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Top-seeded Bucks ready to emerge from the NBA wilderness

Photo illustration by Nick Roy / theScore

Long after the final whistle blew, Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez called for a pass from teammate D.J. Wilson. Lopez needed the can of deodorant laying on a chair in the visiting locker room of Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center after a pivotal late-season, come-from-behind win. Wilson grabbed it, faked a pass to Lopez, then sprayed himself down. He faked another pass before finally chucking the can over. They both laughed.

There's a lot of that going around the Bucks as they head into the playoffs with the best record in the league for the first time since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Bob Dandridge led the way. Joy is not quite the right word for it. Ebullience? Perhaps buoyancy. These Bucks are light, happy, and free.

And they're also damn good - as they were on this night, April 4, with the 76ers laid in ruins. How good?

We're about to find out.

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The Bucks weren't exactly expected to set the world on fire this season.

Despite gradual improvement that mirrored Giannis Antetokounmpo's ascension, Milwaukee was tabbed anywhere from 10th to 13th in most pundits' preseason power rankings. Improvement from 33 wins in Antetokounmpo's third NBA season - and a 12th-place finish in the East - to 42 wins in 2016-17 and then 44 wins last year raised some eyebrows, but didn't exactly drop any jaws.

The players themselves never wavered. In fact, Khris Middleton can trace the origins of the Bucks' burgeoning bravado to the very first game of the season, a 113-112 win at Charlotte.

Streeter Lecka / Getty

"We had a big lead, Kemba (Walker) got hot, we went down, and then we found a way to win," said Middleton, Milwaukee's second-leading scorer at 18.3 points per game. "That's where it all started. We realized how good we can be. Yeah, (we saw) how quickly things can go bad, but we saw how we can pull through tough times."

They did it again in this early April showdown with Philadelphia. The Sixers were missing Jimmy Butler, but things evened out less than four minutes in when Milwaukee point guard Eric Bledsoe was ejected for heaving a ball at Joel Embiid in retaliation. From that point on, it was a slugfest - Milwaukee going up by as much as nine in the first quarter only to see Philly rally to claim a two-point halftime lead. The Sixers seemed to seize control midway through the third, leading by as much as nine, and they were ahead by five with under three minutes left.

Then the Bucks clamped down, Giannis did Giannis stuff - he'd finish with 45 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks - and Milwaukee went on a 15-4 run to end the game, winning 128-122.

David Dow / Getty

These 48 minutes exemplified the dichotomy that is the Bucks' season. Confidence with caution. An early-season chip that they hope leads to a season-ending 'ship.

"What makes us who we are is the combination of both: We have confidence within ourselves, within the locker room, within the organization, that we can be the best team. But we make sure that doesn't overtake the chip we started the season with," said guard Pat Connaughton. "Teams get in trouble when they look too far ahead - and look, we've been bit by it. We've lost some games we shouldn't have.

“That's kind of kept us honest."

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How's this for honesty: The Bucks have been anywhere from mediocre to downright putrid for going on three decades.

But it wasn't always so bad in Milwaukee. From 1970-71 through 1985-86, a span of 16 seasons, the Bucks finished first or second in their conference 11 times (first the West before switching to the East in 1980). After the reign of Kareem, and behind 1979 No. 5 pick Sidney Moncrief (a five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year), the Bucks strung together seven straight second-place conference finishes from 1980-86. Between 1977 and 1991, the team finished no lower than sixth in the conference.

Then the wheels fell off. For the next 25 seasons, through 2016, Milwaukee finished better than sixth in the East just once: 2000-01, when the Bucks won the Central Division and lost to Philadelphia in a seven-game Eastern Conference final.

In that span, there were more bottom-three seasons (10) than playoff appearances (nine).

So forgive the Bucks if they're enjoying their success.

"We've been through adversity ever since I've been here, but we're a complete team now," Middleton said. "We've been through injuries, and tonight with (Bledsoe) out. But we know what every guy on this team can do. Whatever it is, guys still believe."

It helps to have an MVP candidate in the prime of his career.

Antetokounmpo's maturation in the last two years has changed the trajectory of the franchise. He's improved from 23 points and nine rebounds per game in 2016-17 to 27 points and 10 boards last year to a career-high 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists this year.

Jesse D. Garrabrant / Getty

“He's the MVP in our eyes,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said after Antetokounmpo's 45-point performance against Philly, before breaking into a wry smile. “You know, we'll keep him.”

One offseason message from a former MVP - Lakers legend Kobe Bryant - seems to have flipped a switch in the Greek Freak.

"He made me believe it even more," Antetokounmpo said. "A guy like Kobe saying go get MVP? That made me change my mentality. It made me believe I could do it."

Belief is a big thing in this locker room.

"Yeah, we enjoy each other's company, but that's not chemistry, that's camaraderie," Middleton said. "Here, the puzzle fits together. The chemistry factor is knowing what everyone else is doing, believing in our roles and having confidence in one another. A guy goes down, another guy puts that piece back in and we keep going."

Connaughton added, "The confidence we have in each other is huge. But it's about making sure when we step on the floor, we remember the outside voices who were doubting us. We haven't really done anything in the postseason, and that's the next chapter."

The Bucks went to the playoffs in three of Antetokounmpo's first five seasons, losing in the first round each time. The next chapter begins Sunday against the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons, a team the Bucks beat all four times this season.

With a series win, Milwaukee would have a second-round matchup with either the Pacers or the Celtics. Boston was projected almost unanimously to win the East this season. The Bucks? Fourth, maybe.

Can the Bucks use that perceived preseason slight in the postseason? Can they ride their MVP candidate to a Finals matchup, perhaps with Golden State? Do the Bucks stop here?

They hope not. They believe they're just getting started.

Jon Gold is theScore's Senior Features Writer. You can find him on Twitter @ByJonGold.

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