The NBA schedule is out in full force. They released it on Monday afternoon. Many have been waiting to see what will happen with the Milwaukee Bucks schedule. There weren’t any real surprises, or nothing that really intimidates you as a fan. Bucks have some tough stretches throughout the season like every other team in the NBA. It’s weird to see the schedule start so early in the season as well as the lack of back-to-back’s throughout the year. NBA made sure this appeases the players with the attempt to avoid the ‘rest’ game. Here are the five things I’m keeping my eye on.

Home sweet home
Milwaukee will end up playing a good bevy of home games to start the season. After a road opener against Boston, they have the first five of seven games at home. That’s a nice start for Bucks. They need to take advantage of that opportunity even though there’s going to be some difficult competition with Cleveland, Portland, Boston and Oklahoma City all coming to town.

Primetime Bucks
Milwaukee is not getting the ABC Saturday night games or the Sunday afternoon affairs yet they get a ton of love from ESPN and TNT. This was something I think many Bucks fans expected with the growth of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s popularity with NBA fans. It’s fascinating that all four Cleveland games will end up on primetime. It’s clear that one story the national media will push this season is LeBron v. Giannis.

MECCA game will be March 4th
I’m calling my shot here. ESPN has a Sunday night game in Milwaukee scheduled, and that seems like an obvious fit for when Bucks go to the MECCA for one game this season. All eyes will be on the Bucks by that time with no interference from Marquette as their season would end the day before. The other date to keep an eye on is Tuesday, February 27th against Washington who was the team they beat for the 1971 championship.

Bucks could finish strong heading into playoffs
If Milwaukee has a great season, they could be anywhere from 48 to 52 wins, and after a daunting late West Coast trip, Bucks have a chance to finish with a kick. They finish with Brooklyn, New York, Orlando and Philadelphia. All four of those teams could be in full tank mode by that time. The only one with a reasonable shot at the playoffs might be Philly yet that’s a stretch.

The birth of the sandwich games
For the most part, the NBA did away with teams playing each other in consecutive games. It only happens once on the schedule for Milwaukee around Christmas time with Charlotte. What they’re doing instead is having the teams play a ‘sandwich opponent’ in the middle. We see Bucks multiple times in the season play one team on Sunday, another one on Tuesday then the same Sunday team again on Thursday. It’s odd.

Charlie.