Chants of “MVP” reigned down from the very top row of Fiserv Forum on July 20, 2021, as Giannis Antetokounmpo made a free throw to give himself 50 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. This was followed up by Devin Booker missing a three-point shot, P.J. Tucker grabbing the defensive rebound for the Milwaukee Bucks and the final buzzer sounding.
The Bucks were NBA champions for the first-time since 1971 and Giannis Antetokounmpo added not only a championship to his name, but a Finals MVP award to his already stacked trophy case at the age of 26 at the time.
Just over 8 months later, the Milwaukee Bucks still find themselves very much in the championship conversation and have been flying under-the-radar as of late in the Eastern Conference given all the talented teams in this conference this season.
The Heat have reigned supreme at the top of the East all year long with their fantastic blend of offensive and defensive talents and a lot of focus has been casted upon the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and even the Brooklyn Nets as of late.
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Currently 46-28 on the year, the Bucks find themselves just a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the 1-seed in the East with eight games remaining, giving them a very good chance to possibly claim home-court advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The story for Milwaukee this season has once again been their offense and how hot they can get. As a team, the Milwaukee Bucks are shooting 36.8% from three-point range, fifth-best in the NBA this season and they are averaging about 114.9 points per game, fourth-best in the NBA.
Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis continue to be high-level scoring options on the Bucks’ roster, but once again, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the leader of this team on both ends of the court and is having arguably the best season of his career.
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Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.7 points (career-high), 11.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.4 blocks, and is shooting 55.0% from the floor. Currently ranking third in the league in scoring, Giannis has a chance to possibly lead the league in scoring, which would add yet another accolade to his name.
The Milwaukee Bucks as a whole are once again one of the most balanced teams in the NBA and while they have struggled at times defensively, they have made up for it in terms of scoring.
Milwaukee has scored at least 130 points in 10 different games this season, trailing just the Minnesota Timberwolves (11) in this category and their leader in Giannis Antetokounmpo has recorded 31 games with at least 30 points this season, trailing just Joel Embiid (35) and LeBron James (33) for the most in the NBA.
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When looking at the rest of the Eastern Conference, it is hard to immediately say that the Milwaukee Bucks will be back in the NBA Finals, as there are a ton of championship worthy teams this season in the East and who gets what seed could drastically impact each team’s championship odds.
No matter who the Bucks have to face though, no team in the league has had an answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo and he will put his team on his back once again in the playoffs.
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There may not be a better player in the world right now than Giannis Antetokounmpo given his contributions on both ends of the floor and with all of the shooting depth the Milwaukee Bucks have, they will undoubtedly be a favorite to once again reach the NBA Finals.
