The Milwaukee Bucks are trending in the right direction at this pivotal juncture of the 2024-25 season.
This year has been filled with ups and downs for the Milwaukee Bucks. Right at the early leg of the season, they struggled and saw inconsistencies, but went on to hit form and even ended up winning the NBA Cup.
But it has not all been smooth since. Leading into the All-Star break, there were more rumors surrounding their future with Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Bobby Portis was given a 25-game suspension.
Since the break, the Bucks have been on a 6-1 run, with their latest win momentarily moving them above the Pacers in the Eastern Conference into fourth place.
The Bucks are rolling at the most perfect time of the regular season.
With their 132-117 win on Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee has stretched their winning ways in the second half of the season. This victory took their record to 34-25 for the season, having begun 2-8.
Damian Lillard is ecstatic about how the Bucks have responded from the difficult early season, leading them to a desirable spot right now.
“It feels good because it’s happening at the right time,” Lillard told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“As the season goes on you know that you’re gonna have adversity. It’s gonna be ups and downs. I’m just proud of our team for never giving in to the moments we’ve had.
“We’ve had a lot of times where it feels like we’re hitting our stride and then we have a few bumps or we have some injuries (and) we just haven’t been discouraged by it and we continue to stay together and try to find ways to grow and now being nine games over I think we’re also finding ourselves.
“We’re trusting more than we have all year. I think our spirit is as good as it’s been all year, just throughout the team and it’s happening at the right time. We gotta hold on to that and continue to build on that.”
Their trade deadline moves undoubtedly provided the Bucks with a boost.
The team when parted ways with franchise veteran Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma. And the 27-year-old forward has injected an added boost, with extra motivation, as he couldn’t be happier to contribute in his new winning situation.
The Bucks’ late-season push can be attributed to their road record. Albeit they are 13-16, they meanwhile won four of their last six games way from their home turf.
“I don’t know what I like, I just know we’re coming together as a team and we’re just playing better basketball,” Doc Rivers said.
“And we’re doing things you have to do on the road, taking care of the road, not fouling too much, rebounding, executing on offense. You have to do that on the road or you lose games and we’re starting to do that.”
Rivers and Lillard are in total agreement that the team is coming good at the right time, picking up confidence and momentum ahead of the playoffs.
