MILWAUKEE — The landscape of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs changed dramatically Wednesday.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who entered Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers as the No. 8 seed with an 18-24 record and a 2-0 mark against New York, traded Andrew Bogut, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, and forward Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown.
The Knicks, with that same 18-24 record, parted ways with coach Mike D’Antoni and named Mike Woodson, a former Cavs assistant, his replacement.
In the very short term, the changes could benefit the Cavs, especially since the Bucks held a news conference 30 minutes before tipoff to introduce their new players, none of whom played Wednesday night in Bradley Center.
Of course, Bogut has a fractured left ankle and wouldn’t have played anyway, and Jackson doesn’t play much either.
But given that the Cavs will face Milwaukee and New York two more times each after Wednesday, if it takes either team very long to adjust, the Cavs hope to take advantage.
“The opportunity is there,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said. “It’s just a matter of us going out and taking advantage of it.”
That hasn’t always been the Cavs’ way. Witness Tuesday’s loss to Toronto snapping a three-game winning streak over Denver, Oklahoma City and Houston.
And Scott isn’t sure how the changes will affect either team.
“When you talk about New York, listening to their guys, they feel they’re much better than the No. 8 seed,” Scott said. “The only change is Dan leaving. I don’t know how that affects them. It could be one of two ways. They either take off from here or they even go farther down.
“With this team in Milwaukee, they’ve been playing with the group they have for a while. So you’re adding another great player, a great scorer. It will be interesting to see how that works out.”
Ramon Sessions, who played with Bogut in Milwaukee, admitted he was surprised to see him traded. But Sessions thinks the playoff chase will go down to the wire — and that the Cavs will be in it that long.
“It’s definitely going to go down to the end,” he said.
Another Irving fan: Bucks coach Scott Skiles joined the chorus of coaches in praising Cavs rookie Kyrie Irving.
“Kyrie is already one of the best point guards in the league,” Skiles said. “Considering his college career was abruptly ended with his injury, he’s really playing well. It’s hard to imagine anyone else getting the rookie of the year but him.”
The last word: From Scott, on the television reports about Dwight Howard staying — or not — in Orlando, “Basically, I just kept changing the channel.”
Gotta run!.
