On Saturday night, the Milwaukee Bucks were in another battle down the stretch. Should they have been there against the Washington Wizards? Absolutely not. Washington had no business being in the mix on Saturday night. Bradley Beal was out with an injury. Russell Westbrook had five threes which happen about as often as I got laid in college plus a complete unlocking of Rui Hachimura led to Milwaukee and Washington locked up late. But yet again, Milwaukee found a way to close out their competition and win the game. It is hard to state how important this is for the team moving forward as they get closer to the postseason.

Let’s look at the last few weeks for the Bucks. They have been in tight games heading into the fourth quarter in four of their last six games. They have won all four. The only two that weren’t tight. Milwaukee got blown out in one, and they did the dominating in the other one. The closing attempts have been in different ways too. Los Angeles featured Giannis Antetokounmpo carrying Milwaukee down the stretch with some of the best late-game stuff from him in his career. Memphis was Jrue Holiday’s turn to make some magic happen. Washington had a combination of Giannis making big plays then Khris Middleton’s tough defense plus big free throws. It’s not one constant. And that makes so much better.

People can crow all they want about regular-season basketball, not mattering which is bullshit in some aspects. And this is why. These late-game scenarios being thrown at Milwaukee consistently will only help when it gets to the postseason. They really did not have to face this kind of regular adversity the last two seasons. When Milwaukee is finding ways to win late in playoff games, we can all point to what they did all winter and spring with this team.

Will Milwaukee lose some close ones at some point? Probably. You can only stay hot for so long. Since the five-game losing streak, Milwaukee is 8-1. They’re playing great basketball, especially in the fourth quarter. That’s all you can ask for as a fan.

Charlie.