Milwaukee Bucks found out yesterday that they will be taking on the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Detroit secured the eighth seed in the playoffs after beating the New York Knicks and holding off Charlotte for the final spot. Bucks-Pistons met four times in the regular season, and Milwaukee won all four games. It is the first time since 2001 where the Bucks have homecourt advantage in the first round. Milwaukee faced Detroit four times in the past playoff history, and the Bucks lost all four of them. To be fair, Milwaukee faced two out of the three Pistons finals team. Here’s the playoff schedule in CST.

• Game 1:  Sunday, April 14th – Pistons vs. Bucks, 6:00 pm TNT
• Game 2:  Wednesday, April 17th – Pistons vs. Bucks, 7:00 pm TNT
• Game 3:  Saturday, April 20th  – Bucks vs. Pistons, 7:00 pm ESPN
•  Game 4:  Monday, April 22nd  – Bucks vs. Pistons, 7:00 pm TNT
• Game 5:  Wednesday, April 24th – TBD
• Game 6: Friday, April 26th – TBD
• Game 7: Sunday, April 28th – TBD

This should be a good series with the Pistons. Brook Lopez is the difference maker as he neutralizes Andre Drummond and his three point-shooting makes things very difficult on Drummond. Blake Griffin is bothered by left knee soreness and had to miss the final game of the season. If Griffin cannot go, it is a huge blow to the Pistons, and they have zero bodies to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo. Much more to come about Bucks playoff journey in the next few days.

Charlie.