Milwaukee Bucks face the most difficult test in the strenuous schedule in March.

The Milwaukee Bucks no longer have time to consolidate their place in the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

At 32-25 you sit fifth in the east, just one game behind the Indiana Pacers, to get an advantage of the home court in the first round. But that's just a part of the story.

They are also closer to the game tournament than on the third New York Knicks-a gap of 5.5 games, which feels like that does not feel in the front.

And yet you can't afford it, slip.

The glowing Detroit pistons dropped eight victories in a row and pulled from Milwaukee at a striking distance. Behind them would be catastrophic – it is one thing to travel to Indiana in the first round, but it is another thing to open up against the Knicks in the Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, things are brutal for Milwaukee.

The street ahead: a war of wear

The goats have already been tested. Five of their last six games have created a 4-2 record against Playoff-caliber teams, Timberwolves, Clipper, Clipper, Heat and Rocken-and they have created a 4-2 record.

That was warming up. Now comes the real challenge.

On Thursday, they organize the 38-20 Denver Nuggets, a team that has won nine of his last ten and is finally getting well.

Then it is a street game against the 31-28 Dallas Mavericks, who also have Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis Kyrie Irving and a dangerous side line-up. You will see the Mavs at home again next week.

Then the killer series continues. Here is who will see Milwaukee in March:

• Cleveland Cavaliers (48-10)-The best team in the NBA after record
• Indiana Pacers (33-24) -zal
• Los Angeles Lakers (35-21) -Zei
• Oklahoma City Thunder (47-11)-The top seeds of the Western Conference
• Another meeting with denver
• A massive showdown with the Knicks

And this is before they are taken into account in games against kings and warriors, both of whom are over 500 and fight for the playoff positioning.

This route is not just about the competition – it is also about the mere amount of games.

The schedule is relentless

The last time this season will get the Bucks two full days free between the games, March 6 and 7. After that it is continuous.

From March 8 to April 13, the goats will play either every day or every other day. Zero Breathers. No rejection.

Then there is April where the NBA pressed in a make-up game against the New Orleans Pelicans, which means that Milwaukee plays eight games in 13 days, including two in a row.

This must be on the radar of Doc Rivers. The goats are an older team that collapsed in the playoffs in the playoffs in a row. You cannot afford another post -season that was clouded by injuries, but this schedule does not give you a favor.

What is at stake? Everything.

The goats are on a crossroads.

You enter this route as a marginal attendant – talented, but inconsistent. You have dominance flashes, but also not inspired game.

This next month will define who they really are.

If you thrive in this glove, block a top-four seed and enter the playoffs with swing, you will be viewed again as a legitimate title threats. The story will change. The doubts will fade.

If you stumble – if injuries are piling up and lagging into the playoffs as a lower seed, you will be the other team in the post -season. No contender. No threat. Just another team.

That's it. Your hardest test so far. The next month will show whether Milwaukee is built for another championship run – or just another early exit.