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Giannis Antetokounmpo
As the NBA’s regular season bounces into its final six weeks — with another two months of playoffs! — it appears the Milwaukee Bucks are postseason bound.
Barring a late-season collapse, the team likely will secure a lower-level seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That would be a noteworthy accomplishment, considering the drama this team has endured, beginning in late September with the unexpected death of Charles Antetokounmpo, the 54-year-old father of Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and reportedly a popular figure within the organization.
Then, on Jan. 22, Bucks general manager Jon Horst fired head coach Jason Kidd, who was in his fourth season with the team and compiled a 139-152 record. At the time, Milwaukee was only one game above .500, at 23-22.
Since Kidd’s departure, however, the Bucks have surged in the standings, winning 10 of 15 games through Feb. 27.
As Milwaukee heads toward the last-ever regular-season basketball game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, here are three things to keep an eye on:
1. Potential NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo
Affectionately known as the “Greek Freak,” the 6-foot-11 forward is third in the league in total points this season (1,542), behind the Houston Rockets’ James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, and he ranks third in points per game, too (27.8). The Bucks will need to maintain their winning ways, though, for Antetokounmpo to have a shot at the league’s Most Valuable Player award; only six of the 62 MVP winners have been on teams that won fewer than 60 percent of their games.
2. Interim head coach Joe Prunty
He took over the team just as the Bucks were entering the easiest chunk of their schedule. But as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs in the early 2000s, the man knows what it feels like to win an NBA Championship — something Kidd only achieved as a player (with the Dallas Mavericks), and never as a coach. Prunty’s experience and flexible, low-key leadership could make a big difference down the stretch.
3. The Lame Duck Arena
As the home of the Bucks since 1988, the BMO Harris Bradley Center is the third-oldest arena in the NBA. Only the New York Knicks’ Madison Square Garden (1968) and the Golden State Warriors’ soon-to-be-replaced Oracle Arena (1966) are older. The Wisconsin Entertainment & Sports Center will open in September, but it will never replace countless Bradley Center memories — some bitter and others sweet. How cool would it be to delay taking down that old scoreboard until June?
