Where Bucks Stand in Eastern Conference Standings After Eight Games

Eight games into the season, the Milwaukee Bucks are 1-7 and sitting 15th in the Eastern Conference, which is last place, after a 109-102 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night extended their losing streak to four games.

Milwaukee and the Chicago Bulls are both 1-7, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker after beating the Bucks 132-125 in Milwaukee on Oct. 23.

Both teams are 6.5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers, who lead the East at 8-1, while the Detroit Pistons and Celtics sit right behind at 6-2.

The middle of the conference is crowded, with the Atlanta Hawks fourth at 5-4, and the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Washington Wizards all at 4-4.

That means the Bucks are only three games out of fifth place, which is not much this early in the season.

The bigger problem is the defense.

Through Wednesday's games, Milwaukee was allowing 122.3 points per game, and only the Miami Heat at 122.9 and the Bulls at 129.6 were allowing more in the East.

The Bucks were scoring 110.0 points per game, so the gap between the two numbers explains most of this start.

The loss to Boston was ugly early and encouraging late, as Milwaukee trailed 62-41 at halftime, then outscored the Celtics 61-47 in the second half and took its first lead at 92-91 before Boston closed the game on a 12-5 run over the final three minutes, according to the Associated Press.

Guard Tyler Herro scored 17 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 18 points while making four of his six threes.

Jaquez said after the game that he does not want to settle for a close loss, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"It's important to grow as a group. I'm not one for all moral victories. We want to win the game at the end of the day, but at some point we gotta lay the brick down," Jaquez said.

I like that attitude from a team that rebuilt so much of its roster this summer.

Milwaukee traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami in June and got back Herro, Jaquez, center Kel'el Ware, guard Kasparas Jakucionis and draft picks, and Taylor Jenkins took over as head coach.

Herro is averaging 22.3 points per game, and there is a real case that he could be headed for an All-Star spot if the wins start to come.

Eight games is too early to panic about the standings, but it is not too early to want a better defense.

Milwaukee has home games against the Raptors on Friday, Nov. 6, and the Celtics on Sunday, Nov. 8.

The young pieces are part of the plan, and the team has been smart to keep Ware and Jakucionis around for the long run.

Even so, a few players need to step up for this team to climb.

I think the Bucks can get back near the play-in race by the end of November if the second-half effort in Boston shows up for a full 48 minutes.

Milwaukee is closer than its record looks.