The Milwaukee Bucks season is about to tip off! One new thing that all teams will be competing in this year is the NBA In-Season Tournament. In an effort to make the regular season more exciting, the league has implemented this midseason tournament to try and boost interest in the regular season. What does this mean for the Bucks? Here is a preview of the in-season tournament for the team.
Milwaukee Bucks NBA In-Season Tournament Preview
What is this tournament? The tournament begins with group play with each team being in a group of five. Tournament Nights will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 and will be a round-robin format. From there, the top team in each group will advance along with two “wild cards” which consist of the next best record in each conference. From there, it is a single-elimination tournament in Las Vegas. All 67 games across both stages of the In-Season Tournament will count toward the regular-season standings except the Championship.
Bucks Are In Group East B
The groups were made based on last year’s records. Joining the Bucks in East B are the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets. This is a favorable draw for the Bucks. The Wizards and Hornets should be easier teams to handle leaving the Bucks to have to deal with the Heat and Knicks. The Knicks are led by Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. However, it feels like they are in a clear tier below the Bucks right now. The Heat are always a tough out but after missing out on Damian Lillard are all of a sudden looking very thin in terms of talent. Even if the Bucks drop a game to one of those teams, they should have a good path to the knockout rounds.
Will The Bucks Care?
This is the real question for any of the contending teams. The Bucks are first and foremost trying to win a title. While regular season wins are important and any championship is valuable, the Bucks would much rather win the NBA Finals than the NBA In-Season Tournament. If the Bucks need one more win to make it to the knockout rounds but Giannis Antetokounmpo has a little knee soreness, it wouldn’t shock me if they punt on the tournament and rest their best player. This could provide a path for a team like the Knicks, who I’m sure would be happy to tout any type of tournament win, to win the group.
Overall the NBA In-Season Tournament seems really fun and I’d like to see the Milwaukee Bucks win it. It would also be fun to have them with the midseason tourney and then follow it up with a Finals win as well. The NBA season kicks off this week and the Tournament Nights start November 3rd.
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