Bucks could be tough out in East

The Milwaukee Bucks are a forgotten franchise. They have not been to the finals in 46 years, and since having the likes of Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson, the team’s best player might be a stint of Ray Allen. Needless to say, the story of the NBA can mostly be told without a mention of Milwaukee since the glory days ended so long ago.

Now, the Bucks are trying to write some new history. After struggling throughout much of the regular season without Khris Middleton, Milwaukee has quietly been rolling down the stretch with the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo running the show. Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the league, and his talents were on full display in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Toronto Raptors. Toronto, the favored third-seed, was unable to stop Antetokounmpo, who scored a game-high 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting.

Middleton, who returned to the lineup on February 8, added another 10 points and nine assists in the 97-83 victory. With those two at the helm, the Bucks have a shot under head coach Jason Kidd, who has instilled a free-wheeling group of youngsters who could provide quite the challenge for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.

Yes, the Bucks still need to get through the Raptors, and that won’t be a small feat. Toronto has been through the postseason battles with this group, and the talent is evident. A team with DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka and others isn’t just going into the tank.

Still, should Milwaukee find a way to get the job done, it could pose some challenges. If there is one player in the league that could give LeBron James an athletic run for his proverbial money, it’s Antetokounmpo. James and his Cavaliers would still be favored and, frankly, should win any series they play in the East, but this would be entertaining. It might even be a fairly long series.

For its part, Cleveland did not look dominant in its opening victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. The Pacers had a chance to win the contest in the final seconds, but could not find the winning points, losing 109-108. James scored 32 points with 13 assists and six rebounds, while Paul George countered with 29 points, seven helpers and five boards.

If the Cavaliers won’t start finding themselves, and the Bucks continue to play good basketball — they won 16 of their final 23 regular-season games — we could have a little bit of unexpected drama in the East.