The NBA isn’t foolish; they understand what makes for compelling basketball. While they can’t package a game like Phoenix against Philadelphia as a marquee matchup, they do set the schedule to keep it filled with the newsworthy events year-round. Enter the Central Division’s Bulls and Bucks.
Both teams were somewhere on the upside as little as two years ago when the teams collided in the playoffs, and when Giannis Antetokounmpo collided with Mike Dunleavy. The splendid tackling of Dunleavy signaled that the young Bucks were filled with fire and the desire to win.
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Then the floor fell out. You can read more about it for our Central Division preview of the Milwaukee Bucks and how they match up with the Bulls right here.
Two teams that met in the 2015 playoffs failed to make it to the 2016 playoffs, but both teams feature some marquee names in the game. Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker highlight a bright Bucks feature while the Bulls have added veterans in the name of youth and athleticism with Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.
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Both teams hope to rebound from their dismal 2015-16 performances and the NBA probably senses that there is a certain amount of parity and regional interest to make these games entertaining. With that in mind, Milwaukee and Chicago will play a home-and-home back-to-back on December 15 at the Bradley Center in Wisconsin and on December 16 at the United Center in Illinois.
The two games will set up nicely as a preview for the main event which will be the Bucks coming back to Chicago just two weeks later to play a New Year’s Eve game to close out the calendar year. A New Year’s Eve game is a great get for the Bulls, but pitting them against a division foe that is just about a 90-minute car ride away is even better.
Still, the NBA outdid themselves. By having the two teams face off earlier in the month, the home fans for each team will have a chance to see the sides in full force and the possibility of a rubber match exists if they split the home-and-home.
Unfortunately, scheduling has to accommodate every team in the league. Since Milwaukee and Chicago are spoiled by playing three great games in the span of just a few weeks during the holiday season, they won’t meet again until they play at the Bradley Center in March. While that matchup will come at the end of the season, it won’t be close enough to the end of the season to carry too much drama.
No matter which team comes out on top, the fans are the real winners. The NBA did right by both teams when they scheduled them for the December events. Hopefully, the games will produce great basketball so that when they meet again at the end of March, there will be something worth playing for when it’s all said and done.