Bucks and Cavs Look to Establish Dominance in the Central Division
As the NBA season has crossed its halfway point, the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers are both looking to get a top four seed for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The two will meet in Cleveland on Saturday night in a match-up that can have serious seeding implications come April.
The Bucks are 6-4 in their last 10 games and lead the season series 2-1 while the Cavaliers got the last win.
The Cavaliers have also won six of their last 10 games going into a matchup Friday night against the Warriors.
The main question for the Cavaliers heading into this game is will their guard Donovan Mitchell play?
Cleveland’s leading scorer left Monday’s game early with a groin injury and missed Wednesday’s one point loss against Memphis due to a groin injury.
Mitchell is listed as questionable going into Friday’s game which is an upgrade from his doubtful status before Wednesday’s game.
Even if Mitchell does play Saturday, he most likely won’t be completely healthy and could lack the explosiveness he usually plays with.
But the Cavaliers held their own against debatably the best team in the West on Wednesday night. If it weren’t for guard Darius Garland’s last second 3-point shot getting blocked, they might have won that game.
Mitchell is one of the best scorers in the league so he may be able to contribute even if he is banged up. He might even be able to be played as a decoy to allow Cleveland’s other stars to get better looks.
The Bucks are in a similar situation as forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed four straight games with knee soreness. He is trending towards playing as well.
Milwaukee seemed lost in the first two games without Antetokounmpo as the team shot around 40% from the field in two loses to Miami.
But the Bucks have bounced back by winning their last two games. A lot of credit for these wins must go to guard Jrue Holiday.
Holiday scored over 35 points, shot over 60% from the field and over 50% from three in both wins.
The 32-year-old guard has served as a compliment to Antetokounmpo in his time in Milwaukee but will most likely have to put up another big performance this game.
Antetokounmpo may not be completely at his best with the injury he is fighting even if he does play.
But Holiday has struggled against Cleveland this year. He is averaging nine points per game while shooting 28% in two games.
Despite this, basketball is a game of momentum and Holiday’s recent play can carry into this matchup.
The back-to-back for Cleveland might hurt them in debatably the tougher matchup against Milwaukee.
It may be the better move to only play Mitchell on Saturday as that game will have a bigger impact on Eastern Conference standings.
But the whole roster might be fatigued after what should be a close game with Golden State the day before.
These factors combined with a possible return from Antetokounmpo bode well for the Bucks.
Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.
