The Milwaukee Bucks are running out of room for error, and Friday’s trip to Orlando comes with more than just another chance to stop the bleeding. A loss would not only deepen an eight-game skid and leave Milwaukee at 1-11, it would also end the Bucks’ shot at reaching the NBA Cup knockout rounds.
That’s the pressure point now. Milwaukee is already 0-1 in Cup group play after giving away a lead against the Toronto Raptors last week, and it sits fourth in East Group A. The Bucks are only two points of point differential ahead of the also 0-1 Brooklyn Nets, but the bigger issue is that another defeat would shut the door on their Cup hopes.
The path is still there, even if it looks narrow. With Orlando and Detroit still left on the Bucks’ group schedule, Milwaukee can force both teams to take at least one loss by beating them. Any head-to-head win would also give the Bucks the tiebreaker over that opponent, though point differential would still matter in a multi-team tie.
There’s also the wrinkle that the Magic and Pistons still play each other. If Milwaukee somehow won out, the Bucks would at worst be tied with one of those teams and the Raptors, who have already taken a loss and can finish no better than 3-1. That would at least keep Milwaukee in the mix for the group.
But the margin is thin. Another Bucks loss would eliminate them from knockout-stage contention outright.
Orlando would own the win gap and finish ahead of Milwaukee, which would end any chance of winning Group A. And with only one wild-card spot per conference, the Bucks can’t afford to finish below second in the group.
A second loss would leave them no higher than third.
So yes, the idea of a Bucks Cup run sounds far-fetched. But this team could use a jolt, and the NBA Cup offers one. Taylor Jenkins’ motto is compete, together, get better, and the knockout games are among the most intense non-playoff games around.
Milwaukee does enter with a clean injury report, while Orlando’s is much longer. Paolo Banchero, Jonathan Isaac, Noah Penda, and Izaiyah Nelson are all out, while Jalen Suggs, Tristan da Silva, and Jamal Cain are questionable.
The Magic still have real firepower, led by Franz Wagner, but the Bucks have a clear opening. They need to seize it if they want to snap the skid and keep alive any chance of becoming the first two-time NBA Cup champions.
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Over his last three games, Dieng has averaged nine points and shot the ball efficiently, which at least gives Milwaukee something to build on. The problem is the rest of the package has not always been clean, with fouls piling up and other options, including Jaime Jaquez Jr., pressing for the same minutes. In a rotation this fluid, every stretch matters, and Dieng is reaching the point where he needs to make his case quickly. [Read more 🡒]