Preseason Odds to Beat the Milwaukee Bucks Analysis

Oct 3, 2022 - 6:00 PM

Hi Milwaukee Bucks’ fans! I’m doing a cumulative version of the Odds to Stop the Bucks series, and I’ll be ranking each team to show where I think everybody stands. Part of what can be confusing is that when broken down division-by-division, seeing the “best” team in each division can make it seem like this team has a shot at stopping the Bucks compared to other teams, and that’s just not the case. So, I’ll be doing a breakdown of each conference, but here are the rankings, starting with the West.

Western Conference

Golden State (even)
Phoenix (2 to 1)
Memphis (3 to 1)
Denver (5 to 1)
LA Clippers (8 to 1)
Minnesota (8 to 1)
Dallas (15 to 1)
LA Lakers (20 to 1)
New Orleans (30 to 1)
Portland (40 to 1)
Sacramento (150 to 1)
Houston (1,000 to 1)
Oklahoma City (1,000 to 1)
Utah (1,000 to 1)
San Antonio (10,000 to 1)

I know I’m the one who did this, but I see this as a pretty well put together ranking of the conference. Golden State is the team to beat here, and I also think we forget how good Phoenix and Memphis were in the regular season. I know Phoenix has the Sarver drama now, and I would probably have them tied with the Clippers, but how much does an owner being around or not affect play? Phoenix was great with a terrible owner, and the Knicks always suck with a terrible owner, so who knows? If I re-did it today, I would have Memphis and Denver ahead now.

Moving down the list, I think if the Clippers prove healthy they are a sneaky pick to make it out of the conference, and they are kind of a wild card with Minnesota. I’m not big on Dallas, and the Lakers’ ranking is solely based on LeBron James and the thought that Darvin Ham may have some answers. Portland and New Orleans are also minor threats, and then we get into the garbage of the conference. Realistically, the Kings have an outsiders chance at making the postseason. I also think that if any of those four teams make it to the real postseason, I’ll make a bet on them to win the Finals.

Moving on to the East.

Eastern Conference

Boston (2 to 1)
Philadelphia (2 to 1)
Cleveland (3 to 1)
Atlanta (5 to 1)
Miami (5 to 1)
Brooklyn (10 to 1)
Toronto (10 to 1)
Chicago (25 to 1)
Charlotte (40 to 1)
Washington (50 to 1)
New York (100 to 1)
Detroit (997 to 1)
Orlando (1,000 to 1)
Indiana (10,000 to 1)

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Boston and Philadelphia are the two best teams besides the Bucks, and I would have had Boston ahead if not for Ime Udoka and Danilo Gallinari missing the season. I’m really high on Cleveland and Atlanta, and not so much on Miami and Brooklyn, but all of them have a real chance at stopping the Bucks. Toronto also would be rounding in as the number eight seed in this bracket, so the entire field is full of teams that I think have the potential to beat the Bucks. I only truly believe Boston, Philadelphia and the Bucks can make it out of the East, but I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the top eight knocked anybody out.

Then we get to the bottom half, and Chicago leads the way as a team that should be a playoff team, but isn’t. Charlotte, Washington and New York are no slouches, but they are only playoff teams in years when the East was having the 37-45 Bucks sneak into the postseason kind of teams. That leaves the bottom three, which isn’t as bad as it looks with Detroit and Orlando supposedly rising and getting better. It really just is Indiana that is the team that everyone will just beat up on.

That’s it, don’t forget to vote in the poll and comment below!