A Look at the blissful remaining Milwaukee Bucks 2022-2023 Schedule
The Milwaukee Bucks are 41-17. That is “bliss” to the ears of many fans, hoping Milwaukee can get back to an NBA Championship Finals. There are only 24 regular season games to go.
For the rest of the year the Bucks remaining schedule looks pretty sweet. With the long, arduous NBA playoffs on the horizon in April, Milwaukee should have spots and spaces to rest guys. Better yet, they also have time to get Jae Crowder and others up-to-speed.
NBA schedule-makers have been kind this year to Milwaukee, putting them in spots to succeed. For example, playing a team at home that is on a back-to-back helps. The NBA midway point is like the MLB midway point as it runs well beyond the halfway point. (For the NBA the all-star break happens at/around game 59 while the MLB break is usually at/around game 110.) This is the time for NBA teams to put that foot on the gas and get ready for the NBA playoffs in April.
The Bucks are currently in the midst of a 12 game winning streak. They have had their foot on the gas, big-time! Over the course of an 82 game season, that’s really good. With only 24 games remaining, what is left? What about the schedule? Does it get any easier? Harder? Let’s check it out.
Three “on”, one “off”
The Bucks do not have that difficult of a remaining schedule.
Load management in the NBA is a real, present thing. With recent news about Giannis and his hand still upcoming, there will be time to rest guys. And that time to rest guys will come because some teams will simply be trying to lose to get Victor Wembamyama. (Think Bears vs Vikings that final week of the NBA season.) Many of the teams Milwaukee is playing are intentionally going to try to lose.
According to tankathon.com, the Bucks have the 11th hardest remaining strength of schedule. Milwaukee plays teams that have won a little over half their games. (.508%). That means Milwaukee still plays Boston once, Denver once and ends their home schedule against Memphis. But Milwaukee also gets some “duds”.
The Bucks get the Spurs, Bulls and Pistons one more time. Those teams are trying to lose so they have a better shot at generational talent Victor Wembamyama. He has been described by scouts everywhere as the best prospect since Lebron James.
Those “tankable” wins seem to occur in the schedule “about” every 4th game. So you rest Giannis, Middleton, and a Lopez/Allen/Holiday/Ingles. Why not? The Bucks play deep and should have some fresh legs after the all-star break.
Related: Trade Market/Buyout Market Speculation
Best Stretch for the Bucks
The best stretch to really get a run going comes in early March as Milwaukee plays Washington on the road (March 5th), Orlando on the road (March 7th), and then Brooklyn at home. After that they have a slightly challenging road trip (Golden State, Phoenix and Sacramento) but then they really fall into a three winnable games, one really winnable game pattern.
The Bucks have the perfect blend of 12 home games and 12 road games. But the toughest stretch might be the four-game road trip on March 24th vs the Utah Jazz. The road trip ends in Indiana against the Pacers on March 29th. Four road games in six days- yikes! However, it is not all bad: of those four games Milwaukee does match-up vs Detroit and Indiana in those last two road games.
Final Guess on the Bucks Record
55-27. That would mean they would end the season 14-10. That seems reasonable.
In a shortened 2020-2021 season the Bucks were 46-26. In the 2021-2022 season Milwaukee was 51-31. They were then the third seed. Based on the remaining schedule, I’d take them as a number two seed. Boston could (and should) squeak out the 1 seed. It’ll be close and worth watching!
The great news is Milwaukee has a 99.1% chance to make the playoffs. They also continue to play well. For any fan that is really all we can hope for.
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