The consensus reached by NBA experts about the Milwaukee Bucks is startlingly consistent. Two months ago, this was a borderline top-10 team in most power rankings. At the time they were considered gross underachievers. Now, in the final two weeks of the season, they’re the league's worst depreciating asset and bottoming out quicker than the Dow Jones.
A month ago, they were duking it out with the New York Knicks for a top-three seed in the east. Now they're a 6-seed with the glass cracking below their feet. Without Damian Lillard, Doc Rivers better get a broom for their impending sweep and a mop for the cleanup he’ll have to oversee this offseason.
Bleacher Report: 14th
At the All-Star Break, Bleacher Report had the Bucks 11th between the Detroit Pistons at 13 and No. 15 Sacramento. Detroit has been one of the league's hottest teams in the New Year, however, Sac-Town has fallen into the back half of the Western Conference play-in.
The Athletic: 14th
The Athletic saw through Milwaukee from the start. They had the Bucks at 12th at the beginning of the season. As of this week, Law Murray placed Milwaukee on The Bubble as a middle-of-the-pack team. The worst part is that the esteemed Murray placed them between the Miami Heat, who lost 10 straight from March 5 to March 21and the Memphis Grizzlies who just fired their head coach.
CBS Sports: 14th
CBS Sports stuck Milwaukee below the Pistons, but ahead of the Dallas Mavericks who have gone 4-1 since Anthony Davis returned to action.
NBA.com: 14th
It’s been incredible watching the paths of the Bucks and Warriors diverge. Before the trade deadline, there were reports that the Warriors and Bucks were two teams that Butler two teams did not want to trade to. The Warriors took a leap and it paid off. Milwaukee played it safe, dumping Khris Middleton and rookie A.J. Johnson for Kyle Kuzma.
The two teams have veered in wildly different directions since then.
John Schuhmann noted that the Bucks have been a below .500 team with either Lillard or Antetokounmpo out of the lineup. The Bucks' lack of depth is never more apparent than when one of their two stars is out of the lineup.
Conversely, the Thunder survived three weeks without Jalen Williams in the lineup and never skipped a beat. The Celtics lasted two without Kristaps Porzingis and are eighth in wins missed due to injury or suspension.
NBC Sports: 14th
Kurt Helin’s rankings placed the Memphis Grizzlies and their new Finnish coach directly above the Bucks. At this point, the Magic's trajectory is higher than Milwaukee's. If they hadn’t been without Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero for large chunks of the season, they’d likely be one of the top-six teams in the East instead of Milwaukee.
ESPN: 14th
A month ago, the Bucks were 11th and at the beginning of the season, they ranked ninth. Once again, the Pistons have surpassed Milwaukee as the No. 13 team in ESPN's power rankings. The 15th team is a little surprising. The 36-39 Atlanta Hawks are on the rise and Sunday rookie Zacharrie Risacher tinged the nets in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum for 36 points while barely putting the ball on the floor in a win over the Bucks.