Milwaukee Bucks’ New Playoff Schedule Revealed

The NBA released an updated playoff schedule for the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league.

The Milwaukee Bucks took a strong stance and shocked the NBA world on Wednesday when they refused to play in Game 5 of their first round playoff matchup against the Orlando Magic. With the players agreeing to resume play, the league was forced to reschedule the remaining games.

With the Bucks holding a 3-1 series edge over the Magic, Game 5 will now be played on Saturday afternoon at 2:30pm CT with Milwaukee as the home team. The Bucks will look to end the series with a gentleman’s sweep, but don’t expect Orlando, who has fought tooth and nail on every possession, to go quietly into the night.

No matter what happens on Saturday, Milwaukee’s next game will come on Monday, August 31st. The only question is their opponent.

If both the Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the Western Conference’s top seed, lose, Milwaukee will play Orlando at 3pm CT. If the Bucks win and Lakers lose, they’ll play at 3pm CT as well. However, if the Bucks lose and Lakers win, they’ll play at 5:30pm CT according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The biggest takeaway is the lack of primetime games for Milwaukee. Including Game 5, the Bucks will have played four of their first five games in the early afternoon with three noon central start times. The lone exception was a 5 pm start time in Game 2–not exactly a prime spot to attract a large audience.

It’s clear the NBA devalues the Bucks’ ability to attract a large audience, as they slotted the Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round series in the prime spot ahead of the Bucks’ in all three scenarios. Of course, their series has been one of the most competitive in the first round and Russell Westbrook is set to return, adding extra intrigue.

We’ll find out the rest of the semi-finals schedule soon, but it’s likely to continue as an every other day affair similar to the first round. Stay tuned to see what’s next for the Bucks.