Bucks' upcoming schedule gives Giannis no time to ease into his return

The Milwaukee Bucks have left themselves no margin for error. After losing three straight by a combined 79 points, even making the Play-In will be an uphill fight. The good news is that Giannis Antetokounmpo is back, retaking the floor after the longest injury absence of his career. The bad news is that he has no time to get his feet set in a lower-stakes environment.

The Bucks' upcoming schedule features a number of matchups against direct Play-In foes, so if they have a shot for the postseason, they'll find out soon. That's how Zach Lowe sees it, as he detailed on Tuesday's episode of The Zach Lowe Show.

"They played four of their next six games against Orlando, Atlanta, and Miami. ... So, I think in the next 10 days, we're going to know if this is anything alive for the Bucks, and if it's not, even if they go .500 in those games, if they don't make real progress up the standings, I could see Giannis getting shut down and the Bucks deciding, 'We gotta get this lottery pick.'"

Upcoming games present prime chance to gain ground in Play-In race

Whether Giannis is shut down or not is a discussion for another day. Hopefully it doesn't get there. Looking at Milwaukee's games in that 10-day period, though, it's easy to see where Lowe is coming from. 

The fun and games start Wednesday night against the Hawks, currently four games ahead of the Bucks for the final Play-In bid. Orlando, Sunday's opponent, is 32-28 and in seventh place in the conference. 

Milwaukee then travels to Atlanta (31-31) and Miami (33-29, eighth place). Clearly, this is a critical stretch of games for a Bucks squad that has dipped to 26-34 and, let's face it, is again up against the ropes. And this may be the final round. 

It's not just the win-loss record implications for them and their rivals. As Lowe notes, the Bucks also have a chance to secure tiebreakers over the Hawks, Heat, and Magic. They have already locked it up over Charlotte with a 3-1 head-to-head record.

Giannis will have no soft landing in his return 

Of course, the obvious obstacle in the room is Milwaukee's four-game deficit to both the Hawks and Hornets. Charlotte has won 15 of 18 and isn't slowing down. Only 22 games remain, upping the stakes even further in the stretch of schedule now upon them. Afterward, things will get easier against subpar competition, but they have to get there intact.

As Lowe also observed, Giannis didn't look quite himself in his return against Boston, shooting just 7-for-18 from the field. He was not equipped with his full explosiveness, though he did rise up for several signature dunks. Postgame, he admitted to feeling a bit rusty. Well, that's not really a surprise. It was easy to forget in the excitement of his return, but the Greek Freak is, after all, at least part human. 

What would be nice is if he had a few games to find his footing and grow acquainted with the current version of the team, sliding in smoothly without disrupting the flow established by Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins in his absence. Monday was Antetokounmpo's first chance to play alongside Ousmane Dieng and Cam Thomas. That's different from watching them from the bench or at practice. It was also just his second session of full-contact basketball since his injury in January. 

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the luxury of a comfortable transition period. Lowe is right to say that the Bucks can't afford to simply split the next six games, which include a must-win versus Utah. A 4-2 record is the absolute minimum, and that might not suffice. They'll find out soon enough.