To win or not to win, that is the question for the Milwaukee Bucks tonight for both players and fans. If they win, Milwaukee could be staring down a matchup with LeBron James and Cleveland in the first round of the Eastern Conference. They will also likely retain their first round draft pick that they have protections on with Phoenix. If Milwaukee loses tonight, they could play either Philly, Boston or Toronto pending on the results of Miami and Washington plus they would have to flip a coin for their draft pick. My opinion… Fuck it, let’s play LeBron. Who cares?

People do not want to play Cleveland because the Cavs are the boogeyman for the NBA Playoffs. LeBron James made it to the NBA Finals for the last seven years. He’s an absolute killer come playoff time. There’s no doubt about any of these things, but let’s see how Giannis Antetokounmpo matches up against LeBron in the postseason. Why not, right? This is a pseudo lost season for Milwaukee anyways, why not get Giannis the learning experience of playing playoff LeBron? It would be awesome for him, and if I may go Rovell on you, this only helps the national appeal of Antetokounmpo. These games would be primetime events as a Giannis-LeBron first round matchup would be the premier game of the NBA Playoffs. Nothing comes close to the star power. Not even if Golden State and Oklahoma City get together for their first round series.

Do I think the Bucks can beat Cleveland? Not really. But I do think people are overrating Cleveland because of what James has done in the past in April, May and June. This is not a good Cleveland team. They shoot the ball well, but their defense is still a trainwreck. They fixed for a month then it went back to being complete shit. Maybe James turns the light when it comes to on-ball defender, but he hasn’t been the same player on defense. Giannis put up some crazy numbers versus the Cavaliers this season. Cleveland has the best player in the Eastern Conference, but they are vulnerable.

Bucks keeping their pick might not be the biggest deal considering what Milwaukee has done in the first round, but this will be another good draft with possibilities to make moves up and down if needed. Having an asset like your first round pick is always important for trade talks. I’m not as concerned with it as others.

Not getting a win tonight lets others decide Milwaukee’s destiny.

Go Bucks.