Bucks Clinch No. 1 Seed in Eastern Conference Playoffs for 2nd Straight Year

For the second straight year, the Milwaukee Bucks will have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

They'll just have to hope the result is better than a year ago.

The Bucks clinched the top-seed advantage Thursday with a 130-116 win over the Miami Heat. The Bucks held a 6.5-game lead over the Raptors coming into the seeding games in Orlando, Florida. 

Milwaukee (55-14) has been running away with the best record in basketball for months and currently sits four games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers (51-16) in the win column for the best record in basketball. 

Much like last season, the Bucks are led by the overwhelming MVP favorite in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has taken another leap forward in 2019-20. Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, with advanced numbers that put his season among the best of the last 20 years.

Khris Middleton also made his second straight All-Star team and is perhaps the most underappreciated secondary star in the NBA. With a deep, well-constructed roster around them, the Bucks are an even more formidable group than they were a year ago.

"It's not hard," coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters about keeping the team motivated. "I mean, it's I guess part of what makes coaching either maddening or a lot of fun. You can always push them to be better and there's always things we can do better, and when we lose, there's things that we do well and it's not all terrible. So hopefully we walk that line of keeping our guys, you know, hungry and growing and improving and recognizing when they do things well also."

Motivation in the postseason should be even easier. The Bucks were up 2-0 on the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing four straight games to the eventual champs. Antetokounmpo, in particular, struggled as the Raptors built a wall in the paint to keep him from finishing at the rim. Part of his improvement this season has been a refinement of his jumper, which is still a work in progress.