Have the Bucks locked in their seed line after Saturday’s win in Atlanta?

Have the Bucks locked in their seed line after Saturday’s win in Atlanta?

We have a pretty good idea where the Bucs are going to finish I think so so we’ll examine that and some of your questions as well as we are live here on this Easter Sunday and some comments that came in on social media last night as well questions you guys had about

This Bucks team as we start to head into the postseason Camille and I will get to all of that after this on today’s locked on bucks you are locked on bucks your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome into locked on bucks I’m

Justin Garcia here with you you can also hear me on the Bucks radio network joined by Camille Davis and you can find her work obviously unlocked on each and every day on the technical file podcast as well pack a day podcast with Packers season what Cil we’re going to find out

The schedule in a couple of weeks already for the Packers football never ends but uh that’s where you can find our work outside of this we thank you for making lock on bucks your first listen each and every day free and available wherever you get your podcasts

And viewable on YouTube as well part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so Camille we we go back to last night and the Bucks I I had talked about this with a few other people as it was happening and it was one of those

Things where you you put the comment out there and think like people going to over react to this I thought it was a big win an impressive win a very good win they were 0 and five in games without Damen Lillard prior to last night and there’s a number of of reasons

Why I thought this was a pretty good win for the Bucks winning without Damen Lillard the way they came together throughout the game and the way they held off some of those Hawks charges especially once they made it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter some individual performances

That stood out that I do want to get to in a moment the way that they found their offense I also want to dissect and get to in a moment uh but look as much as we joke about it these are the games the Bucks have struggled in not just the

Damen Lillard Les games but against those teams that are kind of in the mid to lower tier of the league and especially against teams that are without their leading score and a handful of their best players yeah absolutely like the context matters as to why one would say this was a big win

For the bucks you pair the fact that they are coming in on a two- game losing streak lost at home against the Lakers lost on the road against the Pelicans and then you see there’s no Dame the Bucks were 0 and five without Dame prior to this game last night against the

Hawks you look at just everything that’s been going on we’ve been talking about the last few games with Chris Middleton coming back from injury how the shot wasn’t falling for him so you see him get going we’ve talked about Pat Bev playing through injury and now he is

Tasked with starting while he’s playing with a torn in his wrist that will require surgery in the offse and like you’re like hey Pat like we need you to run the show and he goes in and he puts together a really really solid performance for Pat Bev uh and it’s

Against a Hawks team that is was on a hom stand this was the fifth game of their five-game home standand they had won their previous four including two big wins over the Celtics one went to overtime we saw the jeante Murray go for 44 on 44 shots like we haven’t seen a

Player put up 44 shots that many shots since Russell Westbrook and Kobe Bryant did so like those are the only two players and ironically enough yeah came in a game played against Jason Tatum right right so it’s like you understand like this is the team that was feeling

Pretty good about themselves coming into this game at home um meanwhile the Bucks were you know two game losing streak and narrative start once losses stack especially as you’re leading into the playoffs the Bucks only had had nine games left at that point so you don’t

Want to be like hey it’s a three- game losing streak here as we’re heading into the playoffs so I’d agree it’s a much needed win for sure I’m a win for our Bucks team that as we’ve seen throughout the season so far haven’t necessarily been able to get those wins without Dame

So seeing this team come together uh offensively because that’s really been the thing over the last few games where they just kind of stalled offensively and seeing them find a way to get the ball in the hoop uh move the ball around and be productive on that end of the

Floor while maintaining a good defense um yeah I definitely say this is a big win for the bucks so I I had talked about this uh last night on on my postgame show too and that look if you are how would we put it Camille skeptic

A Doc Rivers skeptic uh coming into the season here or into the playoffs I should say I certainly get that and there’s nothing that you or me or anybody is going to say or point to during the regular season that is going to move you off of that uh opinion it’s

It’s got to be well I got to see it in the playoffs but I do think and I I think we saw small pieces of this last night I do think one of the areas where you would kind of circle and say Here’s Where I do have encouragement for this

Team under Doc Rivers in the postseason is the way they they can and should and we think will attack matchups it’s not to say you have to do things one way or another but I do think it was frustrating A lot of times for Bucks fans to see some clear matchups they did

Not take advantage of in the past five years and with Doc Rivers we’ve seen a little more of that I’m not going to say the Bucks have become Kings of exploiting mismatches you’ve seen it increase a little bit but hearing some of the things that Doc Rivers has had to

Say to me is what’s the most encouraging part it is not just after last night it’s been a constant refrain from Doc Rivers of we got to be the bigger team more physical team right we’re not going to win track meets we got to be that

Tougher team and we we we will do that by using our size and I think when you think about that you would point to obviously Giannis you would point to Brook Lopez and and then Bobby Portis and doc has said several times you know it’s a two-way street like we have to

Look for Brook Lopez when he’s in the post but Brook has to do a better job too of calling for the ball last night I think you you kind of saw not necessarily all but everything that doc was pointed to that started to really come together when you look at

Their shot profile and where this was coming from no Ana kongu it was a smaller Hawks team with basically just Clint capella and out there Bruno Fernando as well and Giannis has tortured him in the past but you saw last night Brook Lopez only took three shots only one was a three-pointer Bobby

Poris 10 shots only two were three-pointers the buck shot 70% on their twos they did not have a great three-point shooting night but I think that’s the other credit is um not to to pour salt in the wounds and pick over a fresh scab here but we’ve seen locally recently and we’ve

Seen it in the NBA in the playoffs as well what happens when the three isn’t falling and you keep going back to the well bucks only took 28 threes last night in that game against the Hawks they did not shoot it well and they kind of recognized not not that you abandon

The three because you still have to take open looks but hey in the meantime why don’t we just start to Feast here yeah absolutely and to be fair let me just be completely honest before I even respond to that point you mentioned how there are people who aren’t sold on Doc Rivers

At this point and there won’t be until the playoff start if you I’ve said it before but if you would have told me after the bugs fire Mike benen hoser that the head coach that would be leading the bugs into the playoffs The Following season will be Doc Rivers I

Would have been like we have Doc Rivers at home why are we doing this what do you mean we went from Bud to Doc but of course with how this season went with Adrien Griffin at the helm for a period and you saw what this team was missing

Seeing DOC come in and get that low hanging fruit like we’ve talked about and kind of just set this team up for a success um it’s what they needed so to that point about perspectives on Doc Rivers like I was somebody who wasn’t necessarily thrilled initially um about

The hire and I wouldn’t have been after Mike buen hoser was fired immediately thereafter but seeing what he’d been able to do with this team and how he communicates and how he’s able to stress his point and what he wants to be done and seeing the players execute it to

Your point like it’s been really really good to see and looking at the bugs trying to take advantage of mismatches doc has been mentioning that four weeks now saying we are a bigger team we are not fast we are not young we are not that athletic so that’s not going to be

The way that we can beat teams we cannot get into track meets we have to get it out the mud we have to play through our size and although Brooke didn’t have that many shot attempts he did get six attempts at the free throw line and we

Have talked a lot about how coming out of All-Star break the the whistle is a bit different for the refs even seeing Giannis get to the line line 16 times last night I believe that’s the most that he’s had since coming back from the injury for sure so seeing that they were

Able to use their size not only just to say like we’re getting looks but to get to the free throw line an area where this team hasn’t been able to get as many looks that’s a big benefit as well and I did see a Doc Rivers quote that I

Just want to read so if you see me looking down looking at my phone for those on YouTube uh doc said quote to continue it and keep looking for it and don’t get tired of throwing the ball to the post I bet we said that a 100 times

Tonight okay we got a big guy sitting in the middle of the paint throw it to him and if they trap throw it back out and let’s get a three I think guys don’t understand In-N-Out basketball doesn’t have to be with a drive it can be what

Oppos to out and I thought we did that more tonight and quote so again you got to take advantage of mismatches and with this Bucks team having two seven Footers in Brook and Giannis and having a 610 Bobby poris like a lot of nights they are going to have that size Advantage so

To see this team getting used to getting the ball in into the post I mean we made jokes last season about how there was nobody on the team who could even throw an entry pass into the post outside of Joe Engles and Chris Middleton so um seeing them find different ways to

Activate getting looks around the rim outside of just post-ups but looking for um a guy running down the middle of the Court having their guys sealed off and just getting the pass to them and if they don’t have the shot trusting that they’re going to get the ball back out

So it’s been uh really good to see that and encouraging to see that they’re not shying away from playing through to their size yeah and uh a couple of points to to kind of tie into to all of that that I do want to get to and some of the

Comments that have kind of addressed um offensively what we’ve seen from this team what Bucks fans want to see more of and and the big Point that’s coming up a lot especially in the comments but is we’re starting to get to that point with two weeks left in the regular season now

Um maybe not so much where the Buck’s going to finish because I’ve said all along it’s going to be one of two places not all along I’ve said for the last few weeks it’s going to be one of two places it does seem now like it’s it’s barring

The Bucks going 0 and three into that match up with the New York Knicks on on one week from today Sunday it does seem like I’m not ready to call it yet but I’m pretty confident they’re going to be the two seed so more importantly what is

That going to mean for a first round matchup we’ll get into all of that as well coming up after the break unlocked on bucks this episode of lock on bucks is brought to you by prize Pi it is a America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than three million members it’s the

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YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and just before we get back to the Bucks discourse Camille the Sidetrack there is so much going on and that’s where lock on sports today comes in handy even

Brushing up on what in the world is going on with the Minnesota Timberwolf sale so getting the local expertise on that is where lock on sports today and the the entire lock on podcast Network comes in uh handy so we mentioned some of the things offensively uh the other thing that I’ve really

Become I mean I suppose encourage would be the word but it’s been noticeable to me for the last couple of weeks I’m not to say it’s been consistent we’ve seen moments where it’s deviated and that’s seemingly been in losses or late in the game against the Lakers but when we talk

About this offense and and how Doc Rivers has been adamant we’ve got to exploit mismatches we’ve got to find those and take advantage and again as as we talked about earlier in the season that was one of the strengths of Trevor Gleason when you brought him on staff um

It seems like and I’ve seen the comment a bit in the comment section ball movement that has clearly been there the Bucks I think have been moving the ball quite a bit more uh since the All-Star break but it’s not just that um it’s been player movement and rerouting after

The initial pass and you know just think about the number of times that we’ve kind of grown accustomed to seeing the Bucks offense of the last five years with the the whole Let it Fly and play random moniker that fans may not have loved um but you think about

The amount of times you’ll see an action set up and you know okay I know how this is going to end I I think we’ve shifted a little bit away from that where you’ve seen more of an increase in emphasis on players passing up good shots or their

Comfort shots for better shots and I I think it’s specifically not to not to call out names or say what they were doing before was was hurting the team but I think specifically when you look at Giannis when you look at Bobby poris and Brook Lopez again those bigs we’ve

Seen a number of times where you start to get into the action that you want and maybe the look isn’t totally there in the past that’s a shot that that is still going up it has not to the same volume so I think that message is starting to get through

From Doc Rivers too of look I’m not saying don’t take that shot take it when you have the look that you want you don’t have it on that initial action set it up again you know kick it back out to the perimeter move the ball around we’ll

Get it back to you and then you can find that and I think that’s what’s more encouraging than anything else moving into the playoffs and when we talk about stagnation in the offense and how important the half court is I think we’ve seen some very significant against

Strides Damen Lillard’s a big piece of that but as a team I think we’ve seen some pretty clear strides in the half court I’d have to agree with that because you think about in the playoffs right in how the Bucks used to play offense under Mike boser where it was a

Lot more stagnant like guys are in their spots and whoever has the ball maybe they’re into action with one other guy and then you might see something come very late but it was a lot more stagnation where as you mentioned the off ball movement guys were in their

Spot because they knew where they were supposed to be in that five out spread offense but now with Doc I love that you pointed out the fact that they will just run it again like okay this didn’t work run it again R it again keep trying to

Find a way to stretch that defense until they’re finally in a position where it’s not advantageous for them but you have the shot that you’re looking for so I do love to see that and as you mentioned the ball movement piece has been talked about a lot and I think with this team

Given the talent that they have with Giannis with Dame and even with Chris those three in particular where it’s like sometimes when we talk about the ball gets it gets stuck it’s because these guys are landing on their own Talent it’s like hey I know I can get

This shot like and it’s not necessarily a bad shot sometimes but is it the best shot on the court there are going to be times where you just got to continue to feed the hot hand and we saw that when Giannis went for 20 straight was against

The Pelicans where it’s just like okay just keep getting the ball to Giannis as he is just completely cooking this defense just feed the hot hand until that defense reacts in a way where you need to change your actions out of it so there is this balance that I think this

Team needs to find with understanding at times where like at times yeah let’s continue to ride the hot hand let’s continue get the ball in the hand of Giannis or Dame and let them continue to cook but when that action is no longer working or the defense has adjusted now

We need to get back into moving the ball around and making sure we can get the best shot available so it’s it’s a delicate balance of like okay are we passing too much are we not passing enough and you just really have to go based on what the defense is giving you

And try to dictate your game that way so to your point about just seeing better off ball movement I mean that’s part of the reason why I feel like Doc loves Pat conon so much he has applauded the way that Pat conon can move off ball and how

Much that opens things up for other guys on the court even if the ball’s not going the pat maybe his cut opens up the three or maybe his his he’s running around the perimeter now that opens up a cut for somebody else so Doc is somebody who definitely loves that off ball

Movement and again I think that’s the reason why Pat KH particular is somebody um who has gotten his minutes uh pretty consistent under Doc and we heard DOC come in saying like we need Pat cont and get his confidence back up and we’ve seen how Pat conton has been playing

Under Duc rivers and I think it’s been a real beneficial thing for the rest of the team because as mentioned off ball movement isn’t necessarily just for yourself it’s to clear up things for the people around you as well on your team yeah and look if if you just look

At the um the raw numbers and it’s just per game it’s pretty flat pre all-star versus post All-Star for the bucks I I think it’s actually decreased slightly but assist rate um in other words the the the percentage of field goals that were assisted has gone up by about 3

Percentage since the All-Star break and that’s that matches the ey test where it just seems like they’ve had more of these games where you look up especially recently up until that two game skid they had some very very high assist numbers uh in those games when

All of a sudden 30 was was becoming the norm it seemed like I think they had a stretch of uh three out of five games or three out of six games where they had 30 plus assists highlighted by that 37 assist game in the loss to the uh to the

Lakers so it’s definitely been more noticeable that I think this this team is getting more comfortable in what they’re asking for in in terms of their their offense and what they’re looking for under Doc Rivers and the the assist numbers are the biggest thing to uh to

Point to there I think one other thing to to point out too is um I’ve seen a few people say man Dame’s got to push the pace and and we’ve had somebody bring it up in the comments here as well that Damen Lillard he’s got to play at a faster Pace we got

To get the ball moving and and attack with Giannis in transition and look there there is some Merit to that that you’d love Giannis in transition um more and more since he is I I think the best transition player in the league but it’s it’s just not Dame’s pace and doc has

Talked about this too when when we’ve talked about the unfair comparison that Damen Lillard was always going to face that Drew holiday was a plug-and-play player Damen Lillard not so much um I think a lot of times when you think about scoring and you think about smaller guards you assume well they play

Fast they play at a quick Pace that’s not Dame and it never has been he plays at his own pace when you hear Doc and other coaches talk about Chris Middleton and that you can’t speed him up play at his own pace Dame is the same way he is

Very patient he knows when and how to attack and it’s just not a Sprint up and down the floor type of guy and attack that he can and he can get into the paint and facilitate but he’s going to play at a slower Pace than than other

Guys out there so I think that’s one of the misnomers when the Bucks acquired Damen Lillard and it’s one thing to just be aware of of look I I get it you want to get Giannis on the run as much as you can but that that’s just not way that

Damen Lillard plays yeah that’s and that’s something that’s going to have to be talked about like when are the situations that we’re looking at to try to push the pace in this situation like it’s situational with Dame at this point because like you mentioned his comfort zone is taking his time really being

Able to kind of probe the def defense and see what’s available to him he loves to pick and roll he likes to take his time attack the angles so it’s one of those things where it’s like okay we’re going to have to figure out exactly the best ways and situations to push the

Pace because Giannis is one of the biggest threats you said best in the NBA at transition like he’s already in my opinion just one of the best in NBA history in transition so it’s like how can we also take advantage of this while also catering to the fact that D Mike

Play at his own pace and you mentioned how Chris Middleton is also somebody who kind of likes to play with a little bit slower but yet and still you’ll see times where Chris is like we need to push like we need to play with more Pace

At this moment so I think it’s just getting used to it which is I saw some fans were up said that Dame wasn’t playing against the Hawks because it was due to personal reasons but I understand saying like hey there’s only so many games left we haven’t been healthy I

Want to see this team get get as many reps as they possibly can but again you can’t ignore that human element that goes into sports and into performance so uh with that like they’re just going to have to figure out as a team the times to push that pace and when they can

Actually take their time because one thing we know about the playoffs as well is everything slows down in the playoffs so you would think that the style of play that Dame does enjoy playing with will be really beneficial come playoff time yeah and um look I I think it’s

Just the last thing you said is the biggest thing is there’s a lot that has been going on off the court with Damen Lillard all season long I don’t think NFS need to pry and it’s not our place to speak on it um and with the amount of

Games left Doc Rivers to the way he he had he was asked is there a chance that Dame doesn’t finish finished the road trip and said yeah it’s a possibility I think it’s safe to assume you won’t have him on Tuesday in Washington DC against the Wizards and that should be fine

Because I saw the same comments and people saying well great now we won’t have them for the Wizards either guys if you need Damen Lillard to beat the Wizards when you can see what’s on the horizon and that’s a team that’s out of the postseason that’s an entirely

Different conversation the big thing is just I just I want Damen Lillard to be Damen Lillard in the playoffs and if this is part of it not risking anything and and rushing him back and and not that he’s coming back from an injury but who cares you got some big games left on

The schedule but as as we’ll talk about a little bit in the next segment too none of this matters if you take care of business in these next three games because that may well seal where the Bucks are if you can turn this into a four game win streak we’ll get into that

And a lot of the comments that we continue to see coming up about potential first round opponents you know my thought and who I would like to avoid so we’ll get into that a little bit more coming up after the break un locked on bucks well I don’t know about uh the

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Amazon.com locked onfire TV all right so Camille it’s look I’ve I’ve referenced uh playoff status quite a bit and last year they were the first ones in on behind all their algorithms bucks are going to end up with a one seat as of this moment they have the

Bucks with a 97% chance to finish no lower than third in the Eastern Conference now I do think um part of this boosting because for a while it was in the mid to high 80s I do think a part of this was not only seeing that most of

Those teams around the Bucks have been playing 500 you know the Bucks have been six and4 in their last 10 games Cavs are four- six magic were on a two game skid until their win last night that to me was always the Intriguing team because

Of the fact that they had two games left against the Bucks and that if they could stay within two games knowing they got two in their back pocket that could make things interesting but now the Bucks are four games in front of the magic I think

We can rule out Orlando jumping up there and and catching the Bucks they’re two games in front of both of and the Cavaliers the Cavaliers remain interesting because they’re starting to get healthy and last night was the first time or two nights ago Friday night the first time they had basically their full

Strength roster in months in over a month right the Knicks two games back of the Bucks as we mentioned that’s a team that’s been playing better Dante dienzo is all of a sudden an elite three-point shooter um but you do have the tiebreaker over the Knicks so I just

Keep coming back to and I I pointed this out last week as well the stretch the Bucks are in now starting with that game against the Hawks last night you won that great then the Wizards the Memphis Grizzlies that is a back-to-back from DC to Milwaukee and then the Toronto

Raptors on Friday night if you win those three games and make this a four-game win streak and the importance in in those games to me all along was look you’ve got some challenging games left these are games you are going to be expected to win because these are teams

Essentially plain spoiler right nothing else to play for Hawks have they can still get home court in that 910 match up but that’s it so these are the important ones because if you can take care of business in those games in games where the Bucks have somewhat struggled

You know the Hawks we joked about it being a big win those are the teams that have given the Bucks the most fits so far uh this season those those teams that are right on The Fringe and teams that are missing their best player Bucks have been basically 500 in those games

This season at 14 and 12 and defense in the bottom 10 offense outside of the top 10 again they’ve been at their best against the best teams in the league statistically and by way of record so if you can win these games the number 51 is what stands out

To me in that if if you get to 51 wins I think that should be good enough for the bucks to get the two seeds so that means you’ve just got to win four more games those three are big in that sense because if you win those I think

You go into Sunday night against the New York Knicks knowing look even if the Knicks have gone on a win streak and they’re still two games back Bucks win that game and they’ve knocked the Knicks out of potentially catching them yeah and even if Dame doesn’t play against

Washington like we mentioned that should be a game that this Bucks team can still win from so when you’re looking at the schedule you mentioned getting the Bucks to 51 wins the Bucs are currently 47 and 27 meaning like you said just four more wins out of their last eight games and

When you look at the last eight games of the season for the bucks at Washington on Tuesday versus Memphis on Wednesday so a back toback like you mentioned Friday versus Toronto at home Sunday versus the Knicks at home uh Tuesday versus the Celtics at home Wednesday which so back toback against the magic

At home so five game home stand for the Bucs after they do this trip to Washington then they end the season on the road in Oklahoma City in Orlando and when you look at that SCH you’re like I can see four wins out of this last eight

Like you of course look to Washington to Memphis to Toronto and that Memphis game in particular that’s one where I think the Bucks are going to get up for because they got embarrassed by those Grizzlies who had the injury report that’s longer than the CVS report or

Receipt where it’s like we got to get our get back and the Bucks have been good in these quote unquote Revenge game so far this season where it’s like we owe you one back and understanding as well this is the team that’s preparing for the playoffs Pat be has mentioned it

Many times like we are gearing up for the playoffs and we understand what our Focus needs to be at this time you do not want to go into the playoffs on a bad note so I think getting 251 wins is definitely reasonable to expect from this Bucks team with who they have left

And what they have in front of them and with the lead that they’ve been able to build up over the last few weeks with the Cavaliers having those injuries there because they were really pressing the bugs for a moment there we saw the Knicks jump into that three seed at one

Point over the last week as well so um we don’t have any more match up against the Cavaliers but we do see the Knicks so that’s like a double whammy type of game we see the magic who’s also behind the Nick so when it comes to the

Standings I do think that that two seed area is the place where the Bucks should and could finish um and we’ve mentioned before there are positives and negatives with being in that two seed because you aren’t aware of who your opponent is going to be until after the playing

Games commence so I think it’s all it’s all in the bug’s hands right now like they they are in control of their Destiny when comes to what seed they’re going to be in you want to see them finish the season strong which would pretty much lock up that two seed so

That feels very very reasonable to expect from this team at this point so if you go uh four and four which again is not a big ask to say hey can you just play 500 going into the playoffs uh if you do that in order for the the two

Teams chasing the Bucks and again we’re going to leave the magic out of this discussion given four games uh with eight games remaining that is a pretty Herculean lift to to make that much of a jump so those two teams chasing the bucks if the Bucks go four and four the

Cavs would need to go six and two to to pass them because Cleveland just has to tie the bugs by way of owning the tiebreaker the Knicks would need to go eight- one to pass the bucks for the two seed if you play 500 the rest of the way

And I’ve seen a few people point out the schedules um for those those remaining teams again Cleveland has gotten healthy now but starting today Easter Sunday they start a five game West Coast Road Trip that’s tough at yeah at Denver today and Denver I think is going to be

Without Jamal Murray once again but you’re still going to Denver in the altitude and playing against niika yic then you go toh Utah which again Bucks fans can vouch hey on paper easy not as easy as it seems playing in Utah against the Jazz then you’re in Phoenix and the

Suns are in a spot where now all of sudden the Dallas Mavericks have not only caught them they have started to pull away from them so Phoenix still wants to get out of that playing tournament that is not going to be an easy game then you have two games

Against the Lakers and the Clippers to wrap up that five-game road trip where again Clippers are trying to hold off the Pelicans for home courts in that 4 five matchup and the Lakers still have a chance especially in light of that injury to Malik monk to catch the

Sacramento King or or just move up frankly and get out of that n910 spot where again you just you got one crack at it you got to win two games to get into the postseason so the travel the fact that and and Doc Rivers talked about this as well that it’s it’s very

Strange when you see the schedule in the league these days for a lot of teams when you think about the one side of the coast to the other travel for extended periods of time that we’re seeing this late into the season it is unique I don’t recall seeing anything like this

In quite some time and now the Cavaliers are in Tren unit so they have that five-game um road trip and then you close out the season with games that you’re going to be favored in you know home against the Grizzlies home against the Pacers home against the Charlotte

Hornets but the big thing is that five game Road Trip and that’s where things could potentially start to go south for the Cavaliers or at least give the Bucks a little more breathing room and then yeah the Knicks played today as well so there’s some big games to keep an eye on

For the bucks with the Cavs in Denver against the nuggets and the Knicks hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder in a big one they have a schedule kind of similar to the Bucks where you don’t see a ton of challenges they do have the Celtics left they do have the bucks left

They have the thunder today then they’re on the road against Miami then they have the Kings but after that two games three games with the bulls and again when you talk about the weird weird shifts to the schedule the Knicks play the Bulls three times in their final six games to the

Regular season yeah it’s it’s tough like that’s all good news for bugs fans like that is great news for bugs fans looking at the schedules of those teams that are right below them in the standings that could try to press the bucks for that two seed so something to keep an eye on

The bugs are not playing on this Easter Sunday Especial real quick shout out to everybody who is in the comments um watching us as we record this live on Easter Sunday I appreciate everybody tuning in for that uh before they get to family festivities or whatever the day

Might bring but that’s something that bugs fans should definitely be keeping an eye on just watching the scoreboard and seeing what’s happening with those teams around the bucks so keeping an eye on the Cavaliers keeping an eye on the Knicks the magic and I’m sure they’re

Going to be bugs fans as well looking just towards that bottom half of where the playing tournament sits in the east as well because there’s a lot of conversation as well around this team where it’s like hey which matchup do we not want the Bucks to have like what’s

The most unfavorable situation for the bucks for a first round playoff matchup so I could also see people paying attention to the Pacers to the heat to the 76ers and while the Bulls and the Hawks are in the mix it feels no one and it feels bad to say it because anything can

Happen with the playing games since it’s a one game shot at it but like you’re not really looking at the Bulls and the Hawks like okay this is a team that’s really going to look to press somebody yeah and the Bucs couldn’t get those teams anyway right because that’s going

To be probably the one seed the matchup so like it’s something to look at here so with that all being said like just keep an eye on the standings around them um because it is going to help affect the Bucks the Bucks have to take care of

Their own business like again if the Bucks do what they need to do this shouldn’t be a conversation anyways but just keep an eye on it as the the league continues to wind down and teams are as we know this final Sprint everybody is trying to play as hard as they can to

Get that playoff positioning to head into the playoffs on a good streak so we’ll have to just keep an eye on it and see how it plays out a couple of quick things as as we start to wrap up here um it’s going to be one of those three

Teams it’s going to be the Pacers the Heat or the 76ers is who the Bucs are going to get in the first round um in terms of matchup who would you most like to face I think it would be the Pacers in that I know they won four out of five

Against the Bucks it’s a much different team um from when they last played what January 3D was the last time they played the Pacers I think the Bucks have a different coach since then they look different they’ve taken advantage of some of that loow hanging fruit and

Cleaned up a lot of the issues that plagued them in those Pacers games not to mention the Pacers no longer have buddy hee Benedict Maan is out for the season Tyrese halberton is clearly still impacted by that hamstring issue it’s a much different team so I think of the

Three that’s who you would Circle I’m gonna die on this hill in that I think the Bucks should want to play the Miami Heat because of what happened last year I know we we said a lot of the same thing a year ago it’s not the same Miami

Heat team as it was last year I know they’ve had haime hakz Jr who’s been very good for them so far this season it is still a rookie going through his first postseason regardless of whatever what whatever the fairy dust is that the Miami Heat sprinkle on all of their

Players uh it’s still a rookie experience in the postseason for the first time some big big pieces and their role players are missing from that team no Max stru no Gabe Vincent and what he did to the bugs in that Series so I do think that’s who you should prefer and

You should want to play the Miami Heat because of what happened and that’s the same approach the Bucks took in 2021 where they specifically wanted the Miami Heat because of what happened in the bubble I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t the same message within the

Locker room again this year and look I don’t care if it’s just me worrying over something that isn’t there look I want to see Giannis versus joelan be in the postseason as much as as anybody here we haven’t gotten it for years ever I don’t want it in the first round setting with

Embiid just recently returning and with the 76ers going against their former coach in Doc Rivers I’d rather save that for down the road so to me that’s still the team I don’t want the Bucks to get in the first round is Philly and I think the attitude should be we want revenge

Against the Miami Heat yeah and I mean that Revenge piece it runs deep it’s like the the Miami revenge is like last season thinking about that in just the years in the past like the Miami Heat and the bugs have this rivalry that has been developed because of the playoffs I

Mean you go back to the bubble when they got bounc in the bubble you think of 2021 when the Bucks finally got over that Hill that first game in that series I won’t forget it because it was so close until Chris Middleton um hit the shot that really sealed it for the bucks

And then from that point on in that series it was really easy rolling for the bucks thereafter you think about last year the eight seed knocking out the one seat and all the the public shaming and embarrassment that came on the bucks from that like you definitely

Want that get back so the Miami Heat team where it’s like if that’s the first round matchup I’m here for it I’m not shineing away from it want to see how that plays off but if that first round matchup also ends up being the Pacers it’s not as deep as that Miami feeling

Because of the years of playing against the Heat and what has happened there but this season in itself with everything that happened with the Bucks and with the Pacers from the game ball gate uh just to the the Tyrese Hal tapping his wrist In the End season tournament

Afterwards and just the trash talking in the fields around this team would also be a really fun first round match up for the team and as you mentioned these teams are completely different from when they last saw each other and the Pacers are also dealing with some injuries as

Well but either one of those two that that’s the first round match up that I personally want and it’s more so for not just the narrative but just for the bucks to kind of get over that mental hump against those two teams because the Pacers won the regular season matchup

Against the Bucks the Pacers don’t have a fear of the Bucks and the heat already mentioned the long history that goes between those two teams the 7 Sixers to your point about embiid and and jannis seeing each other in in the playoffs like I want it it’s just that in

Comparison to these other two matchups like I want to see those a little bit more uh than that 76ers one somebody asked me um yesterday I was talking the same conversation and said like why why are you so afraid of the 76ers embid is

Not gonna be the guy that he was in the beginning of the season and I recognize that like I I don’t think we can expect Joel embid to be what he was before January what 30th when he suffered uh when he when he went down for the

Surgery there so I get that but I think we’re also discounting just because of how much we love Giannis how incredible Joel embiid was offensively to start the season and even if he’s 80% of that that’s going to be a challenge and it’s it’s gonna come down to Brook Lopez

Having to stay out of foul trouble because that’s it those are your three bigs now you don’t have Robin anymore to throw out there for fouls that’s going to be crucial Tyrese Maxi has exploded and come into his own and that would be a match up to circle of Maxi versus

Damen Lillard and who wins this battle and oh by the way the elephants in the room you know I understand he doesn’t have the same Personnel in Philly Nick nurse outside of Eric spolo that’s the guy that has diagrammed the defenses to slow down Giannis the most so so those

Are the things I would point to and say I don’t know if that’s what I’d want in the first round if if I’m a bucks fan one last thing to uh to leave with because a few people asked about this as well when we talked about Bucks have not

Played Too Well against those those mid- tier teams but hey they’ve been very good against the best still have the third best win percentage in the league in games played against the top 10 teams in the league by way of net rating do the Bucks they are second in that rating

In those games against the 10 best teams trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder and they’re third in offense seventh in defense I mentioned against those mid teams it’s outside of the top 10 offensively in the bottom 10 defensively so again just as we’ve pointed to for

Hey when you got Yiannis and Dame and Chris on the floor their numbers are really good when they play the best teams they have been one of the best teams in the league so that’s I I think what you would highlight Circle whatever you need to do and say this is why I

Feel good going into the postseason we will be oh really quick to that point I just want to highlight one comment to end everything I think it sums up what you just said and it comes from Jonathan in the comments who just said don’t care who we get bring the smoke like that’s

The energy like when you’re looking at the Bucs against the top teams like that’s that’s how they looks up like based on how you’ve seen the stats play out and how they get up for those games like that’s what it seems like so heading to the playoff Jonathan I’m with

You bring the smoke and that was the that was the attitude in 2021 again the behind closed doors meeting that we eventually learned about after the Heat series of the message was we don’t care who we face but it was we won the Miami

Heat so that’s who we hope we get in the first round and we saw uh what happened there we’ll be back once again on Tuesday with another show recapping Monday Night Raw as we head into WrestleMania getting set for the game against the Washington Wizards again

Don’t laugh but a big stretch of games here for the bucks for the reasons we just laid out you win these games you’re going to be the uh the two seed but again you got to win those games first we we we will be back Tuesday to preview

That matchup take a look at anything else maybe we can get a little bit more into the Giannis MVP discussion we did it a week or so ago we said hey he’s making some traction I think luuka donic has now moved past Giannis so we can get into that conversation as well we’ll

Also as we know what the postseason is going to look like a little more we can get into some more Awards discussion specifically Bobby poris and his chances and uh take a a clearer look at the rest of the Eastern conference and yes I’m going to point it out again Camille I’m

Sure you’ve been bombarded with the questions we are still working on getting the former host of this show to make an appearance um he has become a meast star now so there’s just a lot more steps that we have to go through but we are working on it I know we’ve

Said it quite a bit it’s just like Doc Rivers when he talked about Chris Middleton’s return of he’s close I know I said it a lot but he’s close we’re working on it I think it’s close but we’ve said it a lot uh for Camille I’m Justin we’ll talk to you once again

Tuesday with more locked on bucks

Justin and Camille are back to recap Saturday night’s win in Atlanta – an impressive win all things considered. Plus we take a look at the latest in the Eastern Conference standings, do we feel like we know where the Bucks will finish and who they’re likely to face? Finally we open up the mailbag and take your questions