 15 games remaining in the 2021-22 NBA regular season. Although they are arguably the hottest team in the league and have won six straight games, these last 15 games are perhaps the most difficult stretch of their schedule.
Let us predict where the Milwaukee Bucks will finish in the standings after their final game on April 10.
The Milwaukee Bucks currently sit two games behind the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings. With a 42-25 record heading into Saturday night’s game at Golden State and the Bucks playing their best basketball of the season, to say they will be battle-tested is certainly an understatement of sorts.
The Bucks head out west on a very tough four-game road trip. This includes a visit to Utah, where the Bucks have not won since October 30, 2001.
The Bucks’ remaining strength of schedule for their last 15 games is the third most difficult in the league, from a winning percentage perspective. The combined winning percentage of all of their remaining opponents overall .550, per Tankathon.
In addition to the national TV game at Golden State on Saturday night, which is the first game of the road trip, the Bucks will also play at Utah, Sacramento, and Minnesota. Most likely, we can pencil in a win at Sacramento, at the very least.
The other three games will not be easy by any means. The Bucks have not won in Utah in 20 years and Minnesota is a very much improved team this year, having already beaten the Bucks in Milwaukee on October 27.
A split of the upcoming four-game road trip would suffice, although, with the way the Bucks are playing, they should finish the trip at 3-1—the lone loss coming at Utah, of course, which would extend their futility there.
After that, the Bucks then come home for two very winnable games against Washington and Chicago. Having beaten Chicago twice already this season, we shall pencil in wins for both of these games.
Towards the end of March, the Bucks then hit the road for three extremely difficult games. Playing at Memphis, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn in that order, will also be another true test.
Realistically, the Bucks will win at the very least one of these games. To win at second-seeded Memphis will not be an easy feat, even though the Bucks beat the Grizzlies in Milwaukee on January 19.
To end the season, the Milwaukee Bucks’ final six games are split with three at home and three on the road. This culminates with a game at Cleveland on the final day of the season, as mentioned earlier.
The three final home games are against the Clippers, Mavericks, and Celtics. Again, none of these three games are close to guaranteed wins for the Milwaukee Bucks.
This should result in a 2-1 record at worst for the final three home games. We will pencil in a 2-0 record for the last two games of the season at Detroit and Cleveland. Keep in mind though that the Bucks most likely will be resting some, if not all of their starters for these final two games.
This all hinges on how meaningful or meaningless these games will impact the final standings for the Bucks when all is said and done. This will all culminate with an 11-4 record in the final 15 games for the Milwaukee Bucks, as per our expert opinion.
Pencil in a 50 win season with a final record of 53-29 and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks will carry their momentum and continue to play their best basketball of the season heading into the playoffs.
With two of their key players coming back in the next few weeks before the end of the season – Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton – this team should be virtually unstoppable come playoff time with the hopes of repeating as world champions.
Specifically, the way Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis have been playing since the all-star break, should they continue their prolific scoring with a high level of confidence, the sky’s the limit.