It’s not like there was any doubt about it, but Milwaukee Bucks are officially in the playoffs this season. Buck clinched the postseason berth on Sunday night and became the first NBA team in 2019/20 to do so. This is also the earliest a team has managed to secure a playoff appearance since the current format was set in place.
Bucks weren’t even playing on Sunday, but since the ninth-seeded Washington Wizards lost to Chicago Bulls and fell 27.5 games behind, Milwaukee’s playoff spot was official.
Bucks currently sit at the top of Eastern Conference with a 48-8 record, which is also the overall best in NBA. They have 6.5 games lead over the second-place Toronto Raptors and 9.0 games over Boston Celtics on the third.
Milwaukee Bucks’ great run was fueled by last season’s MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is the leading candidate for the award this year as well. Antetokounmpo has been phenomenal so far, averaging 30.0 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Even more impressive is the fact that he only plays 30.9 minutes per contest and manages to get these numbers.
Helping Antetokounmpo are Khris Middleton, who has 20.7 points per game, Eric Bledsoe with 15.7 points per game, and Brook Lopez, who averages 10.7 points per game.
With such efficient play from their core, Bucks have not just been winning games, but also dominating most of the contests. In 33 of their 48 wins, Milwaukee finished the game with a double-digit lead.
