The Milwaukee Bucks have won 10 of their last 13 contests, rising to a record of 36-25 that leaves them in 4th place in the eastern conference. The team is on one of their hottest stretches of the year with just over 20 games left in the regular season. Even without Bobby Portis, the momentum and optimism surrounding the Bucks is palpable.
Milwaukee Bucks Have a Very Favorable Strength of Schedule Remaining
To close out the last 21 games of the year, the Bucks have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NBA. The combined winning percentage of their remaining opponents is a measly .541, which is 4th lowest in the entire NBA – only the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Sacramento Kings have an easier remaining schedule. Importantly, Milwaukee’s is the lowest mark in the entire eastern conference, meaning they will have a good chance to gain some real ground in the standings.
The Bucks have gained some distance on division rivals Indiana and Detroit, who sit a few games back from Milwaukee in the fight for home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Pacers have been playing extremely well as of late and have one of the best records in the league in the year 2025. The Pistons recently went on a long winning streak that has solidified them as a playoff team.
That all being said, Milwaukee has a few things neither of those teams do – Giannis Antetokounmpo. With the MVP-caliber superstar on the team, anything is possible. Milwaukee has two game remaining against both Detroit and Indiana, which will be massive games with tiebreaker implications.
How High Can the Milwaukee Bucks Rise in the Eastern Conference Standings?
The Bucks will be keen to hunt down the New York Knicks for 3rd place in the conference, Milwaukee is currently 4 games back of NY. The two teams will meet at Fiserv Forum on March 28th. The Knicks have the 16th hardest remaining schedule.
The other two teams ahead of Milwaukee, namely the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, have the 9th and 2nd hardest remaining schedules respectively. The Bucks have already finished their three games against Boston, and have a huge matchup against Cleveland set for the weekend, welcoming the Cavs on March 9th.
It was a very rough start for this year’s Bucks, but they appear to be rounding into form at the right time. The moves the team made at the trade deadline, acquiring Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr., and Jericho Sims, are all appearing to be very solid additions.
Kuzma is averaging 15.2 points per game on much better efficiency than he was displaying earlier in the season when he was still with the Washington Wizards. His 7.4 rebounds per game in a Bucks uniform is one of the more productive stretches of his career. It’s safe to say that many of the skeptics about the trade that saw Bucks legend Khris Middleton depart are now silent. Kuzma has been a strong addition.
Likewise, Porter has been a much more efficient version of himself. He is averaging 9.3 points per game for Milwaukee on a .529 effective field goal percentage. Against a depleted Dallas Mavericks team, Porter had a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists. His playmaking chops are certainly encouraging, and his ability to create advantages for himself and others will be immensely useful moving forward. He has had some high-turnover games, but if this can be cleaned up, he will be a real weapon for the team.
After a rather anonymous start to his Bucks career, Sims recently had 10 points and 8 boards in 20 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. His energy on both ends should prove helpful as Milwaukee looks to finish the season strong.
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