The Bucks and 76ers demonstrate how different two good NBA teams can be

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers may be on a collision course for some time in May, either in the second round of the playoffs or the Eastern Conference finals.

But heading into Saturday's prime-time clash at Fiserv Forum, it was clear how different those two teams are.

The Bucks are a steady-as-they-go team, efficiently rattling off the most wins in the league. They have a cornerstone superstar in MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, a man who had an all-star team named for him but generally deflects attention, often actively avoiding speaking out publicly and when he does he's usually pointing to his and the team's need to further improve.

“He’s the ultimate competitor," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think the thing we appreciate the most is he wants to win. Certainly, he does a lot of amazing things individually that are just super impressive, but the thing that always stands out to us is just he wants to win. He’s a great teammate, he’s happy when his teammates have success. Those are the best kind of superstars, the best kind of leaders and franchise-type guys.”

Antetokounmpo is flanked by a roster carefully curated to support his skill set, one filled with players who similarly fit with the quiet, confident culture set by their leader. They're not shrinking violets, but they're not going out of their way to make waves.

The way George Hill answered a question Saturday – one wondering if the Bucks learn more about themselves when they're playing top players like the 76ers have – is about as dramatic as the Bucks get.

“Anybody, any time, any day," Hill said, repeating the final part of the question. "I feel like we got some of the best players in the league. I feel like we still got an all-star in Eric Bledsoe that got kind of snubbed – to me. We’ve got K-Midd (Khris Middleton), we got Giannis, we got the defensive player of the year – in my opinion – in Brook Lopez, we have a great bench, we have a great defender in Wes (Matthews), so I think we got a great team and we can compete with anybody.”

The 76ers, meanwhile, came into the season considered to be one of the best teams in the East and have been one of the biggest stories in the league because of the way they've struggled. They're 26-2 at home but entered Saturday just 9-19 on the road.

That mystifying home-road split isn't for a lack of talent. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are multi-time all-stars together and worthy ones at that. Their on-court fit has been a question, something that won't change any time soon.

While the Bucks are devoid of any real drama, the 76ers are the opposite, particularly surrounding the Embiid-Simmons fits. But individual players, specifically Embiid, are no strangers to stirring things up, including when Embiid referred to himself as "the best player in the world" following Thursday's overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.

“That’s great confidence for him, I don’t think any of us care about that," Hill said. "We’ll continue to play the right way, play on both ends of the floor and just go out there and let our game speak for us. We don’t get into the I’m this, I’m that. We just play basketball.”

With one more meeting this season and potentially another in the playoffs, the clash of styles and cultures between the Bucks and 76ers could very well make for some entertaining games over the next three months.

Korver to miss next two games

Bucks wing Kyle Korver sat out the final game before the all-star break with a sore back. It's the kind of absence that doesn't make any waves when you're talking about a 17-year veteran. It's not unheard of for someone like that to get a little extra rest heading into the all-star break.

But Korver didn't play Thursday when the Bucks opened the final third of the season. He also didn't play Saturday night against the 76ers.

Before Saturday's game, Budenholzer explained it may be about a week before Korver returns. It's not serious, but Korver, who hasn't played since Feb. 10, is going to get at least nearly three weeks off.

“He’s, I think, making progress," Budenholzer said. "I think we’re hopeful that it’s not a significant period of time he misses, but we’ll just see how the next three, four days go and he won’t travel us for these next two games but then after that, like I said, we’re hopeful that it’s not very long.”

Korver is averaging 6.4 points while shooting 40.7% on three-pointers in 16.6 minutes per game over 47 games.