ST. FRANCIS, Wis. -- With five games to play, the path to the No. 6 seed is right in front of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The first step would be to secure a playoff berth, which could happen as early as Wednesday night.
Milwaukee needs two wins or one win and an Indiana loss to clinch a spot in the playoffs. The Bucks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Wednesday, while the Pacers play in New York against the Knicks.
"I think we understand how big (clinching a playoff spot) is without asking," Bucks guard O.J. Mayo said following Tuesday's practice at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin Training Center. "It is pretty important.
"With such a young team, you want to set a foundation somewhere. What would be a better foundation than clinching a postseason spot?"
Up four games on Indiana and Miami with five games to play, the Bucks are in excellent shape as far as making the playoffs is concerned. But Milwaukee is focused on keeping its stronghold on the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Seventh-place Brooklyn moved to within two games of Milwaukee with a 106-96 victory over a short-handed Portland team Monday.
The Nets host Atlanta on Wednesday and Washington on Friday before coming to Milwaukee for what could be a critical clash at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Sunday afternoon.
"You don't want to screw the whole thing up in the last five games," Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova said. "Brooklyn is playing well and right behind us. From this point on, every game is going to count."
If Milwaukee holds the No.6 seed, it will face either Chicago or Toronto. The Bulls are currently one game ahead of the Raptors, but Toronto would hold the tiebreaker since it is a division winner.
Dropping down to seventh place would mean a matchup with Cleveland and falling to eighth would put Milwaukee up against Atlanta.
"It is big-time, not just for the players but for the whole organization and for the fans," Ilyasova said. "Especially after the season we had last year, to have us in the playoffs is going to motivate our season ticket holders and fans to come out and be with us next year, as well. Playoff energy is different. It is different basketball. It is big experience for everybody."
The Bucks put together impressive victories over Chicago and Boston last week before struggling in an ugly home loss to lowly Orlando on Saturday. Having three days between games allowed Milwaukee plenty of time to figure out what went wrong against the Magic.
"I think it was big for us to work on our execution half-court wise," Mayo said of the practice time. "We have to screen that much better, cut that much harder and play with one another that much better to have a successful finish.
"We're just trying to get better every day we are on the court, whether it is practice or a game. We're just trying to limit our mistakes and work on the things that made us successful this year."
Playoff tickets available: The Bucks announced multiple opportunities for fans to purchase playoff tickets Tuesday, including a limited time two-game playoff pack.
Fans can currently purchase tickets to Milwaukee's first two playoff home games at a discounted rate with no ticket fees. The package also includes a free ticket to the Bucks' regular-season finale against the Boston Celtics on April 15.
Single-game playoff tickets will go on sale after the Bucks clinch a playoff berth.
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