Hello and welcome to the Daily Ding.

I'm Dave DeFore, joined this week by my good buddy, Eric, name, our Milwaukee Bucks beat reporter.

Eric, uh, you've got to be nice and refreshed after the time off.

I know last year was kind of crazy covering a championship team.

Kind of got a lot of work.

Uh, you, you worked longer than, than everybody, didn't you?

Uh, yeah, I did. I worked a little bit longer than everyone, but that's cool. I actually got vacation this time around. Again, I don't want to sound ungrateful for anything that I do. I have a cool job. I have fun. But yeah, that was a grind going one season right into the next one. So I was happy to actually have some time off. And yes, I'm refreshed. I'm recharged, uh, rejuvenated, ready for a new season. Are you prepared for your own personal championship bump that you're about to get? Oh, I don't know anything about that. Uh, if, if things are coming my way, I'm, I'm more than happy to take any of those things on and profit off them.

That would be great.

All right.

Well, look, we know that often the season after a first championship for a franchise,

I mean, it can go either way, but usually we'll see these teams in the mix for number two.

I mean, it just kind of happens that way in basketball, it seems.

The Bucks right now are seen as the second best team in the East behind the Nets.

And granted, we saw that the Nets pushed them as far as they could with just Kevin Durant.

I mean, if Kevin Durant's shoe size is, what, a half a size smaller,

this is a whole different conversation we're having.

But I want to ask, and even though second place,

it's not like they're being, you know,

no one's saying they're going to miss the playoffs.

It's not disrespectful.

But are we somehow overlooking the bucks?

And should they be the favorites in the east?

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