Predicting the Milwaukee Bucks’ first round opponent in 2022 NBA Playoffs

With 11 regular season games remaining in the 2021-22 NBA season, the Milwaukee Bucks’ first round playoff opponent has yet to be determined. It will most likely come down to the final week of the season, if not the last few games.

The Bucks currently have the three seed in the Eastern Conference. If this spot remains the same, they will play the six seed in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yet, given how tight the standings are, the Bucks could also easily finish in the second spot. For continuity, we will say that the Bucks finish second with a 53-29 record.

Predicting the Milwaukee Bucks’ potential first round opponent

With the play-in tournament still in play for the final season, there will be two teams playing a one-and-done type game to determine the seventh seed. The unlucky winner of this seed will play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

As of now, the seventh-seeded team in the Eastern Conference is the Toronto Raptors. The eighth-seeded team is the Brooklyn Nets.

Both Toronto and Brooklyn present challenges in many ways. Neither will be a cakewalk for the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

The Bucks are 2-1 against Brooklyn this season with one game remaining against them on March 31, 2022. Conversely, the Bucks are 0-3 against the Raptors this season and have lost five straight games against them overall, going back to last season.

With the Raptors playing as well as they currently are, more than likely they will beat the Nets in the one-game play-in tournament. This game would be played in Toronto at this time, with no Kyrie Irving.

There is also the possibility that the Raptors will overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers currently have only a one-game lead over the Raptors for this spot.

Let’s make the bold prediction that this will actually come to fruition. The Raptors will overtake the Cavaliers and finish with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Bold prediction…the Cavaliers will finish with the seventh seed and defeat the Nets in the play-in tournament game in Cleveland. This will result in a first round playoff matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Bucks have a 1-2 record this season against Cleveland. Both teams split their games in Milwaukee at 1-1 with the Cavs winning the only game in Cleveland so far.

Both teams will meet on the final day of the regular season in Cleveland. Depending on playoff seeds and what has been locked up and determined, this game might be completely meaningless and have no impact on the standings, or it could possibly be the complete opposite and have some kind of an impact.

The Cleveland Cavaliers matched up well with the Milwaukee Bucks so far this season in three games. They are young, very athletic, and play a fast-paced, up-tempo-style game.

In two of the three losses to the Cavs this season, the Bucks have lost by 29 points and 16 points. Both of these games were ugly and the Bucks did not look good in either game.

Keep in mind, these games took place in December and January when the Bucks were not playing their best brand of basketball. Brook Lopez also did not play in any of the three games between the two teams this season.

That was then, this is now. Things sure have changed since January, with the Bucks having played some of their best basketball of the season in their past 10 games.

Other than Giannis Antetokounmpo playing center and proving much-needed rim-protection against Cleveland’s big men, the Bucks really had nobody else at the five spot who was capable of providing much-needed defense.

Bobby Portis, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and (at the time) DeMarcus Cousins were left to defend the paint when Giannis was out of the game. Let’s just say it was not a pretty sight in the two losses.

Specifically, playing against both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen this season has been challenging for the Bucks. That all changes come playoff time.

With Brook Lopez back and healthy, he will provide the much-needed rim protection, defense, and rebounding. He also changes the entire defensive landscape for the Bucks, which will hopefully improve overall collectively as a team come playoff time.

Another major advantage the Milwaukee Bucks have over the Cavs is their championship pedigree and experience. As we all know, the playoffs are an entirely different animal.

Game plans are different and the Bucks scheme accordingly for their playoff opponents, both offensively and defensively. Coach Mike Budenholzer almost uses the regular season as preparation for the playoffs, when he is known to turn up the heat defensively.

The Cavs have very little, if any playoff experience outside of Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo. This will bode very well for the battle-tested Milwaukee Bucks come playoff time in their potential first round matchup with Cleveland in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

Their pedigree, experience, and both offensive and defensive prowess should result in either a five or six-game series victory for the Bucks. This will be just the beginning on the road to repeating as world champions.