We’re getting to the final movements of the NBA season, which means everyone is finally allowed to look at the NBA standings and begin to imagine potential playoff matchups.
While the bigger showdowns are likely to occur in the later rounds of the playoffs, the first round can be intriguing, especially when established powerhouses match up with young teams full of potential. This year, while so much focus is on the West’s playoff race for good reason, in the East it’s some of those young teams jockeying for position.
One such matchup could be LeBron James‘ Cleveland Cavaliers seeing the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, and while it would require some upward mobility from the Bucks, it is indeed possible.One person who would love to face LeBron’s Cavaliers in a series is Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The two teams squared off on Monday in a game where Kevin Love’s wriggling on the floor was perhaps the major headline, and afterward Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters about how how James brings out “the best” in him, via ESPN.
“It would be a great experience,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think LeBron brings the best out of me. It should be a fun playoff series to watch.”
Antetokounmpo is young and hungry, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. That said, given what we’ve seen over the past seven years, it’s generally accepted that the best practice in the East is trying to avoid LeBron in the playoffs for as long as possible. On the Cleveland side, Cavs acting coach Larry Drew allowed himself to imagine a playoff series against the Bucks, too, and he liked what he saw on Monday night.
“When you watch both Giannis and you watch Bron on the floor, I tell you, you can’t [look away] — you have to be focused at all times because Bron is a special, special player. I mean, as special as probably you’ll ever see. And Giannis is blooming into that.
“But watching a game like tonight, you are sure fans are going to get their money’s worth with them watching LB and watching Giannis.”
Cleveland sits in the third spot in the East right now, and while the Bucks are currently eighth, they’re solidly in the postseason thanks to a significant lead on the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets behind them. It’s tough to say how the standings shake out just yet, especially with injuries besieging the Celtics and the Cavaliers still acclimating to their new roster, but it is an exciting series to ponder.
