The Milwaukee Bucks looked like a safe bet to finish the year as the 2-seed behind the Boston Celtics, who have run away with the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Can the Knicks possibly catch the Bucks, though?
The Knicks downed the Celtics, 118-109, on Thursday night in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. In the process, New York climbed to within one game of Milwaukee for the 2-seed.
There are two games remaining for each team, and their schedules couldn’t be more opposite. The Knicks host the 32-48 Brooklyn Nets and 38-42 Chicago Bulls to end the season, while the Bucks will hit the road to face the 55-25 Oklahoma City Thunder and 46-34 Orlando Magic. The Bucks did win the season series against the Knicks, so New York needs to win both games and have Milwaukee lose out to overtake them.
The Bucks will also be without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season after injuring his calf Tuesday. They dodged a bullet that the two-time MVP didn’t suffer a more significant injury, but it dealt a blow to their championship odds.
Milwaukee had the third-best odds (+800) to win the title before Antetokounmpo went down, trailing only the Boston Celtics (+170) and Denver Nuggets (+360). The Bucks’ odds have dipped to +950 at DraftKings, and they now trail the Los Angeles Clippers (+800) for the fourth-best odds. Meanwhile, the Knicks are tied for the 11th-best odds to win the title at +4000 with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
