The door is open for the Milwaukee Bucks to move up a seed line in the eastern conference playoff race.
With seven games to play, the Bucks trail the Brooklyn Nets by 1.5 games. In earning back-to-back wins over the Nets in Milwaukee, the Bucks also own the tiebreaker.
How Bucks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer uses his stars over the final seven games will tell you exactly what he feels about the opportunity to move up.
A move to the number-2 seed ensures the Bucks first round opponent will have participated in the play-in tournament.
A move to the number-2 seed also ensures home-court advantage in the first and second playoff series.
Even with reduced attendance, wouldn’t you rather have a game-7 of a playoff series…any playoff series…in Milwaukee? I would.
The Bucks have held steady in their season-long mantra of being right when the playoffs arrive. To that end, the seed matters less than quality of play and health.
But the door is open, and a business-as-usual approach from Budenholzer could be all the Bucks need to move up a line and have an easier path to the finals.