Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t worried about being the number-2 seed versus the number-3 in the eastern conference playoffs.
He should be.
In a blowout loss to the Spurs Monday night, the Bucks fell out of the number-2 seed with four games to play. If the Bucks make up one game on the Brooklyn Nets, they will move back into the second position and their path to the finals will be easier.
If the season ended today, the Bucks, as a 3-seed, would face the Miami Heat – the team that knocked the Bucks out of the playoffs a season ago – in the first round. Inconsistent all season long, the Heat have won 7 of their last 10 and are arguably the best coached team in the eastern conference.
Trailing the Heat are the Celtics – who will not have the services of all-star guard Jaylen Brown the rest of the way – and the inexperienced Charlotte Hornets.
If the first-round of the playoffs plays out with the higher seeds advancing, the Bucks would face the Nets in the second round. Whoever owns the number-2 seed will have home court advantage for that series. Home court advantage could prove critical in a game-7 situation.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is more concerned that his Bucks are healthy and playing the right way heading into the playoffs than he is their seed.
I say, “Why not have the cake and eat it too?”
