Golden State’s 112-89 win over Indiana on Thursday night gave the Milwaukee Bucks the 2018-19 NBA Central Division title. But the Bucks are hoping to lock up the top spot in the Eastern Conference and are limping to the finish line.
The Bucks are dealing with a number of injuries and their lead over Toronto is just two games for the best record in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left to play. The Bucks to hold the tie-breaker advantage with the Raptors, which means their lead is actually three games.
Injuries have seen the Bucks go 5-5 in their last 10 games. Seven players, including superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, sat out with injury during Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland.
The Bucks start a four-game home stand against the Miami Heat on Friday night.
Certainly the Bucks would like to hang on to the top spot, which means home court advantage throughout the playoffs. But at this point, the most important thing is getting their players healthy enough to get back for the playoffs.
They’re hopeful that guard Malcolm Brogdon can return in time for the second round of the playoffs. Nikola Mirotic, who is sidelined with a hand injury was set to miss 2 to 4 weeks, but coach Mike Budenholzer said they believe Mirotic can return sooner than later.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is dealing with an ankle injury and it’ll be important to allow that injury to heal so he is ready for a big playoff run.
