Milwaukee Bucks take aim at the No. 1 seed for the playoffs: 'We want it'
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Number one.
The last time the Milwaukee Bucks were in this position in the Eastern Conference standings, it was March 9, 2020. Though they had lost four of five games at that point, they were 53-12 overall and cruising toward the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.
Then, of course, the world ground to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic and the season resumed in the “bubble” in Orlando four months later.
The last complete regular season played out over 82 games in which the Bucks earned the No. 1 seed in the East was the 2018-19 campaign, when they won 60 games. They lost in the Eastern Conference finals that season, in Game 6 on the road in Toronto.
They bowed out in the second round of the “bubble” playoffs with no home-court advantage the next year, won a championship as the No. 3 seed in the truncated 2020-21 season – clinching the title in Game 6 at home – and lost in Game 7 on the road in the second round as the No. 3 seed last year.
Over the last two years, when asked about chasing the No. 1 seed, Bucks players have shrugged it off. The usual refrain is they didn’t win a title as the No. 1 seed in 2018-19 and 2019-20, so what does it matter in the end?
But in the last two seasons they were not in this position.
They were chasing two teams each of the last two years and fending off a third for a spot in the top three. It’s a different space than firmly being in the top spot, controlling your own destiny.
That is where they are with 10 games to go and a 52-20 record, three games clear in the loss column of the Boston Celtics for home court in the East. The Bucks’ “magic number” to clinch is eight games, which is a combination of their own wins and Celtics losses.
“I think we want it,” Bucks guard Grayson Allen said. “I think we want the one seed. Even like after all-star break it’s been super close between really the top three teams in the East, so, it’s not something we obsess about – we’re not checking it every day, every game – but I think we’re definitely aware of it.
“I know as a group, I know we want the one seed.”
When asked if the loss to the Celtics at TD Garden last year contributed to that mindset, Allen said they wouldn’t blame that loss on being on the road – but why not get every little advantage possible?
“I don’t know if that necessarily did, last year, I just think we’re at a point now where as a group I know we want the one seed, we want to have that home-court advantage throughout the playoffs,” he continued. “It’s an advantage and you take any little, small advantage that you have. You don’t blame it for the loss last year, but you definitely want to take every little advantage you can going into the playoffs.”
Until Allen’s statement Wednesday, Bobby Portis had been the only player willing to say he felt seeding and home court was important, and something he thought about, but added it was still important to focus on the day-to-day while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
After beating the Spurs on Wednesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo added that if he had to choose between the team’s health or the top spot, he’d easily take health.
But now that the Bucks have cushions over Boston in the East and Denver for top spot in the league in hand?
“We should take the spot,” Antetokounmpo said. “It always feels good to play Game 7 at home. I think I’ve never played a Game 7 in my career at home. I’ve played three Game 7, all three on the road if I’m not mistaken, so I think just being able to not just have the No. 1 seed in the East but the best record in the NBA and have that home-court advantage against everybody, that’s a good feeling.”
It’s a notable sentiment, which could set up some notable matchups over the final two-plus weeks of the season, even though the Bucks have three more back-to-back sets to play.
One of those includes a game against the West’s No. 1 seed, Denver, on Saturday, following Friday's game at Utah. Another is against Boston, whom the Bucks will play on the back end of a back-to-back on March 30.
Milwaukee also has one more date with current No. 3 seed Philadelphia on April 2.
“I’ve never in my career believed in seeding, but as I said, we’re no. 1 right now – we should just take it,” Antetokounmpo said. “We should just keep on building good habits, take it and maybe it helps us come playoff time.”
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks in good position for No. 1 overall seed for the NBA playoffs
