Milwaukee Bucks are celebrating their 50th year of existence next season. I feel we are going to see a lot of cool things including Bucks throwbacks along with visits from Bucks legends (I really want Ray Allen to return, but that’s for another time). The big announcement made over the weekend is Bucks will have one game this season played at The Mecca which is now UW-Milwaukee Panthers Arena. This is a fun thing for Milwaukee to honor their traditions. The question now is who will the opponent be?

Off the list: Cleveland, Los Angeles (Both), Golden State, Boston, Chicago – Simply put, these teams are too big of a draw for Milwaukee Bucks to only seats 11,000 people. There’s no way Bucks will cut off an opportunity for one of these teams to play in the smaller venue. If you want to spin zone it, they could put a premier team here and jack up the ticket prices.

Keep An Eye On: Houston Rockets or other successful Western Conference team – My guess is they will keep in the Eastern Conference, but you have to remember is Milwaukee found themselves in the West for the 70’s. Houston or San Antonio might not fill up an 18k arena, but they would with an 11k.

Slight Favorites: Washington Wizards – If you recall, Milwaukee Bucks won the 1971 NBA Finals against the Baltimore Bullets who turned into Washington Bullets and now Wizards. My guess is they might want to fully throw it back to the days of the 71′ Finals.

The Favorite: Toronto Raptors – This makes a ton of sense. Bucks-Raptors aren’t an old school matchup that will require some throwbacks, but it would catch the eye of ESPN or TNT as this game will likely be televised. Fans might not fill up the Bradley Center for a playoff rematch, but the Mecca will be another story.

Charlie.